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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTree Ordinance 1994SO -IOrD TOW TREE CO iTrEE Sotjthod Town Hall / Main Road / Southold, NY / 11971 To: From: Subject: Thomas !':Wickham, Supervisor I., and All ToWn Board Members Edward i-~art, Chairman $outho¥~ ToWn Tree Committee Report .'!ho Town Board Agenda Tuesday;7 March 22, 1994 The Tree Committee Wishes to meet with the Town Board at its next work session ~ Tuesday, March 22, 1994, to discuss the following topics: 1. Enactment ~'f TREE CODE. Our proposed code would apply only~to trees on Town-owned land. 2. Initiatioru;~.~of MEMORIAL TREE PROGRAM: ',G~oncept ~itial publicity/announcement ~art-up costs ~bor Day ~I Seedling Distribution ~ Celebration 3. 1994 Stree Tree PLANTING PLAN ~erican Elm re-establishment S3A Tree Planting Program _~sher's Island T~rget~. areas ~. Concept ~o~Ja CO~U~IT~ ~DE~. The Tree Comm{ttee oks our initiatives. forward to informing the Board of SOUTHOLD TOWN TI~.. COMMITTEE TOWN OF SOUTHOLD TREE ORDINANCE TABLE OF CONTENTS Article Number 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. DESCRIPTION: Title ................................... 01 Definitions ............................. 02 Findings and Intent ..................... 03 Town Tree Committee ................... 04 Procedure ............................. 05 Duties and Responsibilities .......... 06 Jurisdiction .......................... 07 Planting .............................. 08 Prohibitions .......................... 09 Applications and Permits ............. 10 - 11 Replacement of Removed Trees ............. 12 Tree Bank ............................... 13 Approved Trees .......................... 14 Stump Removal ........................... 15 Liability Insurance ..................... 16 Penalty ................................. 17 Article 1 - TITLE This local law shall be known and may be cited as the Town of Southold Tree Ordinance. O1 Article 2 - DEFINITIONS Committee The Southold Town Tree Committee Habit The natural growing characteristics of any tree which includes branch spread and distribution, branch height above ground and root spread and distribution. Insured Tree Contractor Person Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, public utility or organization of any kind, or agent thereof. Substantial Alteration Shall mean any cutting, pruning, girdling, application of herbicides, root cutting, elevating ?r other alteration the habit of the tree which ~mpairs or endangers the life of such tree or destroys its natural symmetry shall include, but is not limited to, heavy or unnecessary cutting of top branches and cutting of major lower limbs. Tree Any woody plant having a diameter of 3" or more measured at a height of 4 1/2" above the ground. Tree Bank Southold Town budget line item A8560.4 - Community Environment - Tree. O2 Article 3 - FINDINGS AND INTENT It has been established that trees stabilize the soil, control water pollution by preventing soil erosion and flooding~ absorb air pollution, provide us with oxygen, yield advantageous mlcroclimate effects, have an intrinsic esthetic quality, offer a natural barrier to noise and provide a natural and valuable habitat for wildlife in our area, and that the removal of trees deprives all segments of our society of these benefits while disrupting the ecological systems of which they are.a par~. It is therefore the intent of the Southold Town Board, in enacting th~s local law, under the advisement of the Southold To~n Tree Committee to re?ulate the destruction and removal of trees in order to preserve these various benefits to the maximu~ extent possible for the present and future inhabitants of the Town. To implement this intent, the Town. Board shall enact annually, a comprehensive Tree Plan, prepared by the Tree Committee, which may be subject to amendments and/or supplements. O3 Article 4 - TOWN TREE COMMITTEE This shall hereby confirm the establishment and existence for the Town of the Tree Committee, which shall act as an advisory committee to the Town Board with respect to the implementation of the provisions of this Chapter. Members shall be appointed by the Town Board to serve on the Committee for a term of 2 years. Members shall serve without compensation. The Committee shall consist of seven (7), members. 04 Article 5 - PROCEDURE The Committee shall meet at 7:30 P.M. on the second Thursday of every month, or at such times as the Chairman shall deem necessary, providing sufficient time is allowed for notice to the Publl¢. 05 Article 6 - DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES It shall be the responsibility of the Committee to study, investigate, counsel and develop and/or update a written plan for the care, preservation, pruning, planting, replanting, removal or disposition of trees in parks, streets and other public areas in the Town. Such written plan shall be presented to the Town Board and, upon its acceptance and approval shall constitute the official comprehensive tree plan of the Town. The Committee, from time to time, may make recommendations to the Town Board, which, upon approval of the Town Board, shall be considered a~nendments and or supplements to the comprehensive tree plan. The Committee, when requested by the Town Board, shall also consider and investigate any special matter or question coming within its scope of work for findings, report and recommendation to the Town Board. O6 Article 7 - JURISDICTION All trees, shrubs and ornamental plantings, on Town owned property, shall be subject to the provisions of the ordinance. O7 Article 8 - PLANTING No person shall plant any tree on any real property owned by the Town without first obtaining a permit from the Town Clerk. Any tree planted pursuant to this section s~all become the property of the Town. Any tree planted shall be planted in accordance with accepted ornamental practices, which may include, but not specifically be limited to, the in luslon of fertlllzatmon, mulching, staking and regular watering. A. Spacing The spacin9 of trees will be in accordance with the three species size classes listed mn Article 13 of this ordinance, and no tree may be planted closer together than the following: Small trees, 30 feet; Medium trees, 40 feet; Large trees, 50 feet; except in special planting designed or approved by a Landscape Architect. B. Distance from curb and sidewalk The distance trees may be planted from curbs or curb lines and sidewalks will be in accordance with the three species size classes listed in Article 13 of this ordinance, and no trees may be planted closer to any curb or sidewalk than the following: Small trees, 2 ~eet; Medium trees, 3 feet; Large trees, 4 feet. C. Distance from street corners and fire plugs No street tree shall be planted closer than 20 feet of any street corner, measured from the point of nearest intersection curbs or curb lines. No street tree shall be planted closer than 10 feet of any fireplug. D. Upon application to the Tree Committee, any person may be granted relief from Sections A, B and C of A~-ticle 8. Such relief shall be subject to approval by the Town Board. O8 Article 9 - PROHIBITIONS No person shall in any way injure, destroy, mutilate, top, or substantially alter the habit of any tree on Town owned ~roperty, or affix to such tree, any signs, notices or other matter with nails, tacks, staples or that which would otherwise cause damage, injury or destruction to the tree. No person shall attach or maintain any rope, wire, advertising posters or other fixture to any tree on Town property or allow any gaseous, liquid or solid substance, which is harmful to such trees to come in contact with them or set fire or permit any fire to burn when such fire, or the heat therefrom, will injure any portion of such tree. O9 Article 10 - APPLICATIONS AND PERMITS A. Whenever a personal shall deem it necessary to remove, destroy, substantially alter, or plant one (1) or more live trees on any To.w~. owned property, such person shall first submit an application for a permit to the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk may not issue a permit until the application has been approved by the Town Board after advisement by the Committee. B. Permits under the provisions of this ordinance shall be issued by the Town Clerk without charge. C. The Pruning and Removal Permit shall include, but not be limited, to the following: 1. Name and address of the applicant. 2. Purpose of the proposed tree removal or pruning. 3. Name and address of the Insured Tree Contractor who will remove, destroy, prune or substantially alter the tree(s). 4. Evidence of in-force liability insurance as mandated by Article 15 of this Chapter. 5. Size, species and location of tree(s). 6. Proximity of tree(s) to existing or proposed structures. 7. Any additional information that the Committee or the applicant shall deem necessary for the evaluation of the application. The Committee shall consider the following criteria %n determining when to recommend to the Town Board that a permit should be issued: D. Criteria for Pruning and Removal Permit application evaluation: 1. The location and size of tree to be removed or pruned. 2. The condition of the tree with respect to disease and hazardousness, danger of falling, proximity to existing or proposed structures and interference with utility service and traffic. 3. The necessity of the requested pruning or removal for the project in question. 4. The environmental effect of the removal. 5. Good arborcultural management practices. 10 Article 10 - APPLICATIONS A/~D PERMITS ic0NTINUED) E. The Planting Permit application shall include, the following: 1. Name and address of the applicant. but not be limited to, Location, spacing, size, quantity and species of proposed tree(s). Any proposed tree shall'be selected from the list of approved trees found in Article 13 of this Chapter. A sketch or plan of the area indicating the proximity of proposed tree(s) to: a Street corners Fire Hydrants Utility facilities Storm drains Existing or proposed structures Driveway and parking facilities Rights of Way. The Co~Lm~ittee shall consider the following criteria in determining when to recommend to the Town Board that a permit should be issued: Criteria 1) 2) for Planting Permit application evaluation: Compliance with all sections of this Chapter, which may apply, are required for planting. Appropriateness of the.planting plan with respect to the surrounding area and with respect to the comprehensive tree plan. 11 Article 11 - REPLACEMENT OF REMOVED TREBS Any person who removes one or more trees on To~m owned property shall, at his expense, replace the removed tree(s) with a number of replacement trees from the list of approved trees such that the total of the measured diameter(s) of the replacement trees is equal to that portion of the total measured diameter of the removed tree(s), which consisted of solid healthy wood. The diameter of the removed tree is measured at a height of 4 1/2 feet above the ground. The minimu~ diameter of any replacement tree shall be 2 inches measured at a distance of 6 inches above ground. All required replacement trees must be planted within 6 months from the date when the original tree(s) were removed. Replacement trees shall be planted at a location designated by tSe town Board, after advisement of the Committee, and consistent with the Comprehensive Tree Plan. The replacement tree(s) would be in addition to any other trees which may be required b~ any other Town mandate to be planted at or near the siteoi the removed tree. In lieu of planting all or a por~ion of the required replacement trees at the site of the removed tree, the Town Board, after advisement of the Comm~ttee,.ma~ ~irect that theperson requesting or responsible: for the removal of the orlglnal tree(s) to make a deposit to the Tree Bahk as determinedby Article 12 of this ordinance. Removal 'of hazard0~s or dead.trees shall be excepted from the full extent of 'the replacement requirements of this section. In such case, one replacement tree will satisfy t~e replacement requirement. 12 Article 12 - TREE BANK A Tree Bank has been created to serve as a depository for funds to be expended for the purpose of planting new trees on Town property. Persons required to plant trees shall pay, to the Tree Bank, a sum of money for each required tree not planted as mandated by Article 11 of this ordinance. The minimum d~posit to the Tree Bank shall be $100 for up to 2 inches of required tree. Additional inches of required tre? are assessed for deposit at the rate of $50 per inch. Required deposits to the Tree Bank shall.be made within 6 months of the date of removal. With the approval of the Town Board, in lieu of depositing a sum of money in the Tree Bank, a person required to plant replacement trees may, at his own expense, pla~t the requ%red trees in compliance with Section 8 of this Chapter, at a site(s) within the Town designated by the Town Board under advisement of the Committee. Gifts of funds by persons for the purpose of planting new trees on Town owned property will be deposited to the Tree Bank. Expenditures of money from the Tree Bank shall be made by the Town Board upon request of the Tree Committee. 13 Article 13 - APPROVED TREES The following varieties of trees shall be deemed appropriate for use listPlantingfor in the Tow'ri. No species other than those included in this may be planted on Town owned property without written permission from the Town Board after advisement from the Committee. Small Trees Medium Trees Large Trees Bradford Pear 2 Flowering Cherry 2 Flowering Crab 2 Hawthorne 2 Japanese Dogwood 2 Magnolia 2 Redbud 2 Holly.2 European Hornbea~n Green Ash'3 Honey Locust 1,3 Hop Hornbeam Mountain Ash 2,3 Sweet Gum 2 Zelkova 1,2,3 Red Cedar 2 Colo. Blue Spruce 2 Norway Spruce 2 American Linden 1,2,3 Broad Leaf Beech 2 Black Oaks 1,2,3 Black Walnut 2 Hickory 2,3 London Plane Liberty Elm 1,2,3 Pin Oaks 2,3 Red Leaf Maple 1,2,3 Red Oaks 2,3 Sycamore 1,2,3 Tulip Tree 2,3 White Oak 1,2,3 1 Trees most suitable for planting under utility lines 2 Trees most suitable for park planting 3 Trees most suitable for street trees 14 Article 14 - STUMP REMOVAL Stumps remaining from the removal of trees shall be removed to a minimum depth of 4 inches below ground level within 30 days of tree removal, 15 Article 15 - LIABILITY INSURANCE Each application for pruning or removal shall be accompanied by a certificate of insurance in.form approved by the To.w~. Clerk and issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in thzs State. Insuring to the Town and guaranteeing that the applicant has provided public liability coverage of not less than ~ive hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.) for personal injury, and, property damage insurance in the amount of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.), or one million dollars ($1,000,000.) combined limit to save the Town harmless from all claims, actions, and proceedings brought by any person for injury to persons or property resulting from or occasioned by any fault or default by the person to whom the permit is issued or anyone action thereunder in his behalf, and worker's compensation insurance. 16 Article 16 - PENALTY Anyone determined to be in violation of any provisions of this Chapter slS~all be ..... required to rectify the applicable situation in order to bring the tuatlon lnto compliance with thls Chapter and in addition shall be liable for a civil penalty of up to $250. 17