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CSH in the News >
Tree Removal Ordinance
Tree Removal Ordinance
Jul 14, 2008 --
Town frames a new tree ordinance, with fines
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| By Arlene Gross |
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July 09, 2008 | 04:32 PM
It's not going to be so easy to remove trees if the Town Board has its way.
In consideration of the environmental and intrinsic value of trees, the town held a public hearing July 8 to adopt a new tree preservation ordinance.
The intrinsic value, Councilman Stuart Besen said, refers to trees being "valuable to our aesthetic nature and … valuable to our environment. And we, as a community, have an interest in preserving them."
If enacted, it will become unlawful to remove any landmark tree, large tree, medium tree or more than three small trees within a one-year period without first obtaining a permit.
It also would deter commercial entities from any mass clearing of trees on their properties, he said.
The legislation, which is adopted from the International Society of Arboriculture's specifications and standards of pratice, states that the protection of trees and the regulation of their removal will help prevent soil erosion and flooding; curb air and noise pollution; control water pollution and preserve a natural habitat for wildlife.
Besen, who offered the resolution, said he did so in response to the many calls his office received from residents and community groups complaining about new residents cutting down trees indiscriminately. He said he hopes for and expects the board to pass the legislation unanimously.
"It enables us to monitor the situation, to make clear the permit process with regard to cutting down trees and limiting the amount of trees that can be cut down," Besen said. "This is just one more piece of legislation that continues our efforts at a local level to improve and help the environment."
At the hearing, Christopher O'Connor, government affairs advisor of the nonprofit environmental advocacy group Neighborhood Network, called the resolution important because "this is living history."
"We need to always protect our history, our legacy," O'Connor said, "so we can point to our grandchildren and future generations that this is what was important and this was what was needed to be preserved. This resolution significantly goes into how to protect those trees, how to move forward on fines and how to continue with preserving them."
The proposed legislation calls for violators to be fined between $300 and $750 for each tree that is removed in excess of those permitted for removal, which is determined by the town's Department of Planning and Environment, sentenced to up to 15 days imprisonment for each violation and possibly ordered to plant replacement trees or pay for the replacement value of each illegally removed tree.
O'Connor suggested that municipalities also consider planting as many trees as possible to replace other trees lost to disease and age but said, "This is a great start."
Cynthia Hemley, an attorney and member of the Cold Spring Hills Civic Association representing 300 homes, helped craft the legislation.
"Often removal of trees is undertaken by developers and homeowners alike without due consideration to the impact removal has on wildlife, environmental air quality and community aesthetics," she said. "It's the all too common practice of indiscriminate tree removal that necessitates local law that protects trees in a clear and sensible manner. We enthusiastically support this law as substantial step towards preserving mature trees, their natural environmental detoxification benefits and the well established suburban feel of Huntington."
Noting that permits must be displayed on the premises while the work is being done, she said, "This element of the law makes it clear to neighbors when a permit has been properly obtained and makes enforcement more efficient for the town."
Daniel Karpen, of Huntington, suggested instituting a rule by which new property owners would not be permitted to remove any trees until they have lived in their homes for at least a year.
Conrad Decker, an International Society of Arboriculture board-certified master arborist, affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts in Huntington, later said he is glad to see the town moving forward on the ordinance but warned, "We aren't projecting out into the future. The big concern is new trees are not being established or maintained to survive between 10 or 15 years. I see it firsthand in caring for landscapes." The problem, Decker said, starts in the nurseries where trees are not properly grown to establish healthy root growth, resulting in their imminent and premature demise.
The Village of Lloyd Harbor, Decker said, has a great tree program — "not foolproof but a good start. It works for them."
Still, not everyone within the township appears to be a tree-hugger.
Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia read from an email from Darren and Laura Sherland who were not present at the public hearing. "I have lived in Huntington for 45 years …" the letter stated. "We wanted to voice our strong opposition to any tree ordinance. Property owners should have the right to cut down trees without their neighbors consent."
The irony of their address on Timberline Drive was not lost on Supervisor Frank Petrone, who repeated the street name after Raia's reading, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
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