[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Salina 8-9-1999
by L.L. No. 5-1999. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Tree, Shrub and Brush Removal Personnel
Law of the Town of Salina."
This chapter is enacted for the purpose of licensing and regulating
the conduct and business practices of tree removal personnel within the Town
of Salina, whereas during the 1998 Labor Day storm, and at various other times,
tree removal businesses have solicited Town of Salina residents, some of them
elderly, for the purpose of hiring and retaining their tree removal services
to remove fallen trees, tree parts and debris, unsafely removing trees and
tree parts and depositing refuse and tree parts in the Town of Salina right-of-way.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation or other association
or legal entity and any principal, agent, contractor or employee thereof.
The Town Board of the Town of Salina.
The Town Clerk of the Town of Salina.
Any person serving at the time as the attorney for the Town of Salina.
A business or service conducted where the person or persons, in part
or in whole, deal with or conduct the removal of trees, shrubs, brush, weeds,
yard waste or any other foliage.
A person or persons, either as a principal, agent, contractor, employee
or representative, who engages or proposes to engage in a tree, shrub or brush
removal business.
It shall be unlawful for any person to perform within the Town of Salina
tree, shrub or brush removal business(es) or service(s) as herein defined,
or assist such a person so acting, without first having obtained and paid
for, and having in full force and effect, a license for such activities as
defined and provided for herein.
Any person desiring to procure a tree removal license as herein provided
shall file with the Town Clerk a written application upon a form furnished
by the Town Clerk. An applicant for a tree removal license shall provide the
following in addition to any other requirements set forth on the application
provided by the Town Clerk:
A.
The address and telephone number of the applicant's residence
and place of business and duration of time at such address.
B.
The identity of the company or service represented by
the applicant or by whom the applicant is employed, together with documents
establishing the service or company's principal place of business, the form
of organization, the identity of ownership and authority of said company or
service to do business in the State of New York. All applicants shall disclose
in any application the identities and the addresses of shareholder's, officers,
directors, members, partners or such similar persons as required by the Town
of Salina.
C.
A brief description of the nature of the business and
the types of services the company or service performs.
A.
The licensing provision of this chapter shall not apply
to the following:
(1)
Business conducted pursuant to statute or by order of
any court.
(2)
Business conducted by any discharged member of the United
States Armed Forces who has procured a license issued by the County Clerk
as provided by § 32 of the General Business Law of the State of
New York.
(3)
Business conducted pursuant to contract or authority
with the Town of Salina for refuse removal services.
B.
Notwithstanding any exemption herein granted as above,
all persons exempted herein shall, however, file an application with the Town
Clerk claiming such exemption on a form provided by the Town Clerk before
the commencement of any business or transaction exempted hereunder.
C.
This chapter shall not be construed so as to unlawfully
burden or interfere with interstate commerce.
A.
Upon the filing of the application, the Town Clerk shall,
upon approval of such application, issue to the applicant a license as provided
herein. A license may be refused if the applicant has been convicted of a
misdemeanor or felony which, in the judgment of the Town Clerk, renders the
applicant unfit or undesirable to carry on the trade or occupation consistent
with a tree removal service or company. No license shall be issued by the
Town Clerk until the Town Clerk has had a reasonable opportunity to determine
the applicant's fitness and in no event prior to the passage of five business
days following the day on which the application is received, except that such
five-day requirement may be waived solely in the Town Clerk's discretion in
the event of special or exigent circumstances requiring immediate relief for
a town resident.
B.
No applicant who has been refused a license hereunder
or has as hereinafter provided had a license revoked shall make any further
application for a license for a period of six months after denial or revocation;
and in no event shall reapplication be made at any time without submission
of proof that the reason for prior refusal or revocation no longer exists.
C.
Any applicant who is refused a license by the Town Clerk
may apply to the Town Board for such license, and the same may be granted
or refused by the Town Board, except as prohibited by Town Law § 137.
A license shall not be assignable. Any holder of any license who permits
it to be used by any other person or entity, and any person or entity who
uses such license granted to another, shall each be guilty of a violation
of this chapter.
Whenever a license shall be lost or destroyed on the part of the holder
or his agent or employee, a duplicate in lieu thereof, under the original
application, may be issued by the Town Clerk, upon the filing with him by
the licensee of an affidavit setting forth the circumstances of the loss and
what, if any, search has been made for its recovery.
All licenses shall clearly state the type of vehicle to be used for
the tree removal, the types of services rendered, the town's designated number
of license, the date of issuance and expiration of the license, the fee paid
and the name and address of the licensee.
Such license shall be for such term as requested by the applicant, but
in no event shall such term exceed one year from the date of issuance.
Every licensee, while exercising his license, shall carry the license
with him and shall exhibit the same upon demand.
The license fee for each person licensed hereunder shall be as established
hereafter by resolution of the Town Board.
A license issued pursuant to this chapter may be revoked by the Town
Board after a public hearing as provided in Article 9 of the Town Law.
The Town Clerk shall keep and maintain records of all applications and
all licenses granted under the provisions of this chapter, specifying the
number and date of each license, the fee paid and the date of revocation of
all licenses revoked.
A violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be an offense punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalties. Violations hereof, which shall continue for more than seven days, shall be a separate and additional violation for each week thereafter or portion thereof during which such violations continues.
This chapter is hereby adopted pursuant to the provisions of § 10
of the Municipal Home Rule Law. It is the intent of the Town Board pursuant
to § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law, to supersede any provisions
of state or local laws regarding same.
