[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Cresskill 1-1-1981
by Ord. No. 80-23-780 as Ch. 124 of the 1981 Code. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Any person henceforth building any residence, dwelling, apartment or
multiple-family dwelling house within the Borough shall, at his own expense,
plant shade trees along the streets upon which the building lot fronts and
abuts in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and such person shall
post a bond of $50 for each tree, such moneys to be deposited with the Borough
Clerk and held by him for a period of two years, at which time the Shade Tree
Committee or Public Works Superintendent shall inspect the shade trees and,
if in satisfactory condition, release the moneys to the aforementioned.
A.
The Building Inspector shall make the requirement of § 214-1 a part of every building permit hereafter issued, and he shall not issue a certificate of occupancy for any such building until such planting has been satisfactorily completed; provided, however, that he may issue a conditional certificate of occupancy outside of the planting season after the applicant furnishes a satisfactory bond, approved by the Mayor and Council, conditioned upon his completing the planting within the next planting season.
B.
Upon the completion of such deferred planting, the applicant
shall notify the Building Inspector, who shall thereupon make an inspection
thereof, and if the same is satisfactory, he shall issue a final certificate
of occupancy and report the same to the Mayor and Council for release of the
bond.
C.
The fee for such deferred inspection shall be $5.
It shall be unlawful for any person to do any of the following acts
in any way so as to injure or destroy any shade tree within the Borough:
A.
To cut, break or injure any shade tree or any part thereof.
B.
To place any rope, wire, sign, poster or other fixture
on a shade tree or tree guard.
C.
To damage, misuse or remove any device placed to protect
any shade tree.
D.
To operate a motor vehicle so as to injure or damage
any shade tree.
E.
To permit fire to come into contact with a shade tree
so as to injure or damage it.
No person shall climb any shade tree on any of the public streets or
places by the use of spurs or other instruments which perforate or injure
the bark of such tree, nor shall any person destroy, mutilate or injure any
such shade tree.
No person shall fasten any electric wire or wires upon any shade tree
on any public streets or places.
No person shall remove, cut down or prune any shade tree located upon
any public streets, places or easements without a permit therefor from the
Shade Tree Committee.
It shall be lawful for the Mayor and Council or their agents or the
Chief of Police to require the removal of any tree or part thereof within
the Borough on public property or property which is dedicated to public use
or for which an easement has been granted to the Borough which is dangerous
to the safety of any person or property within the Borough.
A.
Wherever and whenever it shall be deemed necessary or
expedient for the preservation of public safety, the owner or tenant of any
lands within the Borough shall, upon notification by the Police Department
or the Mayor and Council or their agents, be required to cut back to a height
of not more than 2 1/2 feet, or to remove the same, any and all shrubs, bushes,
hedges or other plant life growing upon the property owned or occupied by
him within 10 feet of any street and within 25 feet from the point of intersection
of the sidelines of any streets. If, in the determination of the Chief of
Police, it shall be deemed necessary or expedient for the preservation of
the public safety to cut back or remove shrubs, bushes, hedges or other plant
life set back more than 10 feet from any street, but less than 25 feet, he
shall give written notice to the property owner or person in possession, who
shall comply with such direction. It shall be the responsibility of the person
in possession of property, as owner or tenant, to maintain all shade and ornamental
trees, hedges and other plant life growing on private property, so that the
lowest branches overhanging a sidewalk area are at a height of not less than
14 feet six inches above ground level.
[Amended 5-20-1986 by Ord.
No. 86-13-930]
B.
The Mayor and Council and the Police Department are hereby
empowered to determine the necessity or expediency of the foregoing matters,
and they shall give the property owner or tenant 10 days' written notice to
cut back or remove such growth. In the event of a dispute between the Police
Department and the Mayor and Council, the judgment and determination of the
Mayor and Council shall be controlling. Each shall furnish to the other copies
of any and all notices given to property owners or tenants hereunder.
C.
Upon failure of the owner or tenant to comply with the
notice, the Mayor and Council and their agents are hereby authorized and empowered
to cut back the same, and they may enter upon private property if necessary
in order to do so.
D.
Where such action is taken, the reasonable cost of any
such work performed shall be certified to the Mayor and Council, who shall,
under the provisions of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey, charge the same
against the lands involved, to be added to and become a part of the taxes
next to be assessed and levied upon such lands.
No person shall hereafter plant or permit to be planted any poplar or
willow tree in the Borough of Cresskill.
All poplar or willow trees standing within 40 feet of any sewer or water
main now or hereafter constructed are hereby declared to be nuisances, and
all such trees standing in a public street or public place shall be removed
by the Shade Tree Committee, and all such trees standing on private property
within 40 feet of such sewer or water main shall be removed by the owner thereof
within 30 days after written notice to that effect is given to such owner
by the Shade Tree Committee.
[Amended 9-21-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-14-1114]
No trees, shrubs or hedges shall be planted within the Borough's right-of-way
without prior permission of the Shade Tree Committee.
A.
Shade tree definition. Small trees are designated as
those attaining a height of 25 feet. Medium trees are designated as those
attaining a height of 45 feet. Large trees are designated as those attaining
a height of 45 feet or more.
B.
Planting restrictions. The spacing for planting of street
trees shall be in accordance with the three size classes listed under "Shade
tree definition": small tree, 30 feet; medium tree, 40 feet; large tree, 50
feet, except in special plantings approved by the Shade Tree Committee.
C.
When practicable, the planting distance from curbs or
curblines and sidewalks shall be in accordance with the three size classes,
as follows: small tree, two feet; medium tree, three feet; large tree, four
feet.
D.
No street trees, other than those species classified
as small trees, may be planted closer than 15 feet to the vertical plane of
an existing power line, excluding service wires, or within 7 1/2 lateral feet
of any underground water line, sewer line or other utility.
E.
There shall be kept clean of lawn, vegetation and weeds
an area of a minimum of one foot around the base of newly planted trees. The
intent of this action is to prevent injury to newly planted trees from lawn
mowers and trimmers.
