[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Babylon as Ch. III, Art. IX, of the 1938 Code of
Ordinances (Ch. 231 of the 1981 Code); amended in its entirety 2-26-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the Public Tree Law for the Village
of Babylon, Suffolk County, State of New York.
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the provisions of Village
Law and the General Municipal Law to establish a public Tree Advisory
Board in the Village of Babylon in order to achieve the following
purposes:
A.Â
Promote efficient and cost-effective management of the Village's
community forest by assuring that decisions regarding the care and
maintenance of public trees are consistent within the Village and
in accordance with an overall tree management plan.
B.Â
Reduce the Village's exposure to liability by eliminating sources
of tree-related hazards as they become evident and by reducing occurrences
of tree hazards through improved care and maintenance.
C.Â
Maintain all public trees in a healthy and attractive condition through
good cultural practices (i.e., accepted standards of maintenance).
D.Â
Establish and maintain the maximum sustainable tree cover in order
to protect and enhance the environment and the character of the Village.
E.Â
Establish and maintain an optimal level of age and species diversity
through the use of an ongoing tree inventory and tree management plan.
F.Â
Centralize tree management under a voluntary, permanent Tree Advisory
Board.
G.Â
Maintain a system that clearly identifies roles for Tree Advisory
Board members and community volunteers and facilitates the coordination
of tree work between these entities and the Village's staff,
elected officials, Village Horticulturist and Highway Department.
H.Â
Assist the Village Board in establishing and maintaining a tree management
budget and the means for funding it.
I.Â
Foster community support through regular educational outreach, and
encourage good citizen tree management practices through knowledge
sharing.
As used in this chapter or as may be relevant in the operation
of the Tree Advisory Board, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The cultivation of trees and shrubs, including the study
of how they grow and respond to cultural practices and the environment,
as well as aspects of cultivation such as selection, planting, care
and removal.
Trained specialist certified by the International Society
of Arboriculture or one of its chapters or other nationally recognized
arboricultural organizations with expertise in tree management.
The diameter of a tree trunk, taken six inches aboveground
for up to and including four-inch caliper size, and the diameter at
breast height for larger trees.
The projected measurement of the total crown size that a
tree or trees in a specified area will attain at maturity.
All portions of a tree, excluding the trunk and roots, such
as branches and foliage.
The diameter or caliper of a tree trunk at the height of
4Â 1/2 feet aboveground.
Any tree having an infectious disease or insect problem,
being dead or dying, having limbs that obstruct street lights, traffic
lights, etc., or a tree that poses a threat to public safety from
falling limbs.
Any tree located on public property, within a public easement
or public right-of-way including trees growing in the strip of land
between the edge of the street and the sidewalk. For properties not
laid out on a filed subdivision plat, the public right-of-way includes
public property only and is not intended to include the private property
of any landowner.
A program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation
in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association
of State Foresters which gives recognition to communities for providing
a basic level of human and financial resources to manage their community
forests.
Any removal, breaking, pruning, destruction or injury of
any tree covered by the provisions of this chapter.
An inventory of existing public trees, where possible, within
the Village, indicating species, location, size, age and condition.
Inventories of Village trees should include street trees, park trees,
public trees and roadside trees.
That part of the public right-of-way not covered by sidewalk,
lying between the property line and the edge of pavement, including
but not limited to the strip of land between the edge of the street
and the sidewalk.
A written plan used to guide the Village on key goals and
objectives as they relate to the overall health and maintenance of
the Villages' public trees, which includes recommendations on
tree maintenance and improvements, tracks and analyzes the inventory
of trees and provides a simple, organized strategy for the implementation
of the key goals and objectives.
The plot, parcel or piece of land or part thereof owned,
leased or donated to the Village where trees are cultivated for transplanting.
The Mayor and Board of Trustees of the Village of Babylon.
A.Â
Composition of the Advisory Board. There is hereby created a Village
Tree Advisory Board for the Village of Babylon. The Board shall consist
of five members, no fewer than three of whom shall be residents of
the Village of Babylon. Knowledge of horticulture and/or arboriculture
is highly desirable, but shall not be a requirement for membership
on the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board shall be appointed by the
Village Board by resolution. The initial terms of office for the members
of the Advisory Board shall be three years for two members; two years
for two members; and one year for one member. Thereafter, on the expiration
of a member's term, subsequent appointments shall be for a term
of three years. All appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the
unexpired term. The Village Board shall appoint a member of the Advisory
Board to act as Chairman. Each appointment shall be for three years.
B.Â
Authority of the Advisory Board. The Tree Advisory Board is an advisory
body to the Village's staff, elected officials, Village Horticulturist
and Highway Department.
C.Â
Compensation and funding. The members of the Tree Advisory Board
shall not be compensated for their services. A function of the Tree
Advisory Board shall be to solicit grants and funds in order to carry
out their intended purposes, which include to achieve and maintain
the Village be designated as a Tree City, USA.
D.Â
Professional assistance. The Advisory Board may, if necessary to fulfill its functions, utilize the services of licensed professionals to assist the Advisory Board. Requests for such professional services shall be made to the Village, and hiring of such professionals, with the recommendation of the Advisory Board, shall be made by the Village Board. The Advisory Board may also consult with the Village Horticulturist to achieve the goals set forth in § 336-2.
E.Â
Meetings. The Advisory Board shall meet regularly as it so determines.
The Advisory Board shall adopt rules and regulations, not inconsistent
with this chapter, for the conduct of meetings, responsibilities of
appointed members, and the conduct of the business of the Advisory
Board and shall file a copy of the rules and regulations, and any
amendments thereto, with the Village Clerk.
F.Â
Tree Management Plan. The Tree Management Plan will compile and organize all public tree related data of concern to Village government and will offer guidance for tree maintenance and improvements based on the goals outlined in § 336-2 above. It will include long-term planning, tree planting and maintenance programs for all public trees and tree pits in the Village and may include recommendations and goals related to shrubs, vines and other plant species located on public property and in the Village's public easements and public rights-of-way as these goals relate to public trees.
G.Â
Recommendations for tree selection, maintenance, removal and care.
The Advisory Board shall make recommendations to the Village's
staff, elected officials, Recreation Board, Village Horticulturist
and Highway Department for the selection, planting, maintenance and
care of trees along public highways, public easements and public rights-of-way
or within Village parks and on Village property. The Advisory Board
may work in conjunction with the Village Horticulturist when making
said recommendations. The Village Highway Department and Village Horticulturist
shall, except in cases of emergency, consult with the Advisory Board
before removing or ordering the removal of any tree of significance.
In providing such advice, the Advisory Board may examine the subject
tree(s) and may consult with the Village Horticulturist. The Advisory
Board may also make recommendations to the Highway Department and
Village Horticulturist concerning those trees which present a hazard
because of death, age, infectious disease, insect infestation or overgrowth
which obstructs street lights and traffic and street signs, or any
other condition which requires the treatment, cutting or removal of
the tree.
H.Â
Dissemination of tree information. The Advisory Board shall assist
the officers and employees of the Village, as well as residents, in
the dissemination of information regarding the importance of selection,
planting and maintenance of trees within the Village, whether on public
or private property.
I.Â
Other responsibilities. The Advisory Board shall fulfill such other
and further responsibilities imposed upon it by the Village Trustees,
from time to time, as may reasonably be necessary to affect the purposes
and intent of this chapter.
A.Â
Sidewalk-root conflict mitigation. During repair or repaving of sidewalks and streets within the Village, reasonable care shall be taken to preserve the root structure of public trees. Applications made to the Highway Department for a street or sidewalk opening permit under Chapter 308, Streets and Sidewalks, of the Village Code shall make note of the location of all public trees within 10 feet of the proposed work area, and any application noting such tree involvement shall be forwarded to the Tree Advisory Board for an advisory opinion about necessary protective measures prior to approval. The Highway Department shall also notify the Tree Advisory Board of any planned municipal sidewalk work that could potentially impact public tree root structures and shall consult with the Advisory Board on strategies for preserving root structure and tree health while achieving the Village's sidewalk repair and repaving goals.
B.Â
Cooperation with utility pruning work. Utility companies or their
agents or contractors shall notify the Village of Babylon in writing
at least two weeks before engaging in routine tree cutting of any
public trees upon or overhanging the streets, sidewalks and public
rights-of-way proposed in connection with efforts to prevent the trees
from coming in contact with utility wires, lines or cables. Routine
trimming of trees near utility lines must be done in accordance with
accepted industry standards by experienced arborists so as to provide
for continued reliable service to utility customers while maintaining
a healthy and aesthetically attractive shade tree canopy in the Village.
A copy of the utility's notification letter shall be immediately
forwarded to the Tree Advisory Board in order that appropriate cooperation
can be initiated.
A.Â
Any person committing an offense against any provision of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a violation pursuant
to the Penal Law of the State of New York, punishable by a fine not
exceeding $250 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense
against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute, for each
day the offense is continued, a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
B.Â
In addition or as an alternative to the above-provided penalties,
the Board of Trustees may also maintain an action or proceeding in
the name of the Village in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel
compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation of this
chapter.
