It shall be the purpose of this article to preserve
and protect the environment, aesthetics and rural character of the
Township of Hillsborough by restricting and otherwise controlling
the removal of mature trees throughout all land within the Township.
As used in article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
TREE
Any nursery stock tree with a caliper measurement of 2.5
inches, any flowering or ornamental tree with a caliper measurement
of three inches or greater, any deciduous or coniferous tree of six-inch
caliper or greater or any coniferous tree eight feet or greater in
height.
CALIPER
The diameter of a trunk as measured at a height of four feet
above grade.
CROP
To cut off the branches, top or trunk of a tree.
CRITICAL FOOTPRINT AREA
An area of new home construction that includes the portions
of a private residential lot reserved for driveways and the actual
building foot print plus an additional 40 feet beyond the perimeter
of the building footprint and septic field.
PRUNE
To cut off or remove living or dead parts or branches of
a tree.
UNDERSTORY
The plant growth on the ground beneath the canopy, or upper
branches of trees.
Replacement trees are required for the removal
of any tree as regulated herein.
A. Number of replacement trees. Replacement shall be required in accordance with the following schedule, and are exclusive of the shade trees required as per §
188-80:
|
Caliper of Removed Tree
|
Number of Replacement Trees
|
---|
|
6 to 12 inches
|
2
|
|
13 to 24 inches
|
4
|
|
25+ inches
|
6
|
B. Replacement species. Trees shall be replaced with
the same species. In the case where the species is known to be disease-prone
or is otherwise not ecologically or aesthetically appropriate, other
species shall be permitted with the approval of the appropriate Board.
C. Planting standards. All replacement trees shall be
nursery grown, certified and guaranteed and shall have a minimum caliper
of 3.0 inches, or the industry standard equivalent for the species
if ornamental. All trees shall be balled and burlapped and planted
as per Township of Hillsborough standards.
D. Off-site contribution. If all required replacement
trees cannot be provided on the subject lot(s), an off-site contribution
to the Township of Hillsborough Parks Department of a like number
of trees or cash equivalent to be placed in a dedicated fund to be
used for the purchase of replacement trees by the Township of Hillsborough
or for the purchase of equipment for the Township of Hillsborough
to plant and/or maintain trees which are purchased by the Township
of Hillsborough with these dedicated funds for use on public property
and/or public right-of-way shall be considered by the Planning Board
or Board of Adjustment, as the case may be.
[Amended 2-10-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-02]
E. Economic hardship waiver. In the case of commercial
development, the Planning Board or the Board of Adjustment, as the
case may be, will reduce the replanting requirement if the commercial
developer can prove mitigation costs more than 1.5% of total site
improvements for a commercial development. This reduction will limit
the mitigation cost to 1.5% of the site improvements. In the case
of residential development, the Planning Board or the Board of Adjustment,
as the case may be, will reduce the replanting requirement if the
residential developer can prove mitigation costs more than 1.5% of
the total site improvements for a residential development. This reduction
will limit the mitigation cost to 1.5% of the site improvements. The
reduction in replanting will be approved at the site plan application
stage. For the purpose of this section, the total site improvement
costs shall include the estimated cost of construction for any proposed
dwelling(s), commercial building(s) and any other structure(s) associated
with the proposed development in addition to those costs normally
associated with site preparation, soil erosion control, paving, utility
work, landscaping and related site improvements.
[Amended 2-10-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-02]
Pruning and removal of trees in utility easements
or rights of way shall be the minimum necessary to protect the property
of the applicable utility company. Pruning shall be performed in a
manner than will serve to improve the shape of the tree and stimulate
growth. The Township Engineer's office shall be informed by the applicable
utility company of the time and location of any tree pruning or removal
activities in rights-of-way or easements.
Violation of the provisions of this article
shall be considered a Class C violation for each tree illegally removed,
and for each day the offense continues without mitigation and application
to the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment, as the case may be.
A mitigation plan is required to be submitted for corrective action
where any violation of the requirements of this article occurs.