[Adopted 11-3-2003 by Ord. No. 1447[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former
Ch. 384, Art. I, Shade Tree Committee and Tree Mainteannce, adopted
12-18-2000 by Ord. No. 1320.
There is hereby created the Borough of River
Edge Shade Tree Commission. The regulation, planting, care and control
of shade and ornamental trees and shrubbery upon and in (1) the streets,
highways, public places, parks and parkways of the Borough of River
Edge except state highways, unless the Department of Transportation
shall assent thereto, and except county highways, parks and parkways,
if a county shade tree commission is operative and gives assent to,
shall be exercised by and under the authority of the Commission. The
Commission shall consist of five members and two alternate members
appointed by the Mayor who shall be residents of the Borough of River
Edge and shall serve without compensation except as hereinafter provided.
A.
The first Commissioners shall be appointed within
60 days after the effective date of this article, and their terms
of office shall commence upon the date of their appointment and be
for the respective periods: One member for a one-year term, one member
for a two-year term, one member for a three-year term, one member
for a four-year term, one member for a five-year term. All commissioners
shall serve without compensation.
B.
The term of each appointee shall be designated in
his or her appointment. All subsequent appointments, except to fill
vacancies, shall be for the full term of five years, to take effect
on January 1 next succeeding such appointment. In event that the membership
of any commission is increased, the new members shall be appointed
in such manner that the terms shall expire in accordance with the
foregoing.
A.
Two alternate members, designated as “Alternate
No. 1” and “Alternate No. 2” at time of appointment,
shall serve during the absence or disqualification of any regular
member or members.
B.
The initial term of “Alternate No. 1”
shall be for five years, commencing on the day of appointment and
expiring in the fifth December 31 next. The initial term of “Alternate
No. 2” shall be for four years, commencing on the day of appointment
and expiring on the fourth December 31 next. Subsequent appointments
of alternate members shall be for terms of five years.
The Commission shall organize within 30 days
after the appointment of its total membership for the remainder of
the then calendar year, and thereafter annually, by the election of
one of its members as Chairman, and the appointment of a Secretary,
who need not be a member.
Any vacancy occurring by reason of the death,
resignation or removal of any Commissioner shall be filled for the
unexpired term by the Mayor.
The Shade Tree Commission organized under this
article shall have power to:
A.
Exercise full and exclusive control over the regulation, planting and care of shade and ornamental trees and shrubbery now located, or which may hereafter be planted, in any public highway and parkway, except such as are excluded pursuant to § 384-1 of this article, including the planting, trimming, spraying, care and protection thereof, except that no tree or shrubbery shall be planted in or removed from any Borough park, playground, recreational area, or other area under the jurisdiction of the River Edge Recreation Commission pursuant to Code § 79-4, without the consent of the River Edge Recreation Commission and the River Edge Shade Tree Commission. Should the Commissions not be able to agree on a planting or removal, the final determination shall be made by the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 2-16-2010 by Ord. No. 1683]
B.
Regulate and control the use of the ground surrounding
the same, so far as may be necessary for their proper growth, care
and protection;
C.
Move or require the removal of any tree, or part thereof,
dangerous to public safety. Whenever the Department of Public Works
Superintendent, or his designee, shall determine that a tree, or a
part thereof, creates an imminent danger to public safety, the Department
of Public Works may remove said tree, or part thereof, to eliminate
the dangerous condition, without prior approval from the Shade Tree
Commission. The Department of Public Works Superintendent, or his
designee, shall make every reasonable effort practicable under the
circumstances to communicate and consult with the Shade Tree Commission
before removing a tree or a part thereof.
[Amended 5-3-2010 by Ord. No. 1704]
D.
Make, alter, amend and repeal any and all ordinances
necessary or proper for carrying out the provisions hereof in the
same manner as prescribed for the passage, alteration, amendment and
repeal of ordinances by the Mayor and Council;
E.
Administer treatment to, or remove, any tree situated
upon private property which is believed to be a hazard or to harbor
a disease or insects readily communicable to neighboring healthy trees
in the care of this municipality and enter upon private property for
that purpose, with the consent of the owner thereof, provided the
suspected condition is first confirmed by certificate issued by or
on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture; and
F.
Encourage arboriculture.
Except as hereinafter provided, the initial
cost of all trees planted by the Commission, the cost of planting
the same, the cost of the posts and boxes or guards used for the protection
thereof, and the cost of the removal of any tree or part thereof dangerous
to public safety shall, if the Commission shall so determine, in accordance
with uniform rules and regulations promulgated for this purpose, be
a charge upon the real estate in front of which such tree or trees
shall be planted or removed as an improvement thereof. Such cost,
if it is so determined that it is to be paid by the owner, shall,
unless paid directly to the Commission, be certified by it to the
Tax Collector of the Borough of River Edge, shall thereupon become
and be a lien upon said real estate, shall be included in the next
tax bill rendered to the owner or owners thereof, and be collected
in the same manner as other taxes against that property. Moneys received
by the Commission shall be paid over to the Chief Financial Officer
of the Borough and kept by him in a special fund which shall be under
the control of the Commission and used only for the purpose of defraying
the costs of planting and maintaining shade and ornamental trees and
shrubbery in the Borough and for the other expenses of the Commission.
The provisions of § 384-7 above shall not apply to:
In every case where the property of an abutting
owner will be chargeable with the cost of the planting of any shade
tree or trees, the Borough shall give notice of the meeting at which
it is proposed to consider said planting by publishing the notice
at least once, not less than 20 days before the meeting, in a newspaper
circulating in the Borough, or by personal service of a copy of the
notice upon the abutting owner at least 10 days before the meeting.
The notice shall specify the street, streets, or portions thereof,
on which such planting is proposed and require all persons who may
object thereto to present their objections at the office of the Commission
at or before the meeting. Before final action shall be taken, all
objections so filed shall be considered. The Commission shall give
reasonable notice of its intention to remove, or cause the removal,
of a tree or part of a tree dangerous to public safety, unless public
safety requires immediate removal, in which case no notice shall be
necessary.
A.
No statute giving any person or state, county or municipal
board, body or official, power or authority to lay any sidewalk along,
or to open, construct, curb or pave any street, or to do any similar
act, shall be construed to permit or authorize any interference with
or injury to a highway shade tree without the consent of the shade
tree commission within whose jurisdiction such tree shall be located.
In all cases such commission shall reasonably cooperate with such
person, board, body or official for the general public good.
B.
Nothing contained in this article shall be held to
take away or diminish any of the powers or authority of the Bergen
County Park Commission over the trees or shrubbery in any Bergen County
park or parkway within its jurisdiction, or to give any other commission
or board any power or authority with respect to such trees or shrubbery.
A.
During the month of December in each year, the Shade
Tree Commission shall certify to the Mayor and Council the estimated
sum necessary for the proper conduct of its work during the ensuing
fiscal year, which shall include the sums estimated to be expended
for such of the following items as it is anticipated expenditure will
be made for; namely:
(1)
Payment of wages and salaries of employees;
(2)
Expenses of Commission members in discharging official
duties, including expenses incident to attendance at professional
meetings;
(3)
Purchase of trees and shrubbery; and
(4)
Purchase of necessary equipment and materials and
the cost of services for the prudent promotion of the work.
B.
The Mayor and Council shall annually appropriate such
sum as they may deem necessary for said purposes.
The Shade Tree Commission is hereby authorized
and empowered to promulgate such ordinances as may be necessary, pursuant
to statute, and for the proper interpretation, administration and
enforcement of this basic ordinance, provided that such ordinances
do not conflict with this ordinance and conform to the general standards
prescribed by this article.
A.
The Commission may prescribe a fine for violation
of its ordinances in any amount not exceeding $1,500 for each violation,
and the Municipal Court of River Edge shall have jurisdiction over
actions for the violation of such ordinances, and its ordinances shall
be enforced by like proceedings and process as that provided by law
for the enforcement of Borough ordinances. The officers authorized
by law to serve and execute process for the Municipal Court shall
be the officers to serve and execute any process issued out of the
Municipal Court for violations of the ordinances of the Commission.
B.
In lieu of an appraisal, the Commission may adopt
a formula and schedule based upon the number of square inches contained
in a cross section of the trunk of the tree multiplied by a predetermined
value in the Guide for Plant Appraisal by ISA.
[Amended 6-20-2005 by Ord. No. 1497]
C.
Any public utility or cable television company that
clears, moves, cuts or destroys any trees, shrubs, or plants for the
purpose of erecting, installing, moving, removing, altering or maintaining
any structures or fixtures necessary for the supply of electric light,
heat or power, communication, or cable television services upon any
lands in which it has acquired an easement or right-of-way shall not
be subject to any penalty imposed by a Commission pursuant to this
section. This subsection shall not exempt any public utility or cable
television company from any penalty or replacement assessment imposed
for negligent actions.
D.
A copy of any ordinance of this Commission, certified
to under the hand of its Secretary or Chairman, shall be received
in any court of this state as full and legal proof of the existence
of the ordinance and that all requirements of law in relation to the
ordaining, publishing and making of the same, so as to make it legal
and binding, have been complied with, unless the contrary be shown.
All moneys collected, either as fines or penalties,
for any violation of a rule or regulation of a Shade Tree Commission
enacted by ordinance, or as a charge against real estate, under any
provision of this article shall be forthwith paid over to the custodian
of the municipal finds.
All regulations adopted by the Shade Tree Commission
shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk for inspection by the public
during regular business hours.
