[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of New Hope 1-10-1983 by Ord. No. 237 (Ch. 25, Part 1 of the
1990 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Shade Tree Commission — See Ch. 52.
The following words and phrases, when used in
these regulations, shall have the meanings hereby ascribed to them,
except in those instances where the context already indicates a different
meaning:
The Shade Tree Commission of the Borough of New Hope.
Any permit specified by the Borough Council and issued by
the Shade Tree Officer.
Any natural person, firm, association, partnership or corporation.
Any street, sidewalk, or alley officially listed on the commonwealth
survey for New Hope Borough.
Any tree, shrub or other woody plant on any public highway
in the Borough of New Hope, or that part of any tree, shrub or other
woody plant which extends within the lines of any public highway.
[Amended 1-20-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02]
The Shade Tree Commission shall have the exclusive
custody and control of the shade trees on and along the streets and
highways of the Borough, and may plant, remove, maintain and protect
shade trees along the streets and highways of the Borough. The Commission
may require the cost of planting or replanting of shade trees along
the streets and highways of the Borough to be borne by the property
owner. The alignment and locations of the trees shall be determined
by the Commission but shall not prevent necessary and reasonable use
of the streets, sidewalks, abutting property or conduct of business.
When determined necessary, the Shade Tree Commission shall have the
ability to conduct a hazardous tree survey of shade trees. The survey
shall be conducted in conjunction with a certified arborist; and the
survey shall conform to the standards issued by the International
Society of Arboriculture (ISA). If authorized by Council, the Commission
may notify the owner of any property with a shade tree of the contents
of such survey regarding a specific shade tree.
No person shall plant, cut down, or remove any
shade trees under the jurisdiction of the Shade Tree Commission without
first obtaining a permit from the Shade Tree Officer. No person shall
fasten any sign, wire, rope or other materials to, around or through
any shade tree under the jurisdiction of the Shade Tree Commission,
or deposit, place, store or maintain any stone, brick, sand, concrete,
or other material which may impede the free passage of water, air
or fertilizer to the roots of any such shade tree. Exception: Newly
planted trees may be guyed to provide stability during the first growing
season.
[Amended 7-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-9]
The application for the permit required hereabove
shall be made in writing by the owner, tenant with the owner's written
permission, purchaser under contract of sale, or authorized agent,
on forms approved by the Borough Council by resolution from time to
time, and shall be filed with the Shade Tree Officer. At the time
of making application, each applicant shall pay a fee in accordance
with a fee schedule to be adopted by resolution of Borough Council.
The applicant shall specify the particular kind of work or operation
the applicant desires to perform thereunder and shall state the exact
location of such work. Any application not acted upon within 45 days
from the date thereof shall be deemed to have been granted and allowed.
[Amended 7-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-9; 3-21-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-02]
As a condition to any permit to remove any shade tree, the Shade
Tree Commission shall require that the applicant plant, at the applicant's
expense, another tree in the place of the one removed. The Shade Tree
Commission in such case shall direct the time within which the work
shall be done. In cases where the planting of a new shade tree in
place of the one removed would, in the judgment of the Shade Tree
Commission, prevent the necessary and reasonable use of a street,
sidewalk, abutting property, or the conduct of business, the Shade
Tree Commission may release the applicant from the requirement of
planting a new tree, provided that the applicant pays to New Hope
Borough a fee-in-lieu, in an amount set by resolution of Borough Council,
for each tree, which sum shall be set aside by the Borough and used
exclusively for shade trees.
In the event of a shade tree being damaged,
the Shade Tree Commission may make a charge for repairs to the tree,
plus the devaluation of the tree against the person causing the damage
to the said tree. In the event of a shade tree being destroyed by
any person, the Shade Tree Commission may make a charge for the appraised
value of the tree, plus the cost of removal and replacement thereof,
against the person causing the destruction of said tree.
No person shall break, injure, mutilate, kill
or destroy any shade tree or set fire or permit any fire to burn where
such a fire or the heat thereof will injure any shade tree, and no
person shall knowingly permit any leak to exist in any gas or main
within the root zone of any such shade tree or permit any toxic chemical,
either solid or liquid, to seep, drain or be emptied on or about any
such shade tree, or permit any wire designed to carry electric current
to come in contract with any shade tree unless protected by a method
to be approved by the Shade Tree Commission. No person shall attach
any electric installation to any shade tree or excavate any ditches,
tunnels or trenches or lay any driveway within a ten-foot radius of
any shade tree without first obtaining a written permit from the Shade
Tree Commission.
[Amended 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-02; 1-20-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02]
A.
The owner of the property with a shade tree shall trim branches from
any shade trees overhanging a public highway in New Hope Borough so
that they will not obstruct the light from any streetlight, and so
that there will be a clear height of at least 13 feet above the surface
of the street and eight feet over any sidewalk or walking path.
B.
The owner of the property with a shade tree shall trim and/or remove
any branches that are dead, broken or are dangerous that overhang
any public street.
When any tree along the streets or highways
of the Borough, or growing on private property but overhanging any
street or highway, in the opinion of the Commission, endangers the
life, health, safety or property of the public, or is affected by
any contagious disease or insect infestation, it shall be within the
discretion of the Commission to determine what remedy is necessary
and whether or not such tree must be removed. The owner of the property
shall be notified in writing of the existence of the danger, disease,
or insect infestation and shall be given reasonable time for removal
of the same. If a dangerous, diseased, or infested tree is not removed
or corrected within the allotted time by the property owner, the Commission
shall cause the matter to be corrected or the tree removed, and the
costs thereof to be assessed to the owner of the property.
An open space shall be provided at least 10
inches wider in diameter than the diameter of the root ball for the
planting of a shade tree.
[Amended 7-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-9]
The Shade Tree Commission shall publish and
recommend to the Borough Council for adoption by resolution shade
tree and landscape planting standards for reference in the Zoning
Ordinance and Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. The Zoning
Officer shall provide such standards to all applicants for subdivisions
and land developments, as well as for zoning, building and other permits
where the provision of shade trees and/or landscape plantings are
required by ordinance.
[Amended 8-13-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-2; 7-12-2005 by Ord. No.
2005-9]
Any person, partnership, association or corporation
who shall fail, neglect or refuse to comply with any of the terms
or provisions of this chapter or any regulation or requirement pursuant
thereto and authorized thereby shall be subject to a fine not to exceed
$600 and costs. Fines imposed by this section shall be in addition
to any other penalties imposed by any other section of this chapter
and any other remedies set forth by any other section of this chapter,
and shall be in addition to any and all other remedies in law or equity
available to the Borough of New Hope. In addition, the Commission
may assess penalties for the violation of this chapter and the regulations
of the Commission, and any penalty so assessed shall be a lien upon
the real estate of the offender and may be collected as municipal
claims are collected.
