[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Haddon 2-26-2008 by Ord. No. 1204.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The regulation, planting, care and control of shade
and ornamental trees and woody shrubs upon and in the streets, highways,
public spaces owned by the Township of Haddon and which provide public
access, allowing for activities such as pedestrian and vehicular travel,
active and passive recreation, and flood control, and parks and parkways
of the Township of Haddon 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 thereto, and excepting public places for which management
responsibility is designated as belonging to the Environmental Commission
(such as Saddler's Woods) or other municipal body, or which are designated
as "conservation areas," or which are densely forested public places
of size greater than 1/2 acre that are preserved under conservation
easements or deed restrictions, shall be exercised by and under the
authority of Haddon Township Shade Tree Commission, which is hereby
created.
B.
The Commission shall consist of five members, and
may include not more than two alternate members.
C.
The members and alternate members shall be appointed
by the Mayor and shall be residents of the Township of Haddon and
shall serve without compensation.
A.
The first Commissioners shall be appointed within
60 days after the effective date of this chapter, and their terms
of office shall commence upon the date of their appointment and be
for the respective periods: five members, of one, two, three, four
and five years. The term of each appointee shall be designated in
his 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.
B.
Alternate members.
(1)
If the ordinance provides for the appointment of two
alternate members, the term of each alternate member shall be five
years commencing on January 1 of the year of appointment; provided,
however, that in the event two alternate members are appointed, the
initial term of Alternate No. 1 shall be five years, and the initial
term of Alternate No. 2 shall be four years.
(2)
An alternate member may participate in discussions
of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification
of a regular member. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular
member may vote instead of an alternate member.
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. The salary of the secretary, who may be
compensated even if a member of the Commission, shall be fixed by
the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Haddon.
Any vacancy occurring by reason of the death,
resignation or removal of any Commissioner shall be filled for the
unexpired term by the Mayor or other chief executive of this Township
of Haddon.
The Shade Tree Commission organized under this
chapter shall have power to:
A.
Exercise full and exclusive control over the regulation, planting and care of shade and ornamental trees and woody shrubs now located, or which may hereafter be planted, in any public highway and park or parkway, except such as are excluded pursuant to § 197-1 of this chapter including the planting, trimming, spraying, care and protection thereof.
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.
D.
Make, alter, amend and repeal, in the manner prescribed
for the passage, alteration, amendment and repeal of the ordinances
by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Haddon, any and all
ordinances necessary or proper for carrying out the provisions hereof.
E.
Administer treatment to, or remove, any tree situated
upon private property which is believed to harbor a disease of insects
readily communicable to neighboring healthy trees in the care of the
Township of Haddon 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.
F.
Encourage arboriculture.
A.
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
collector of taxes of the Township of Haddon, 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 shall be collected
in the same manner as other taxes against that property.
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 Commission 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 Township of Haddon, 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.
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.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to take away or diminish
any of the powers or authority of the Camden County Park Commission
over the trees or woody shrubs in any Camden 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 woody shrubs.
A.
During the month of December in each year, the Shade
Tree Commission shall certify to the Board of Commissioners of the
Township of Haddon 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 woody shrubs; and
(4)
Purchase of necessary equipment and materials and
the cost of services for the prudent promotion of the work.
B.
The Board of Commissioners of the Township of Haddon
shall annually appropriate such sum as it may deem necessary for said
purposes.
A.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the Township of Haddon, or such other court having jurisdiction, be liable for fines and penalties as set forth in § 1-15 of the Code of the Township of Haddon, at the discretion of the court. Each day that a violation occurs shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation, subject to the penalty provisions of this section.
B.
A copy of any ordinance of the 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.
C.
In addition to the penalties authorized by Subsection A of this section, the Commission may require a person who removes, damages and/or otherwise destroys a tree in violation of a municipal ordinance to pay a replacement assessment to the Township of Haddon. The replacement assessment shall be the value of the tree as determined by the appraisal of a trained forester or certified tree expert retained by the Commission for that purpose. 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 per square inch, not to exceed $27 per square inch. The square-inch cross-section shall be calculated from the diameter at breast height and, if there is a multiple-stem tree, then each trunk shall be measured and an average shall be determined for the tree. For the purposes of this section, "diameter at breast height" shall mean the diameter of the tree taken at a point 4.5 feet above ground level. The Commission shall modify the value of the tree upon its species variety, location and its condition at the time of removal or destruction.
D.
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 Subsection A or B of this section. This subsection shall not exempt any public utility or cable television company from any penalty or replacement assessment imposed for negligent actions.
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 chapter shall be forthwith paid over to the custodian
of the municipal funds.
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 chapter, provided that such ordinances do
not conflict with this chapter and conform to the general standards
prescribed by this chapter.
All regulations adopted by the Shade Tree Commission
shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk for inspection by the public
during regular business hours.
This chapter has been adopted by the Board of
Commissioners of the Township of Haddon pursuant to the authority
vested in this municipality under Title 40, Chapter 64, Sections 1
through 14, as amended, of Public Laws of New Jersey 1996, Chapter
42.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Shade Tree Commission of the Township of Haddon.
Beyond the scope of the standard operating procedure ("SOP")
for trimming trees established and approved by the Haddon Township
Shade Tree Commission.
Every person, firm, association, partnership, and corporation.
As applied to public utility companies shall mean poles,
wires, cables, subsurface conduits, pipes, manholes and appurtenant
facilities of such companies installed in a street.
A public utility as defined in the Revised Statutes of the
State of New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 48:2-13).
Any road, avenue, street or highway, dedicated to the public
use for street purpose, regardless of whether or not it has been formally
accepted by the Township of Haddon. A street shall be deemed to include
all portions lying between the dedicated or established right-of-way
lines and/or planting easement thereof, said lines being identical
with the front property lines of lands abutting the street.
Trees and woody shrubs.
No person shall do any of the following acts
to any tree on a street without first obtaining a permit from the
Shade Tree Commission:
A.
Cut, prune, climb with spikes, break, damage or remove
or kill.
B.
Cut, disturb or interfere in any way with any root,
including during the placement or maintenance of gas or other pipes.
C.
Spray with any chemical.
D.
Fasten any rope, wire, sign or other device. (Nothing
herein shall prevent any governmental agency from affixing, in a manner
approved by the Shade Tree Commission, a public notice upon a tree
in connection with administering governmental affairs.
E.
Remove or damage any guard or device placed to protect
or water any tree or woody shrub.
F.
Conduct razing, removal or renovation of any structure
if deemed by the Commission to be damaging to neighboring street trees.
G.
Place or distribute chemicals, including, but not
limited to, salt deleterious to tree health.
H.
Maintain a stationary fire or device which vaporizes
noxious fumes deleterious to tree health.
I.
Remove soil, either through trenching or otherwise.
J.
Construct new sidewalks and/or driveways with any
material whatsoever within five feet of a tree or do anything to impede
the infiltration of water into the soil within the rooting zone of
a tree.
K.
Plant any tree or woody shrub within the designated
area under the control of the Commission.
A.
The Shade Tree Commission may grant to public utility
companies a blanket permit for tree pruning for line clearance and
for the installation and maintenance of subsurface and aboveground
plant construction if there is interference with or endangerment of
street trees. The activities authorized by this permit shall follow
a standard operating procedure ("SOP") approved by the Haddon Township
Shade Tree Commission.
B.
Public utility companies may, during periods of emergency,
without specific prior permit, install temporary attachments to trees
and make emergency subsurface repairs.
C.
Each public utility company shall exercise reasonable
diligence in the maintenance of its plant construction so as to avoid
damage to trees under the jurisdiction of the Haddon Township Shade
Tree Commission.
Requests for permits required by the provisions
of this chapter for the performance of work should be directed to
the Shade Tree Commission, Haddon Township, Camden County, New Jersey.
In cases where an arborist or other contractor is to be used by a
property owner to perform work on trees, the permit applicant must
provide evidence that said contractor possesses worker compensation
and liability insurance in the minimum amounts of $1,000,000 for bodily
injury or death and $100,000 property damage indemnifying the Township
or any persons injured or damaged resulting from the performance of
said work.
