[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Fishkill 10-24-2011 by L.L. No. 8-2011. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.Â
The Village of Fishkill has a vital interest in the planting and
preservation of trees within its borders. Trees provide necessary
shade, green space and aesthetic appeal, impede soil erosion, aid
water absorption and provide other environmental benefits and generally
enhance the quality of life within the Village. They control water
pollution, purify the air and generate oxygen, aid in mitigating noise
and reduce energy consumption by providing shade. Trees increase the
beauty and value of all properties in the Village of Fishkill and
provide benefit to wildlife and the ecosystem. The destruction and
removal of trees causes increased costs to the Village for drainage
control, impairs the value of both improved and unimproved real property,
and has deleterious effects on the health and general welfare of the
citizens of the Village. This chapter, therefore, establishes standards
for the protection of these valuable specimens and further spells
out a workable method of determining under which circumstances a tree
may reasonably be removed.
B.Â
Indiscriminate and uncontrolled destruction of trees, including but
not limited to clear-cutting, deprives the community of all these
benefits. The purpose of this chapter is to preserve trees and minimize
damage and removal, thereby enhancing the health, property values,
safety and general welfare of the habitants of the Village of Fishkill.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A condition in which severe weather, storms, natural or nonnatural
causes severely affect the integrity of a tree and such condition
poses an immediate threat to life, property or the general public.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, municipality or
other entity, together with employees, officers, directors, agents,
independent contractors or any lessee or contract-vendee of a parcel
of property, who or which owns any real property or portion of real
property within the jurisdiction of the Village.
The Village of Fishkill, or its designee, shall be the approving
authority for tree removal permits. If an applicant appeals a decision
of the Village of Fishkill, then the Village of Fishkill Zoning Board
of Appeals shall be the approving authority for the duration of the
appeal.
Any removal of 30% or more trees that are each four inches
or more in DBH (diameter at breast height) over any five-year period
as determined on the basis of trees requiring a tree removal permit
on said property.
The diameter or caliper of a tree measured at a point 4 1/2
feet above ground level at the base of the tree on the uphill side.
Any act that may cause a tree to die within a three-year
period from the date of the act, including, but not limited to, girdling,
soil compaction and storage of materials or equipment around the base
of the tree and within the dripline, stripping of bark, setting fires
on or near a tree, severe pruning, applying chemicals, or changing
the ground level within the dripline.
A method of cutting off leaves or branches within limits
in order to remove dead or diseased foliage or branches. Pruning is
also used to control or direct growth, to increase quality or yield
of flowers or fruit and to ensure growth position of main branches
to enhance structural strength.
A low-growing woody plant that is naturally smaller than
a tree and produces multiple stems instead of a single trunk. Shrubs
are either evergreen or deciduous.
Trees on land lying between property lines on either side
of all streets, avenues and within the rights-of-way of the Village.
A living deciduous or coniferous plant with an erect perennial
trunk and a definitely formed crown of foliage.
The uppermost layer of vegetation in woodland, or the upper
foliage and branches of an individual tree.
A plan of the property in question indicating the location,
species, DBH and condition of all trees six inches DBH or greater
and detailing the methods and practices to be used to provide protection
from injury during construction for all trees to be preserved. The
plan shall clearly identify all trees as being removed and to remain.
A written authorization to remove a tree(s) pursuant to this
chapter.
The severe cutting back of limbs larger than three inches
in diameter within the tree's crown to stubs, to such a degree
so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.
A.Â
No private person, municipal employee or contractor, or employee
of a private firm shall purposefully, carelessly or negligently kill,
cut, break, injure, trim, change the grade of or otherwise destroy
or mortally damage any tree in any public place within the Village
without first obtaining a tree removal permit from the approving authority.
B.Â
All applicants for subdivision, site plan review, land clearing,
major landscaping or other development requiring tree removal shall
be required to submit a tree preservation map.
C.Â
No person or firm shall purposefully, carelessly or negligently cause
petrochemicals, herbicides or other toxic substances to penetrate
into the soil in or about a tree's root system so as to effectively
kill any tree.
A.Â
Every owner, tenant, occupant and leaseholder of any tree or shrub
on private property overhanging any right-of-way within the Village
shall prune the branches so that such branches shall not obstruct
the light from any streetlamp, interfere with utilities or obstruct
the view of any street intersection or any traffic control device
and so that there shall be a clear space of eight feet above the surface
of the street or sidewalk. Said owners shall remove all dead, diseased
or dangerous trees or broken or decayed limbs which constitute a menace
to the safety of the public.
B.Â
The Village of Fishkill or its designee shall have the right to enter
private property for the purpose of investigating a complaint or perceived
hazardous condition.
C.Â
The Village of Fishkill shall have the right to prune any tree or
shrub on private property when it interferes with the proper spread
of light along the street from a streetlight or interferes with visibility
of any traffic control device or sign or interferes with visibility
at an intersection.
[Amended 8-27-2012 by L.L. No. 8-2012]
In the course of duties involving the service and repair of
existing public utility company facilities, employees thereof are
hereby authorized and permitted to prune, trim or alter trees, but
only to the extent reasonably necessary to protect and maintain those
facilities. Prior to commencing any substantial amount of nonemergency
tree trimming, said personnel shall give the Village at least 48 hours'
advance notice. There shall be no excessive cutting, pruning, or trimming
of tree branches. Employees shall remove all debris, including all
dead branches remaining in the trees, resulting from any maintenance
conducted. If a utility company proposes to completely remove any
tree, permission from the approving authority with a proper permit
must be obtained prior to any such tree removal.
A.Â
The Village of Fishkill, or its designee, shall have the right to
enter private property for the purpose of investigating a complaint
or perceived hazardous condition.
B.Â
The site shall be subject to inspection upon notice to the property
owner and/or applicant at any reasonable time, including weekends
and holidays, by the Village of Fishkill or its designee. The property
owner and applicant shall be deemed to have given consent to such
inspection. The property owner and applicant shall indemnify and hold
the Village of Fishkill harmless against any damage or injury that
may be caused by or arise out of any entry onto the subject property
in connection with the inspection.
C.Â
The Village may enter upon privately owned land for the purpose of
inspecting trees located thereon in order to determine if there is
any violation of this law.
Removal of any tree shall require the following actions:
A.Â
All persons granted a tree removal permit shall be required to replant
native, noninvasive, minimum three-inch caliper trees.
B.Â
The number of replacement trees shall be based on the recommendation
of the Village of Fishkill Planning Board or Village of Fishkill Architectural
Review Board.
C.Â
All restoration work shall be completed within six months. An extension
shall be granted by the Village of Fishkill or its designee between
the months of November through February for an additional three months.
D.Â
All restorative work shall be done in accordance with good and acceptable
planting and tree surgery practice.
E.Â
All trees that fail to survive as a result of the restorative work
under this section for a period of two calendar years following planting
shall be replaced by the owner of the land. Said replacement shall
be within 60 days following written demand from the Village for such
replacement or within an extended period of time as may be specified.
Should the property owner fail to replace the trees pursuant to demand
within the required period of time, the Village has the right to impose
penalties as set forth in the chapter.
The following activities are permitted without a tree removal
permit:
A.Â
Removal of any tree under an actual or ongoing emergency condition
when such immediate tree removal is necessary for the protection and
preservation of life or property.
B.Â
When conditions may warrant immediate need for removal of a tree,
the Village may permit such removal without obtaining additional approval
of the Village of Fishkill Planning Board or Architectural Review
Board. The reasons for such action shall be documented by the Building
Inspector or the Village designee.
A.Â
The Village of Fishkill shall have the right to cause the removal
of any dead or diseased trees on private property within the Village
when such trees constitute a hazard to life and property or harbor
insects or diseases which constitute a potential threat to other trees
within the Village. The Village shall notify, in writing, the owners
of such trees. Removal shall be done by said owners at their own expense.
In the event of failure of owners to comply with such provisions,
the Village shall have the authority to remove such trees and charge
the cost of removal to the owner. A penalty of 5% shall be added to
cost of removal, due to the owner's failure to remove the trees
in a timely manner. A further penalty of 1% shall be added for each
succeeding month or any portion thereof in which the charge is not
paid. The Village Clerk shall cause, on the next succeeding tax roll,
any said unpaid tree removal charges and penalties thereon to be added
to the Village tax bills. Said tree removal charges and penalties
shall constitute a lien on the real property so affected.
Each violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be a
separate and distinct offense with a fine of $500 per offense. In
addition, the Village or its designee may order or direct a violator
to replace any or all trees removed illegally with a size and type
as determined by the Village.
The Village Code Enforcement Officer(s) is hereby authorized
to issue appearance tickets for violations of this chapter as well
as stop-work orders.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to impose
any liability upon the Village, its officers, committees or employees,
nor to relieve the owner of any private property from the duty to
keep any tree, shrub or plant upon any area on his property or under
his control in such conditions as to prevent it from constituting
a hazard or an impediment to travel or vision upon any street, park,
public or private property within the Village.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this
chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in
the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
