The Town Board declares the intent of this article is to regulate
the preservation, installation, removal, and long-term management
of trees in the Town of Monroe in order to protect the environment
for the use of present and future generations. Specifically, the Town
Board further declares the intent of this article is to:
A. Ensure that the greatest number of trees are preserved and protected
before, during and after subdivision, site plan, special use permit,
building permit, and/or residential or commercial or industrial construction
process, and in cases where subdivision and site plan approval is
not required.
B. Where it is not possible to preserve them, the Town Board intends
to ensure, wherever possible, that trees removed be replaced with
a like number and species of newly planted trees. If not on the site
where the trees are removed, then such trees shall be replanted primarily
on public lands or another site in the Town of Monroe, or alternatively,
pay a fee per tree to fund the replanting and reestablishment of trees
and preserve forests in the Town of Monroe, as established in this
Zoning Chapter. The Monroe Conservation Commission shall make a recommendation
on the disposition of funds collected when administering these fines
to the Town Board.
C. Encourage the proper protection and maintenance of existing trees
as herein described in the Town of Monroe, and provide penalties for
noncompliance therewith.
D. Ensure that as long as the health, safety, or welfare of the public
is not potentially negatively impacted, projects provide for trees
along existing and new roads, screen parking areas in order to reduce
noise from vehicular traffic, and screen accessory structures and
ensure that the development blends with the existing environment.
Additionally, the intent of this article is to also enhance and improve
sites through the establishment of increased green space and/or appropriate
tree plantings.
E. Encourage the proper protection and maintenance of trees located
within wetlands and watershed land and associated buffers.
F. Generally prohibit, except as provided for herein, removal of, cutting
down or causing injury to trees growing on slopes with a grade of
30% or greater.
G. Charge the Town of Monroe Conservation Commission with developing
a list, subject to amendment, as provided for herein of landmark,
native, protected and specimen trees and procedures for the preservation
thereof. To the extent identifying information is needed in relation
to defining particular types of trees, including landmark and specimen
trees, no penalty may be imposed until such trees are identified by
resolution of the Town Board, and made an appendix to the Town Code
after filing such resolution with the Town Clerk. The Town Board and
the Conservation Commission shall establish a budget for the Conservation
Commission to obtain the services of arborists, landscape architects
and/or foresters as well as for the purchase of tools, computer software
and training and the digital archiving of data in furtherance of this
chapter.
H. Encourage the establishment and continuation of tree species compatible
with the natural environment as defined by the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation.
I. Establish penalties and fines for violation of its provisions, including
fees for the Tree Protection and Replacement Fund.
The Town Board hereby finds that:
A. The trees and forest lands in the Town of Monroe are important natural
resources that benefit the Town and make it a desirable place for
both residents and visitors. Trees and other landscape elements help
to naturally control flooding, filter pollutants and prevent soil
erosion, protect watershed areas, enhance air quality, provide a natural
noise barrier, provide habitat for wildlife, and yield advantageous
microclimates, thereby reducing energy consumption. The removal of
trees can cause deprivation of these benefits and change the ecological
and rural character of the community.
B. Properly located and planted trees are an effective means of providing
sight and noise barriers around accessory buildings, mechanical devices,
parking lots and other structures.
C. A responsible community recognizes that a prohibition against the
use of invasive plant species is necessary to preserve and manage
trees and forestlands on both public and private property in order
to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens in the Town
of Monroe.
D. Replacing trees removed during construction is necessary to assist
in soil conservation and establishing and maintaining suitable and
acceptable drainage, since development usually creates new drainage
patterns, and the growth of trees and their roots are integral to
these new drainage patterns and their stability.
Any department, agency, commission of the Town of Monroe, employee
of the Town of Monroe, or any firm or individual retained by the Town
of Monroe to cut down, or cause to be cut down, any native tree of
six inches or more DBH, with the exception of the Town of Monroe Highway
Department for right-of-way maintenance, must also be in compliance
with all provisions of this article.
The Building Inspector of the Town of Monroe shall enforce this
article. Any site for which a permit application has been submitted,
pursuant to the provisions of the Town of Monroe Code, shall be subject
to inspection by the Building Inspector or Town Engineer upon notice
to the property owner and/or applicant at any reasonable time, including
weekends and holidays, by the approving authority or its designated
representative. The applicant, by making application, shall be deemed
to have given consent to such inspection. If any tree(s) subject to
the provisions of this article, buffer zone and/or critical root zones
are damaged, the Building Inspector has the authority to issue a stop-work
order to be valid until such time as violations are deemed remedied
by the Town Engineer or Building Inspector and all penalties levied
pursuant to this article have been paid.
Any person, firm or corporation, or individual connected with
such firm or corporation who violates any provision of this article
shall be guilty of a violation, the fine for which shall not exceed
$1,000 for a first offense. For a second and further offense within
a one-year period, the violator shall be guilty of a violation punishable
by a fine of not more than $3,000 for each offense. Persons, firms
or corporations, or individual connected with such firm or corporation,
found in violation of the provisions of this article shall be required
to remove, if applicable, invasive plant species; replant trees in
the locations from which they were improperly removed or destroyed;
and pay an additional fee to the Town of Monroe Parkland account of
$750 per tree improperly removed or destroyed.
At the time of public improvement bonding (which shall be via a letter of credit, cash deposit or other form approved by the Town), the cost of complying with the provisions of this article shall be estimated and included in the bond amount in a public improvement security agreement or interim developers agreement (see Chapter
36) approved by the Town Engineer, Town Attorney, and Town Board.
The Conservation Commission shall compile the Town's lists of landmark, native, protected and specimen trees, as defined in §
57-3, upon enactment of this article and through nomination from tree owners, interested parties within the community, and the Town and Village Historians. Such list shall be, after approval or modification by the Town Board, appended to this chapter and may be updated by resolution of the Town Board as an appendix to the Town Code of the Town of Monroe.