Borough of Cresskill, NJ Landscaping

No tree with a diameter greater than 10 inches as measured at four feet of height may be removed without a permit issued by the Building Department.

The permit fees for tree removal shall be as follows for each tree (diameter at four feet height):

Under sixteen-inch diameter: no fee;

Sixteen-inches and greater than sixteen-inch diameter: $125.

In addition to permit fees, each applicant for tree removal shall be responsible for administrative fees as follows:

New construction: $300;

Existing structures: $35;

Vacant lots: $35;

Administrative and permit fees may be amended as needed by resolution.

(4)

Condition precedent to issuance of permit.

A precondition for issuance of a permit to remove any tree shall be replacement of each such tree in setbacks or buffer zones, as evidenced in Subsection C(4)(b), below;

The applicant shall present a marked-up survey or site plan showing the locations of replacement trees in either setbacks or buffer zones.

The diameter of the replacement trees shall not be less than 2 1/2 inches in diameter;

Species of replacement trees shall conform to the Borough's approved list, without exception;

(e)

Permits shall only be issued to applicants who own the property upon which the tree(s) is located through the applicant's agent(s), who shall be, A licensed tree care operator. (See N.J.S.A. 45:15C-12 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 7:3A-3.6 et seq.)

(f)

All permitees shall supply insurance certificates naming the Borough as an insured in an amount not less than $1,000,000.

(5)

Waiver of administrative fees. Permit and/or administrative fees may be waived upon petition to the Council. The applicant must provide proof of income. The Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled income guidelines shall be the determining metric.

Inspections.

All tree inspections (excepting trees located on Borough property or within the Borough's right-of-way) shall be conducted by the Building Department, which shall inspect every tree on the petitioned site and confirm every tree petitioned for removal.

All the inspections for trees located on Borough property or within the Borough's right-of-way shall be conducted by the Department of Public Works.

All trees to be removed must be prominently marked at the time of permit application with orange spray paint.

New Construction. In addition to the provisions of Subsections A, B, C, and D, as set forth above, the following shall apply to all trees within the borders of the Borough of Cresskill that are affected by new construction.

Clear-cutting.

There shall be no clear-cutting of trees during any phase of new construction except:

Clear-cutting of trees within the building's footprint may be permitted during any phase of new construction without payment of the permit fee (but applicant would still be required to pay the administrative fees).

Within 15 feet of the building footprint as permitted by either the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Planning Board.

If an applicant applies for a new construction building permit within six months of applying for a tree removal permit for the same lot, there shall be an additional administrative fee of $300.

Additional site plan or building permit requirements for nonresidential use.

Whenever a nonresidential use is adjacent to the side or rear lot line of a lot in a residential or a professional office zone, there shall be planted along such lot line or buffer area evergreen trees or thick bushes or hedges of such type and spacing as required by the Planning Board and/or the Zoning Board of Adjustment of an initial height of not less than four feet, except as provided for in § 275-70, which will adequately screen all operations on such nonresidential lot. All of the foregoing planting shall be properly maintained throughout the life of any use on all lots.

Upon good cause shown, the Planning Board and/or Zoning Board of Adjustment may waive the requirement that removed trees be replanted in the buffer zones.

All trees proposed to be removed in excess of 10 feet in height shall be delineated on a topographical survey.

The applicant shall be required to pay the Borough Engineer's inspection fee in an amount not to exceed $500.

Existing commercial structures. In addition to the provisions of Subsections A, B, C, and D, as set forth above, the following shall apply to all trees within the borders of the Borough of Cresskill that are located on lots with existing commercial structures.

The Building Department shall have the jurisdiction to waive the permit fee associated for trees sanctioned for removal within 10 feet in any direction of the main structure, excepting trees located in buffer zones. The applicant shall be subject to all other required fees.

No trees may be removed in buffer zones without a permit.

Buffer zones adjacent to R-10, R-15, R-40, and R-SC Zones. All lots in C and P zones which are adjacent to a rear or side lot line or are across the street from an R-10, R-15, R-40, or R-SC Zone shall have buffer zones, which shall be fully landscaped areas without any buildings, signs, parking or loading spaces or any other primary or accessory structures or uses, except driveways or an open fence of not more than six feet in height. The Buffer Zones shall have the widths along such lot lines as set forth in § 275-66.1E.

Existing residential structures. In addition to the provisions of Subsections A, B, C, and D, as set forth above, the following shall apply to all trees within the borders of the Borough of Cresskill that are located on lots with existing residential structures.

For good cause shown, the Building Department shall have the jurisdiction to waive the permit fee associated for trees permitted to be removed within 10 feet of any direction of the residential structure, excepting trees located in the buffer zones. The applicant shall be subject to all other required fees;

No trees with a diameter greater than 10 inches as measured at four feet of height may be removed in buffer zones without a permit.

Vacant lots. In addition to the provisions of Subsections A, B, C, and D, as set forth above, no tree located on a vacant lot with a diameter greater than 10 inches as measured at four feet of height may be removed without a permit.

Emergency situations. In addition to the provisions of Subsections A, B, C, and D, as set forth above, any tree within the borders of the Borough of Cresskill may be removed without a permit if an emergency exists such that a licensed tree care operator, as soon as practical, but in any event not more than three business days after removal, certifies that the condition of the tree was either dead, dangerous, hazardous, or sick or deceased, that there was not enough time to obtain a permit, and that the tree was an imminent danger to public safety or to property and provides photographic proof of same. Application for a retroactive permit must be made in conjunction with the submitted certification.

Appeals from denial of permits. The applicant may only appeal the decisions of the Building Department pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72a: Appeals to the board of adjustment may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of an administrative officer of the municipality based on or made in the enforcement of the zoning ordinance or official map.

Municipal Court.

All summons issued shall be presented before the Borough's Municipal Court Judge.

Fines. On a finding of guilt for failure to obtain a permit, the Judge shall levy the following fine(s) plus court costs on any liable person or entity:

First offense: not less than two nor more than 10 times the combined amount of the permit, plus court costs and administrative fees;

Second offense: not less than five times nor more than 15 times the amount of the permit, plus court costs and administrative fees;

Third offense: $5,000 per day starting on the day of the offense until the earlier of:

The liable party replants a tree of equal diameter and height as the removed tree; or

The liable party is adjudicated guilty or enters a guilty plea at which time the Court will assess the fine per this section, as of the date of entry of the guilty plea.

Fourth offense: mandatory 10 days' incarceration in the Bergen County Jail, plus the fines enumerated for a third offense.

Consistency, severability and repealer.

If any provision or portion of a provision of this section is held to be unconstitutional, preempted by federal or state law, or otherwise invalidated by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of the section shall not be invalidated.

All ordinances or parts of ordinances which are inconsistent with any provisions of this section are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistencies.

RUNNING BAMBOO PROPERTY OWNER(S)

No provision of this section shall be construed to impair any common law or statutory cause of action, or legal remedy therefrom, of any person for injury or damage arising from any violation of this section or from other law.

§ 275-66.2 Planting or growing bamboo within the Borough.

[Added 6-21-2023 by Ord. No. 23-17-1618]

Purpose and intent. The purpose of this section is to preserve and protect private and public property from the damaging spread of running bamboo grasses and to protect indigenous plants and the wildlife they support from the invasive spread of any bamboo plant or subspecies from any neighboring property line.

Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

BOROUGH

Shall refer to Borough of Cresskill, Bergen County, New Jersey.

BUFFER ZONE

A distance of at least 100 feet from any lane, street or road, whether public or private, or from any neighboring property.

NOTICE

Any written notice by, from or behalf of the Borough: 1) notifying the running bamboo property owner(s) that they are in violation of this section and 2) directing them to cure or reverse the violation within 10 days. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the owner(s) listed on the current tax address on file with the Borough or personally served on the property owner or tenant. In lieu of mail service, the Borough may post a copy of the notice on the property in question.

RECEIPT OF NOTICE

Shall be the date of mailing the notice, or, if applicable, the date of personal serving or posting of the notice in the property in question, whichever is earlier.

RUNNING BAMBOO

Any monopodial (running) woody grass from the genera of bamboos, including, but not limited to, Bambusa, Phyllostachys and Pseudosasa, as well as common bamboo, golden bamboo, and arrow bamboo.

Any property owner(s) or tenant(s) who has running bamboo on their property, even if the bamboo has spread onto their property from an adjoining property.

No planting of running bamboo.

The planting of running bamboo is prohibited in the Borough as of the effective date of this section.

Any existing running bamboo, unless it meets the property distance requirements may not be replanted or replaced after having died and in any event shall be immediately removed.

Any person who plants or replants running bamboo within the Borough after the effective date of this section shall be in violation of this section and shall be subject to the penalties set forth herein, subject to the following exceptions:

The root system of such running bamboo is entirely contained within an aboveground planter and located so as to entirely prevent the spread or growth of the bamboo plants' root system beyond the container in which it is planted; or

The root system is contained within a barrier, constructed in accordance with the following specifications:

The barrier itself shall be composed of a high-density polypropylene or polyethylene, with a minimum thickness of 40 mm;

Each portion of the barrier itself shall be joined together by the use of stainless strips or clamps; and

[3]

The barrier shall be a minimum of 30 inches deep, with two inches to three inches of the barrier protruding above ground level around the entire perimeter of the bamboo;

[4]

When installed, the barrier shall slant outward from the bottom to top.

Whether planted or growing in a container, as described herein, all bamboo plants shall be located, trimmed and maintained so that no part of the plant shall be closer than 100 feet from any property line.

Regulation of and limitations on existing running bamboo.

Any running bamboo already in existence on any property within the Borough as of the effective date of this section shall be removed unless the plants comply with buffer zone or potting requirements as stated in the state statute and this section.

Running bamboo property owner(s) shall take all necessary measures to ensure that any running bamboo on their property does not exist withing any buffer zone. Such measures shall include, but are not limited to, cutting down running bamboo existing in the buffer zone and physically removing or damaging the rhizomes and removing any regrowth for several years until the running bamboo is dead and, if running bamboo is present outside the buffer zone, the property owner shall install sheathing compromised of as more fully described in Subsection C(3)(b)[1] through [4] and install same not less than 100 feet from the property line at a sufficient depth to prevent any growth of running bamboo within any buffer zone.

This section shall not be deemed to altar any rights at common law or otherwise that any property owner may have to recover the cost of removal of running bamboo on their own property from another property owner from whose property the running bamboo has spread.

Enforcement. This chapter shall be enforceable by the Code Enforcement Officer or Health Officer and shall apply to all properties and premises within the Borough.

Violations and penalties.

Whenever running bamboo is found planted in the ground or otherwise on any property or premises in the Borough in violation of this chapter, a notice shall be given to the running bamboo property owner to abate the violation within 10 days. This provision shall not apply to any property or premises in the Borough as described in Subsection C(3)(a).

The cost of the abatement shall be borne by the running bamboo property owner.

If the running bamboo property owner fails to commence with compliance with the notice within the ten-day period, the Code Enforcement Officer or Health Officer may order the removal or otherwise control the invasive plant species and the Borough may thereafter recover the cost of such removal from the running bamboo property owner and lien the property to recover the cost of the removal, upon adoption of a resolution authorizing the lien.

(4)

Violation of the statute and/or ordinance as it pertains to:

Planting of or failure to remove bamboo; or

The property owner permits the bamboo to grow beyond the property boundaries or within 100 feet from the property line shall be subject to the following penalties:

A fine, not less than $500 or more than $1,000, plus court costs, for each day when the property owner has been found guilty.