[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Mount
Hope 5-7-2018 by L.L. No. 3-2018. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Board of Trustees of the Town of Mount Hope has determined
that it is in the interest of the citizens of the Town of Mount Hope
to promote and protect their health, safety and welfare of its residents
and visitors, and to adopt a shade tree ordinance. The Town Board
recognizes the role that trees play in the Town ecosystem and that
they contribute to the quality of air, reduce noise and visual pollution,
help to moderate climatic extremes and conserve energy, and the Board
further recognizes the role trees play in enhancing property values
and the general quality of life in the Town. In order to establish
a responsible program for planting, maintenance, husbandry, or removal
of trees or shrubs in the Town, the Town Board finds it necessary
to establish a Shade Tree Commission and to adopt this chapter to
provide an orderly framework to maximize the benefits afforded by
trees within the Town.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any trees, shrubs, bushes and all woody vegetation on land
lying within public parks having names and in all areas owned by the
Town and to which the public has access.
Any trees, shrubs, bushes and all woody vegetation on land
lying within a public street or right-of-way within the Town.
The Shade Tree Commission of the Town of Mount Hope shall consist
of five Commissioners who shall be appointed by the Town Board and
who shall serve without compensation. The Shade Tree Commission shall
inventory all public trees within the Town and shall study, investigate,
and from time to time update the condition of all such public trees.
The Shade Tree Commission shall periodically counsel the Town Board
on how best to manage the public trees and shall prepare and update
a written plan for the public safety, care, preservation, pruning,
planting, replanting, removal or disposition of trees within the Town
of Mount Hope easements, streets, and Town parks. This plan shall
also include a provision for public education.
A.Â
The Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope shall have the right to
plant, prune, maintain and remove trees and woody plants within the
limits of all Town roads, rights-of-way, or parks. The Board, in appropriate
cases, and upon consultation with the property owner, may remove or
prune a tree which stands upon private property but which threatens
the safety or welfare of those who may use a Town street or park.
B.Â
The Shade Tree Commission may recommend the removal of any tree or
part thereof within the limits of any street or public park which
threatens the safety or welfare of any person or which by reason of
its location or nature threatens any electric line, telephone line,
gas line or any municipal water or sewer line or any public improvement,
or which is affected by any injurious fungus, insect or other pest
or disease.
C.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or other
entity to top any park tree or public tree. "Topping" is hereby defined
as the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches
in diameter within the tree's crown to such a degree as to remove
the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. Trees severely damaged by
storms or other causes or certain trees interfering with utility lines
or other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical
may be exempted from this subsection at the determination of the Shade
Tree Commission.
D.Â
All stumps of park trees and public trees shall be removed below
the surface of the ground so that the top of the stump shall not project
above the surface of the ground.
E.Â
Species of trees to be planted shall be selected from a list provided
annually by the Shade Tree Commission.
F.Â
The spacing of public trees shall be in accordance with the recommendations
provided by the Shade Tree Commission.
H.Â
No public tree shall be planted closer than 35 feet to any street
comer measured from the point of nearest intersecting curbs or curblines.
No public tree shall be planted closer than 10 feet to any hydrant.
No person shall remove, destroy, or cause the removal or destruction
of a tree on any Town street or in any Town park, or undertake construction
or any activity which may significantly and prematurely detract from
the health or growth of a tree, without first having obtained written
permission for such removal or construction at the office of the Town
Building Department. All applications must be approved by the Shade
Tree Commission.
Any violation of this chapter shall constitute a violation within
the meaning of the Penal Law of the State of New York, and an appearance
ticket alleging such violation may be issued by any police officer
having jurisdiction. A violation of this chapter shall be subject
to a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment for not more than
15 days, or both.
A.Â
The Town Board shall have the right to review the conduct, acts,
and decisions of the Shade Tree Commission and of its individual Commissioners.
Each Commissioner shall serve at the will of the Town Board.
B.Â
Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Shade Tree Commission
may appeal the decision within 10 days of the filing of the decision
with the office of the Town Clerk. The appeal shall be heard by the
Town Board within 30 days of the filing of the appeal in the office
of the Town Clerk. The Town Board shall make and file its decision
with the Town Clerk within five days of its hearing.
No license shall be required of any entity performing tree work
that has been approved by the Town Board, Shade Tree Commission, or
Town Highway Superintendent.
It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent, delay, or interfere
with the Shade Tree Commission or any of its agents while engaging
in and about the planting, cultivating, mulching, pruning, spraying,
or removing of any park trees or public trees or trees on private
property as authorized by this chapter.
