[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Bristol 3-14-2005 by L.L. No. 1-2005. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority granted under
§ 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the general health,
safety and welfare of the residents of the Town by protecting the
natural environment as affected by timber harvesting. The Town recognizes
that timber resources are of significant value and should be harvested.
The Town also recognizes that if harvesting practices are carried
out poorly, they can result in significant and direct environmental
damage to water quality. This chapter requires the landowner, logger
and his/her agent to be responsible for implementation of the best
management practices as outlined in this chapter.
Whenever the requirements of this chapter are at variance with
the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations,
ordinances or laws, the most restrictive shall govern.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall apply:
Any person, corporation, firm, partnership or other entity
having written authorization from the owner of property for the purpose
of representing the property owner in his or her dealings with the
Town and its officers and certified by the property owner, in writing,
over his/her signature on the permit application form for this purpose.
Examples of agents include but are not limited to loggers, foresters,
family members, tenant and adjacent landowners.
The act of the landowner and/or the landowner's agent of
submitting a completed permit information form to the Code Enforcement
Officer, signed by the property owner and his/her agent (if applicable).
Devices and procedures to be considered and used as necessary
to protect the values and functions of forested land during harvesting
and during other forest management operations. The New York State
Guidelines for Timber Harvesting and New York State Forestry BMP Field
Guide are reference examples of best management practices.
The official designated by the Town Board to enforce the
provisions of the chapter.
The business of felling trees for commercial lumber and/or
firewood production and/or sale other than:
Felling trees for firewood production for the personal use of
the landowner or the immediate family members of such landowner fewer
than 25 standard cords within a twelve-month period.
Production of saw lumber by the landowner for the personal use
of the landowner or the immediate family members of such landowner
of fewer than 10,000 board feet within a twelve-month period.
A constructed road of dirt and/or gravel utilized for moving
cut trees from the point where they are loaded on a truck to exit
from the site.
An open or cleared area used for loading logs onto trucks
or used for any purpose such as storing logs or servicing equipment.
An individual, corporation, firm, partnership or other entity
contracting with an owner of property in the Town for the purpose
of commercial timber harvesting on said property.
Temporary trail or rough road used to move a log from the
place where it was cut to a pile or landing where it is loaded onto
a truck.
Cut wood stacked four feet high by four feet wide by eight
feet long. A standard cord is equivalent to 128 cubic feet.
A body of running water flowing continuously or intermittently
in a defined channel with bed and banks on the ground surface. All
streams regulated under this chapter will be identified on an official
map for each Town.
The first substantial break in slope between the edge of
the bed of stream and the surrounding terrain. The top bank can either
be a natural or constructed (i.e., road or railroad grade) feature
lying generally parallel to the watercourse. The top of stream bank
is associated with bank full flow conditions.
A.
No person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity (hereafter referred to as "person") shall engage in commercial timber harvesting as defined in this chapter without a permit issued in accordance with § 311-7 herein.
B.
Any person desiring to engage in commercial timber harvesting in
the Town shall file a timber harvesting permit application with the
Town Code Enforcement Officer (CEO),[1] together with payment of the permit fee in an amount which
shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Town. The application
shall be signed by the owner of real property on which the activity
will occur and the logger or their respective designated agent.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said application is included as an attachment to this chapter.
All commercial timber harvesting pursuant to this chapter shall
comply with the following standards:
A.
In order to minimize erosion, no haul road or skid trail used by
heavy equipment during the timber harvesting operation shall exceed
a slope of 15% for a distance of more than 200 feet without reducing
the slope below 15% or installing a practice recommended in the NYS
Forestry BMP Field Guide to divert running water from haul roads and
skid trails. Avoid placing haul roads or skid trails within a fifty-foot
setback distance from stream banks or other surface waters on slopes
15% or greater.
B.
In order to minimize stream bank erosion, there shall be no skidding
up and down any stream channel. All logging slash and debris shall
be promptly removed from any such channels. There shall be no skidding
on any public roads.
C.
In order to minimize stream bank erosion, the applicants will be
responsible for complying with all NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) and Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) permitting requirements
during stream and/or wetland crossings.
D.
In order to maintain the integrity of stream banks and to shade streams,
no harvesting shall be allowed within 15 feet of all streams. The
fifteen-foot no-harvest zone will be a slope distance measured from
the immediate top of the stream bank. In cases where maintenance is
necessary to cut trees that are tipping and exposing the stream bank
to erosion, trees may be cut within the fifteen-foot no-harvest zone
with the stump and root system left in place to stabilize the bank
area.
E.
Landings shall not be in the public right-of-way and shall be properly
graded to prevent sediment from washing into streams, public roads
or drainage ditches along public roads.
F.
Site reclamation shall be performed as soon as site conditions allow
either during or upon completion of the harvesting activity. The following
shall be considered to complete site reclamation:
(1)
Haul roads, skid trails and landings shall have permanent erosion
control and drainage structures installed. It is recommended that
waterbars, dips, diversion ditches or other appropriate management
structures should be placed based on the NYS Field Guide guidelines
to reduce erosion.
The Town CEO shall not accept for review any application which
does not contain the required information. The permit application
package will include a basic application, a full application, a copy
of this chapter, and a "New York State Forestry Best Management Practices
for Water Quality, Field Guide" and other appropriate educational
materials.
A.
Basic timber harvest applications and permits.
(1)
The basic timber harvest application requires the following information:
(a)
Names, signatures and addresses of landowner and his or her
logger, forester and agent (if applicable).
(b)
Tax Map number(s) of the property to be harvested.
(c)
Copy of a topographic map with property boundaries, landing
area and area to be logged clearly marked.
(d)
Approximate dates of harvesting and approximate amount of timber
to be harvested.
(e)
If, as a result of the commercial timber harvesting operation,
logs are to be transported on any public roads in the Town, then the
company transporting the logs shall list the roads and provide a certificate
of commercial vehicle insurance to the applicant. The applicant shall
be responsible for providing a copy of the certificate to the Town
and it will become part of the application form. Such insurance shall
provide for a minimum of $250,000/$500,000 bodily injury and $500,000
property damage or $500,000 combined single limit.
(2)
If the Town CEO determines that the basic application is complete
and the area to be harvested does not have slopes exceeding 15% for
more than 200 feet and no streams are present in or contiguous to
the harvest area, the above steps will complete the information needed
and the Town CEO will issue a permit within five business days of
application receipt.
B.
Full timber harvest application.
(1)
If the harvest area has a slope greater than 15% for more than 200
feet or a stream is in the harvest area, then a full timber harvest
plan will be required in addition to the basic application. In addition
to the basic application, the full timber harvest application will
require:
(a)
A description of the best management practices applied to the
harvest area pertaining to riparian areas, haul roads, skid trails
and landings.
(b)
DEC and/or ACOE permits have been approved.
(c)
The approximate location of property boundaries, haul roads,
stream crossings and landings will be identified on the project application
map.
(2)
The Town CEO will have 10 business days from application receipt
to determine if the full application is complete and issue a permit.
(3)
The CEO will send a copy of all permit applications to NYS DEC Region
No. 8 office, Canandaigua Lake Watershed Manager (if in Canandaigua
Lake watershed), Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District,
and the Town Highway Superintendent/Ontario County Highway Commissioner/NYS
Department of Transportation.
The owner, agent and logger of land where a violation of any
provision of this chapter has been committed or shall exist are all
jointly and severally subject to the following violations and enforcement
action:
A.
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to enforce the
provisions of this chapter. The Town may, at its sole discretion,
designate a separate individual to include but not limited to the
Watershed Manager, Soil and Water Conservation District and/or a professional
forester of the Town's choice to review timber harvesting applications
and make recommendations on permit approval to the Town Code Enforcement
Officer. The Town will have ultimate authority to decide on permit
acceptance and enforcement.
B.
By receipt of permit application, the Town is given authority to
inspect and enforce provisions of this chapter. The Code Enforcement
Officer may enter, examine and survey all grounds affected by the
timber harvest in order to ascertain whether such rules and regulations
in this chapter are complied with by any person regulated by this
chapter. The Town may, at its discretion, inspect the site upon completion
of the timber harvesting operation to determine if all reclamation
efforts have been completed.
C.
Upon notification by the CEO to the applicant of any violation hereunder,
the timber harvesting permit granted to such applicant may be suspended
and/or revoked. Upon suspension or revocation, as the case may be,
all operations shall immediately cease, and the applicant shall take
immediate steps to implement the actions necessary to come into compliance
with the application and timber harvesting permit. Such suspension
or revocation notice may contain conditions to be met to obtain reinstatement
of the permit.
D.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be guilty
of an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or imprisonment
for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both. Each violation will be
considered a separate and distinct offense. Each day's documented
violation and notice after the original notice thereof shall have
been given shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
Such notice shall be in writing, signed by the CEO, and shall be served
upon the person or persons at his or their last-known address.
E.
Pursuant to § 150.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law and
in accordance with § 10(4)(a) of the Municipal Home Rule
Law, the CEO, Town Constable or other appropriate law enforcement
official of the Town is hereby authorized to issue and serve appearance
tickets in respect to any violation of this chapter.
F.
In addition to or as an alternative to the above-provided penalties,
the Town Board may also maintain an action in the name of the Town
in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or
restrain by injunction any violation of this chapter.
There may be situations where strict adherence to certain provisions
of this chapter is impossible or impractical. The Zoning Board of
Appeals shall have the power, upon an appeal from a decision or determination
of the CEO, to grant variances from the strict application of this
chapter. Substantial variation from the chapter may fall outside of
the scope of the timber harvesting generic environmental impact statement,
thus requiring separate SEQR review.
Neither the issuance of a permit, nor the compliance with the
provisions hereof or with any conditions imposed in the permit issued
hereunder, shall relieve the permittee from the full responsibility
for any damage whatsoever to other persons or property, nor impose
any liability upon any officer, agent or employee of the Town for
damage to persons or property.
If any section, paragraph, subdivision or provisions of this
chapter shall be declared invalid, such invalidity shall apply only
to the section, paragraph, subdivision of provisions adjudged invalid
and the rest of this chapter shall remain valid and effective.
