[Ord. No. 2010-95]
CALIPER: ANSI Z60 FOR NURSERY STOCK
Shall mean a type of diameter measurement used in the nursery
industry. The height measurement shall be taken from ground level
for field grown stock and from the soil line for container grown stock,
which should be at or near the top of the root flare. Caliper measurement
of the trunk shall be taken six inches above the top of root flare
up to and including four inch caliper size. If the caliper at six
inches above the ground exceeds four inches, the caliper should be
measured at 12 inches above the top of root flare. Seldom are tree
trunks perfectly round. The most accurate measurement will result
from the use of a diameter tape. Caliper measurements taken with manual
or electronic "slot" or "pincer" type caliper tools should be the
average of the smallest and largest measurements.
The plan is to be approved by the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, New Jersey
Forest Service. The Shade Tree Commission shall oversee the implementation
of the Community Forestry Management Plan.
EROSION
Shall mean the detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments
by water, ice, wind and gravity.
EXEMPT AREA
Shall mean the lot area as provided in this chapter for which
tree replacement shall not be required.
FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN
Shall mean a plan for the management of timbered or forested
lands approved by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection,
New Jersey Forest Service, or similar state or federal agency.
HISTORIC TREE
Shall mean a tree that has been found to be of notable historic
interest to Lakewood Township because of its age, type, size or historic
association and which has been so designated by the governing body
by resolution.
OPEN SPACE
Shall mean any parcel or area of land or water essentially
unimproved and set aside, dedicated, designated or reserved for public
or private use and enjoyment or for the use and enjoyment of owners
and occupants of land adjoining or neighboring such open spaces, provided
that such areas may be improved with only those buildings, structures,
streets and off-street parking and other improvements that are designated
to be incidental to the natural openness of the land.
SHADE TREE COMMISSION
Shall mean the Shade Tree Commission formed by municipal
ordinance, N.J.S.A. 40:64-1, et seq.
TREE
Shall mean any deciduous or coniferous species which has
a DBH of 10 inches or greater.
TREE ESCROW FUND
Shall mean a fund established by the governing body for the
administration and promotion of tree and shrubbery resource sustainability
projects and practices which may be consistent with the Community
Stewardship Incentive Program as outlined within the New Jersey Shade
Tree and Community Forestry Assistance Act P.L. 1996, chapter 135.
TREE PLANTING PLAN
Shall mean a specific plan adopted by Lakewood Township for
the location and placement of trees on public property.
TREE REMOVAL PERMIT
Shall mean the permit issued by the Lakewood Inspection Department,
or its designee, to remove or destroy a tree or trees.
TREE REPLACEMENT PLAN
Shall mean a specific plan for replacement of removed trees
in accordance with the provision of this chapter.
UDO
Shall mean the Lakewood Township Unified Development Ordinance
of 2005. (The UDO may be found in a separate volume.)
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
The terms and provisions of this chapter shall apply as follows:
a. Unless specifically excepted in paragraph c below, it shall be unlawful
for any person to remove or cause to remove trees with a DBH of 10
inches or more without first having obtained a tree removal permit
as provided herein.
b. Specimen and Historic Trees. Trees, which have been designated as
specimen or historic under the provisions of this chapter shall be
maintained in a living condition and it shall be unlawful for any
person to remove such tree without an approved tree removal permit.
No specimen or historic tree shall be removed unless the applicant
has obtained the approval of the Code Enforcement Officer.
The condition of trees proposed to be saved shall be evaluated
by use of guides as follows:
1. Evaluation of Hazard Trees in Urban Areas. ISA Books, Nelda Matheny
and James R. Clark.
2. Urban Tree Risk Management, USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area.
3. The Guide for Plant Appraisal, The Council of Tree and Landscape
Appraisers.
c. Exceptions. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the
following:
1. Any property upon which no trees are located, as confirmed by a Statement
of No Tree Verification, signed and by the property owner.
2. Any tree of less than 10 inches DBH.
3. Any tree or trees removed or cut in accordance with a forest management
plan, provided that such plan is filed with the Code Enforcement Officer,
Tree Specialist, Shade Tree Commission and Tax Assessor.
4. Any tree or trees removed or cut in accordance with a conservation
plan approved by the Soil Conservation District, provided that such
plan has been filed with the Shade Tree Commission or the Tax Assessor.
5. Any tree or trees planted and grown for commercial purposes on property
used as a commercial nursery, tree farm, garden center, Christmas
tree plantations or tree orchards.
6. Any tree located on a tract of land one acre or less in size on which
a single-family dwelling has been erected and a Certificate of Occupancy
issued.
7. Any tree growing on land actually being used for a sanitary landfill
operation or for surface mining.
8. Any tree growing in a public right-of-way.
9. Any dead, diseased, or other tree that is likely to endanger life
or property.
10. Any tree located on a tract of land for which a site that has received
preliminary or final minor or major subdivision approval, preliminary
or final site plan approval from the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment
or where an application has been filed and deemed complete for the
erection of residential dwellings, commercial or industrial uses.
11. Any tree located within 10 feet of the proposed lines of a building
foundation for which a building permit has been issued.
12. Any tree located within the actual proposed placement of driveways
and sidewalks incidental to the construction of a principal building,
for which a building permit has been issued.
13. Any tree in a drainage or utility easement.
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
A tree removal and permit application shall be submitted to
the Inspection Department. Applications that require Planning Board
or Zoning Board approval shall have tree removal permit application
as part of the submittal to the Planning Board or Zoning Board and
said plans provided to the Inspection Department for review and approval
in accordance with this chapter. Tree removal permit application shall
contain the following:
a. The name and address of the applicant.
b. The name and address of the owner of the property from which the
trees are to be removed.
c. The lot and block of the property.
d. The shape and dimensions of the lot or parcel, including the location
of all existing and proposed easements. If the tree removal permit
is for a single-family residence, the plan shall consist of a tree
location sketch containing the minimum amount of pertinent information
to enable the determination of compliance with the regulations in
this chapter. The plan for any other property shall include a survey
prepared by a licensed land surveyor that contains tree locations.
The survey shall contain, at a scale of no less than one inch equals
50 feet the following information:
1. The existing and proposed tree preservation limits.
2. The proposed limit of the clearing and all Historic and Specimen
Trees to be retained outside the tree clearing identified by some
approved method as determined by the Code Enforcement Officer or his
designee, such as flagging, prior to the field inspection. For any
clearing greater than or equal to two acres, a representative one
hundred by one hundred (100 x 100) foot sample area reviewed and approved
by the Code Enforcement Officer shall be inventoried. In addition
all Historic and Specimen Trees shall be located.
3. The installation and limits of a temporary existing tree protection
fence along the limits of the proposed tree removal shall be designated
on the plan.
4. All Specimen and Historic Trees to be removed shall be indicated
on the plan. All reasonable efforts shall be made to preserve such
trees.
5. A proposed tree replacement plan, if required, in accordance with
this chapter. A tree replacement plan shall be considered the proposed
landscaping plan required for all subdivision and site plan approvals.
7. The location of existing and proposed structures and improvements,
if any.
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
Any and all permits approved by the Inspection Department shall
be declared null and void if the tree removal is not completed within
a reasonable time, not to exceed 36 months, from the date of approval
unless extended by the Code Enforcement Officer. Permits not used
within this period will require a new application and the payment
of new fees. For purposes of this section, a permit shall no longer
be valid when the work authorized by the permit is completed.
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
Upon completion of the review by the Planning Board, Zoning
Board or Code Enforcement Officer, as applicable, the permit will
be approved, provided:
a. The tree removal permit is compliant with Section
19-5;
b. The tree replacement plan is approved by the Code Enforcement Officer;
c. At least one of the criteria as follows has been satisfied:
1. The tree is located in an area where a structure or improvements
will be placed according with the approval of Planning/Zoning Boards.
2. The tree is dead, diseased, injured in danger of falling, is too
close to existing or proposed structures, interferes with existing
utility service, creates unsafe vision of clearance or conflicts with
other ordinances or regulations.
3. The tree is to be removed for harvesting as a commercial product
or for the purpose of making land available for farming or other agricultural
activity, or is to be removed in furtherance of a forest management
plan or soil conservation plan, or to serve some other purpose which
is consistent with the purposes of this ordinance.
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
Any tree removed pursuant to a tree removal permit shall be replaced as provided below, unless said free is located in an exempt area, is dead or fatally diseased as determined by the Code Enforcement Officer, or tree replacement payment is made pursuant to subsection
19-8.1. Tree replacement shall be required in accordance with the standards set forth in ANSI Z60. I, American Standard for Nursery Stock. Tree replacement shall be in accordance with either paragraph a, b, or c below or a combination of paragraphs a, b, and c below.
a. Replacement trees shall be provided in accordance with subsection
19-8.1 All proposed replacement trees shall be in accordance with selections from Trees For New Jersey Streets, published by the New Jersey Shade Tree Federation, and Street Tree Fact sheets, a publication of the Municipal Tree Restoration Program, and submitted for review and approval prior to the issuance of a tree removal permit.
b. All replacement trees shall be planted on site, unless all of the replacement trees cannot be physically accommodated. In such instance, the applicant shall pay the tree replacement fee in accordance with the schedule in subsection
19-8.1.
c. Exempt Areas.
1. For all new residential and mixed use development, the exempt area
will consist of the area required to construct the dwelling and ancillary
facilities. The ancillary areas shall include the driveway, parking
areas, garage, roads, basins, decks and all utilities, including septic
systems if required. The area required for construction will include
a perimeter of 20 feet around the structure, and a perimeter of five
feet around all ancillary facilities. In addition, the balance of
the area shall be exempt based on the proposed lot size in accordance
with the following:
Lot Size
|
Additional Exempt Area
|
---|
Up to 7,500 s/f or less
|
95%
|
Greater than 7,500 s/f but less than 10,000 s/f
|
90%
|
10,001 s/f— 12,000 s/f
|
85%
|
12,001 s/f— 15,000 s/f
|
80%
|
15,001 s/f— 20,000 s/f
|
75%
|
20,001 s/f— 40,000 s/f
|
70%
|
Greater than 40,000 s/f
|
50%
|
These sites shall be required to preserve or replace the following
minimum number of trees based on the lot size. The replacement trees
for this section shall be either two inch to two and one half (2 1/2)
caliper trees as specified in this ordinance or four to six foot evergreen
trees in accordance with the following:
|
Lot Size
|
Minimum Number of Trees
|
---|
7,500
|
4
|
7,501-10,000
|
6
|
10,001-12,000
|
8
|
12,001-15,000
|
10
|
15,001-20,000
|
12
|
20,001-40,000
|
14
|
Greater than 40,000
|
16
|
2. Agricultural operations are exempt from replacement requirements
because such operations are governed by the Right-to-Farm Act, N.J.S.A.
4:1C-1 to 10, which preempts local regulation.
3. In all commercial, industrial and nonresidential developments the
developed area of the site shall be exempt. The sites shall be required
to preserve or replace trees based on the rate of four trees per acre
of clearing.
4. Utility line clearance operations, provided that such plan is filed
with the Inspection Department and work performed in accordance with
ANSI A300 Part 7: BMP "Utility Pruning of Trees," and Board of Tree
Experts "Pruning Standards for Shade Trees" section 5.5.
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
In case of emergencies such as hurricanes, fire, windstorm,
ice storm, flood, freezing temperatures or other disaster, or in the
case of dead or diseased trees which are a hazard to persons or property,
the requirements of the regulations set forth in this chapter may
be waived by the Code Enforcement Officer upon a finding that such
waiver is necessary so that the public or private work to restore
order on the property in the Township will not be impeded.
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
The Code Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized to issue stop-work
orders to the holder of the tree removal permit in the event that
there is:
a. A failure to comply with the approved plan such as a site plan, forest
management plan or soil conservation plan;
b. Noncompliance with the tree removal permit granted pursuant to this
chapter; or
c. Noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter.
The stop-work order shall remain in effect until the Code Enforcement
Officer, if one has been appointed, has determined that the resumption
of work will not violate the plans, permit or the provisions of this
chapter.
|
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
The Lakewood Department of Code Enforcement in consultation
with the Shade Tree Commission, if one has been appointed, shall oversee
all tree removals pursuant to an issued tree removal permit. The Code
Enforcement Officer shall conduct adequate inspections of all sites
for which a tree removal permit has been issued. Upon the ascertainment
of a violation of this chapter, the Shade Tree Commission shall refer
enforcement actions to the Code Enforcement Officer.
[Ord. No. 2010-95]
All provisions of this chapter shall apply to any person removing trees on behalf of any other person, including all tree removal construction companies or persons in the business of removing trees or construction. It shall be unlawful for any person or company to remove or cause to be removed any tree or undertake any work for which a permit is required pursuant to this chapter unless a valid permit therefore is in effect and is displayed in accordance with the provisions set forth in Section
19-15; such removal or work shall constitute a violation of this section and shall subject the person or company violating this section to all penalties provided herein.