[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Long Branch 1-26-1971 by Ord. No. 590 as Sec. 17-1 of the 1971 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Environmental Commission — See Ch. 35.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 297.
[Adopted 1-26-1971 by Ord. No. 590[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: § 319-1 through § 319-9 were redesignated to Article I by Ord. No. 16-24]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
SHADE TREE
Shade and ornamental trees and shrubbery now located or which may hereafter be planted in any public street, park or parkway in the city except those located or planted on county highways, parks and parkways and state highways.
STREET
All streets, roads, roadways, public highways, parks or parkways, public alleys, public places in the city except county parks, parkways and highways and state highways.
A. 
No person shall plant or cause to be planted any shade or ornamental tree or shrub in any street or park unless the planting shall have been first approved and the place where it is to be planted designated by the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee and a permit has been granted.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
B. 
No person shall do or cause to be done by others to any tree, shrub or plant on a public street or place either purposely, carelessly or negligently or in any manner without the permission of the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee any of the following acts:
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
(1) 
Cut, prune, climb with spikes, break, damage or remove.
(2) 
Cut, disturb or interfere in any way with any root.
(3) 
Spray with any chemical.
(4) 
Fasten any rope, wire, sign or other device.
(5) 
Remove or damage any guard or device placed to protect any tree or shrub.
C. 
No person shall, without permission of the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee, place or maintain upon the ground in any public street or place any stone, cement or other sidewalks or any stone, cement or other substance which shall impede the free access of air and water to the roots of any tree or shrub in any public street or place.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
D. 
Nothing in this section shall prevent a governmental agency from affixing a public notice to a tree in connection with administering governmental affairs.
An open space of not less than two feet outside the trunks of trees at their bases on all sides shall be maintained on all trees on public streets, except where limited by curb or sidewalk.
A. 
No person shall place salt, brine, oil or other substances injurious to plant growth in any public street or place in such manner as to injure any tree or shrub.
B. 
No person shall build any fire or station any tar kettle, road roller or other engine in any public street in such a manner that the heat vapors or fumes may injure any tree or shrub.
A. 
No person shall lay any sidewalk along or open, construct, curb or pave any street or do any like act so as to interfere with or do injury to any street shade tree without the consent of the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
B. 
No statute giving any person or state, county or municipal board, body or official power or authority to lay any sidewalk along or open, construct, curb or pave any street, or do any similar act, shall be construed to permit or authorize any interference with or injury to a shade tree within the city without the consent of the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
C. 
Nothing in this section shall be held to take away or diminish any of the powers or authority of any county park commission over the trees or shrubbery in the county park or parkway within its jurisdiction or to give any other commission or board any power or authority with respect to the trees or shrubbery.
D. 
In the erection, altering or repairing of any building or structure, the owner or contractor shall place guards around all nearby trees in public streets or places as will effectually prevent injury to the trees.
E. 
No person shall excavate within two feet of any tree or shrub without the permission of the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
F. 
Shovels and all other implements, machines and tools shall be used or operated in such a manner as not to damage or destroy any tree, shrub or plant in any public street or place.
G. 
Where in authorized excavations it becomes necessary to expose or cut roots more than one inch in diameter, it shall be the duty of the contractor to protect such roots under advice from the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
A. 
No person shall, without permission of the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee, attach or fasten any wire, insulator or other device for holding any wire to any tree or shrub in any public street or place.
B. 
A utility company or its agents may, with prior permission of the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee, prune and remove trees for line clearance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Ch. A350, Cable Television Franchise, § A350-8D.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
A. 
The Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee shall have the power to remove or require the removal of any tree or part thereof on public or private lands when it has been determined to be dangerous to public safety.
B. 
The Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee shall give reasonable notice of its intention to remove or cause the removal of a tree or part thereof dangerous to public safety unless public safety requires immediate removal, in which case no notice shall be necessary.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 41-99]
A. 
Where the permission, consent or approval of the Council of the City of Long Branch is required by the provisions of this chapter, any person required to obtain its permission, consent or approval shall first make application to the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee.
B. 
No person shall prevent, delay or in any manner interfere with the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee or its designated agents in the performance of its lawful duties.
[Added 7-10-2024 by Ord. No. 16-24]
This article establishes requirements for tree removal and replacement in the City of Long Branch to reduce soil erosion and pollutant runoff, promote infiltration of rainwater into the soil, and protect the environment, public health, safety, and welfare.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein unless their use in the text of this chapter clearly demonstrates a different meaning. When consistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural number include the singular number, and words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
APPLICANT
Any "person", as defined below, who applies for approval to remove trees regulated under this article.
CRITICAL ROOT RADIUS (CRR)
The zone around the base of a tree where the majority of the root system is found. This zone is calculated by multiplying the diameter at breast height (DBH) of the tree by 1.5 feet. For example: a tree with a 6" DBH would have a CRR = 6" x 1.5' = 9'.
DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT (DBH)
The diameter of the trunk of a mature tree generally measured at a point four and a half feet above ground level from the uphill side of the tree. For species of trees where the main trunk divides below the 4 1/2 foot height, the DBH shall be measured at the highest point before any division.
HAZARD TREE
A tree or limbs thereof that meet one or more of the criteria below. Trees that do not meet any of the criteria below and are proposed to be removed solely for development purposes are not hazard trees.
A. 
Has an infectious disease or insect infestation;
B. 
Is dead or dying;
C. 
Obstructs the view of traffic signs or the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles, where pruning attempts have not been effective;
D. 
Is causing obvious damage to structures (such as building foundations, sidewalks, etc.); or
E. 
Is determined to be a threat to public health, safety, and/or welfare by a certified arborist or Licensed Tree Expert (LTE).
PERSON
Any individual, resident, corporation, utility, company, partnership, firm, or association.
PLANTING STRIP
The part of a street right-of-way between the public right-of-way and the portion of the street reserved for vehicular traffic or between the abutting property line and the curb or traveled portion of the street, exclusive of any sidewalk.
RESIDENT
An individual who resides on the residential property or contractor hired by the individual who resides on the residential property where a tree(s) regulated by this ordinance is removed or proposed to be removed.
STREET TREE
A tree planted in the sidewalk, planting strip, and/or in the public right-of-way adjacent to (or specified distance from) the portion of the street reserved for vehicular traffic. This also includes trees planted in planting strips within the roadway right-of-way, i.e., islands, medians, pedestrian refuges.
TREE
A woody perennial plant, typically having a single stem or trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral branches at some distance from the ground.
TREE CALIPER
The diameter of the trunk of a young tree, measured six inches from the soil line. For young trees whose caliper exceeds four inches, the measurement is taken 12 inches above the soil line.
TREE REMOVAL
To kill or to cause irreparable damage that leads to the decline and/or death of a tree. This includes, but is not limited to, excessive pruning, application of substances that are toxic to the tree, over-mulching or improper mulching, and improper grading and/or soil compaction within the critical root radius around the base of the tree that leads to the decline and/or death of a tree. Removal does not include responsible pruning and maintenance of a tree, or the application of treatments intended to manage invasive species.
A. 
Removal of trees. Any person planning to remove a street tree, as defined as Tree removal, with DBH of 2.5" or more or any non-street tree with DBH of 6" or more on their property shall submit a Tree Removal Application to the Council of the City of Long Branch or its designee. No tree shall be removed until municipal officials have reviewed and approved the removal.
B. 
Tree replacement requirements:
(1) 
Any person who removes one or more street tree(s) with a DBH of 2.5" or more, unless exempt under Section IV, shall be subject to the requirements of the Tree Replacement Requirements Table below.
(2) 
Any person, who removes one or more tree(s), as defined as Tree removal, with a DBH of 6" or more per acre, unless otherwise detailed under § 319-13, Exemptions shall be subject to the requirements of the Tree Replacement Requirements Table.
(3) 
The species type and diversity of replacement trees shall be in accordance with Appendix A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the City offices.
(4) 
Replacement tree(s) shall:
(a) 
Be replaced in kind with a tree that has an equal or greater DBH than tree removed or meet the Tree Replacement Criteria in the table below;
(b) 
Be planted within 12 months of the date of removal of the original tree(s) or at an alternative date specified by the City.
(c) 
Be monitored by the applicant for a period of two years to ensure their survival and shall be replaced as needed within 12 months; and
(d) 
Shall not be planted in temporary containers or pots, as these do not count towards tree replacement requirements.
C. 
Tree replacement requirements table:
Editor's Note: This table is restated in § 345-47.3.
Category
Tree Removed (DBH)
Tree Replacement Criteria (See Appendix A)
Application Fee
1
DBH of 2.5" (for street trees) or 6" (for non-street trees) to 12.99"
Replant 1 tree with a minimum tree caliper of 1.5" for each tree removed
$25
2
DBH of 13" to 22.99"
Replant 2 trees with minimum tree calipers of 1.5" for each tree removed
$25
3
DBH of 23" to 32.99"
Replant 3 trees with minimum tree calipers of 1.5" for each tree removed
$25
4
DBH of 33" or greater
Replant 4 trees with minimum tree calipers of 1.5" for each tree removed
$25
D. 
Replacement alternatives:
(1) 
If the City determines that some or all required replacement trees cannot be planted on the property where the tree removal activity occurred, then the applicant shall do one of the following:
(a) 
Plant replacement trees in a separate area(s) approved by the City.
(b) 
Pay a fee of $100 per tree to be removed. This fee shall be placed into a fund dedicated to tree planting and continued maintenance of the trees.
All persons shall comply with the tree replacement standard outlined above, except in the cases as detailed below.
A. 
Residents who remove less than four trees per acre that fall into category 1,2, or 3 of the Tree Replacement Requirements Table within a five-year period. (The number of trees removed is a rolling count across a five-year period. For example, if 3 trees from category 1 are removed in July 2023, the 'count' resets to zero in July 2028. However, if 1 tree from category 1 is removed in July 2023 and another in July of 2025 the first tree will come off the count in July 2028 and the second in July 2030.)
B. 
Tree farms in active operation, nurseries, fruit orchards, and garden centers.
C. 
Properties used for the practice of silviculture under an approved forest stewardship or woodland management plan that is active and on file with the municipality.
D. 
Any trees removed as part of a municipal or state decommissioning plan. This exemption only includes trees planted as part of the construction and predetermined to be removed in the decommissioning plan.
E. 
Any trees removed pursuant to a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved environmental clean-up, or NJDEP approved habitat enhancement plan.
F. 
Approved game management practices, as recommended by the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife;
G. 
Hazard trees may be removed with no fee or replacement requirement.
This article shall be enforced by the Police Department of the City of Long Branch during the course of ordinary enforcement duties.
Any person who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this article shall be subject to a minimum fine of $100 up to $1,000 per tree. In addition to these penalties, each person who removes a tree or otherwise destroy a tree in violation of this article shall be required to replace the tree(s) with another of like or superior species as defined herein at their own expense.