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Township of Lower Salford, PA
Montgomery County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (2) Index
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Lower Salford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-28-1973 by Ord. No. 73-6]
The Board of Supervisors of Lower Salford Township hereby establishes the following rules and regulations which shall be applicable to all Township parks, recreation areas and Township-owned open space areas in Lower Salford Township.
A. 
The Township parks are open to all Township residents and guests from sunup to sundown throughout the year, except for special events authorized by the Park Board.
[Amended 5-6-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-2]
B. 
Use of the open space facilities by organized or other groups of 10 or more persons shall be scheduled in advance at the Township Office.
C. 
The following are prohibited:
[Amended 5-20-1993 by Res. No. 93-18; 6-1-1994 by Res. No. 94-10; 5-6-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-2]
(1) 
Possession or use of alcoholic beverages.
(2) 
Boisterous, immoral or indecent conduct.
(3) 
Discarding of trash, garbage or other litter except in containers provided for that purpose.
(4) 
Damaging, defacing, destroying or removing Township-owned signs, property, structures, equipment, trees, shrubs or other material.
(5) 
Planting, cutting, digging and/or removal of plant material (e.g., trees, shrubs, crops, ground cover, etc.) except upon receipt of a permit from the Park Board.
(6) 
Operating, stopping or parking of any motor vehicle except on designated roads or parking areas. Working authorized farm vehicles and Township maintenance equipment are excepted.
(7) 
Operating any motor vehicle on a park road or parking lot in a reckless or negligent manner or in such a manner as to become a nuisance to other park users. Operating a minibike, snowmobile or other similar recreational vehicle anywhere in a Township park, recreation area or Township-owned open space area.
(8) 
Discharging any type of firearm.
(9) 
Possession or use of fireworks.
(10) 
Possession or use of archery equipment.
(11) 
All fires, except cooking fires in fireplaces, grills or other equipment furnished for cooking purposes in designated areas when under adult supervision. All open burning unless a special permit is granted by the Township Fire Marshal. All such fires must be completely extinguished before leaving.
(12) 
Playing or practicing golf anywhere on parks, playgrounds, or open space areas.
(13) 
Geocaching in parks, playgrounds, or open space areas.
(14) 
Paintball in parks, playgrounds, or open space areas.
(15) 
Vehicle repairs or maintenance of any type.
(16) 
Disturbance of birds' nests, eggs or any other wildlife or wildlife habitat.
(17) 
Erection of any temporary or permanent structure, such as tree houses, platforms, or clubhouses.
(18) 
All dogs must be under control and may not be allowed to run at large.
(19) 
Trapping, except upon receipt of a permit from the Park Board.
(20) 
Swimming, boating and use of flotation devices on any Township-owned pond.
(21) 
Depositing household waste in the trash containers throughout the open space area.
D. 
Public use of those portions of the open space facilities that are leased by the Township to tenants is limited and shall in no way result in injury to crops, livestock, fences and/or buildings and shall not inconvenience in any manner the tenants in their legal activities.
E. 
Camping and provision of auxiliary facilities (e.g., latrines) shall be limited to approved sites.
F. 
Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this article shall be subject to a criminal fine not to exceed $1,000 per violation plus restitution for damages done and imprisonment in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility to the extent allowed by law for the punishment of summary offenses. Enforcement of any such violations shall be by action brought before a District Justice in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
[Amended 8-4-1982 by Ord. No. 82-8; 9-19-1996 by Ord. No. 96-3; 6-3-1998 by Ord. No. 98-4; 11-18-1999 by Ord. No. 99-16]
[Adopted 12-17-1992 by Ord. No. 92-13]
Pursuant to Article XIX-B, Section 1903-B, of the Second Class Township Code,[1] the Board of Supervisors hereby confers on the Lower Salford Township Park Board all the powers and duties prescribed by such article for a Shade Tree Commission.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now 53 P.S. § 67901 et seq.
It shall be the responsibility of the Park Board to develop and/or update annually a written plan for the care, preservation, pruning, planting, replanting, removal or disposition of trees in the rights-of-way, public places and parklands owned by Lower Salford Township. The Park Board shall also conduct an annual inspection in the spring of each year of all developed park areas and recommend to the Board of Supervisors any tree maintenance and care necessary for the existing trees. Any expenses incurred by the Park Board in conducting the foregoing activities shall be included in its annual budget to the Board of Supervisors.
The purpose of this article is to provide for the management and protection of trees, shrubs and other plants located in the rights-of-way, public parklands and open space owned by Lower Salford Township, to establish areas within the Township parklands for the planting and replacement of trees and to provide and promote a safe and healthier environment for future generations in Lower Salford Township.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
HEDGE
A fence or barrier formed of privet or other bushes set close together.
HEDGEROW
A fence row of bushes, trees, etc., planted as a hedge.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
Any tree afflicted with a disease or infested with insects which threatens to injure or destroy other trees in the Township; dead or dying trees; a tree or limb(s) that obstructs street lights, traffic signs, sight lines, free passage of pedestrians or vehicles; a tree that poses a threat to safety.
TOPPING
The severe cutting back of limbs to stubs within the tree crown to such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.
TREE
A perennial woody plant having usually a single, self-supporting trunk of considerable height, with branches and foliage growing at some distance above the ground.
All utility companies or their duly authorized agents shall register with the Township prior to any tree trimming in the Township rights-of-way. All such utility companies or their duly authorized agents shall also notify the Township prior to removing any trees in any of the Township rights-of-way.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or Township department to top any street tree, park tree or other tree on property owned by the Township. The Park Board may, upon proper application, exempt from the foregoing prohibition trees which are severely damaged by storms or other causes, or certain trees under utility wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical.
To prevent indiscriminate removal of trees and interference with wildlife habitat, Township trees may only be removed when one or more of the following criteria are met and such removal is approved by the Park Board:
A. 
The Township maintenance crew determines that a tree or trees must be removed in order to construct a road or road improvements.
B. 
The tree is infested with insects or an epidemic disease where the control recommended by a certified arborist is not possible and removal to prevent transmission is the practice recommended by such arborist.
C. 
The tree poses a public nuisance because of its species, size, location or condition. Such nuisance could be caused by fruit or seed dropped, tenancy to harbor insects or excessive twig or limb breakage.
D. 
The tree interferes with the growth and development of a more desirable tree.
E. 
The tree poses a safety hazard that cannot be corrected by pruning, transplanting or other treatments.
F. 
Public work improvements required to be made around the tree will kill the tree or render it a hazard.
G. 
Preservation of the tree when adjacent property is developed is not cost effective. Cost effectiveness shall be determined by comparing the monetary value of the tree to the construction costs necessary to preserve such tree.
When it becomes necessary under the criteria established in § 117-8 above for the Township to remove trees, the Park Board shall submit to the Board of Supervisors for their approval an appropriate location and species of tree, as recommended in § 142-43 of this Code, to be replanted by the Township. Replacement trees of two-and-one-half-inch caliper shall be replanted, at a ratio of at least 1:1, in a permanent location at an area near where the trees were removed. If such replanting is not feasible, the Park Board shall determine a secondary area for tree replanting. In so doing, the Park Board shall take into account the time of year and weather conditions, but such replanting shall occur within one year of the tree removal. When it becomes necessary, under the criteria established in § 117-8 above, for Lower Salford Township to clear hedgerows, the Park Board shall determine an alternate location beneficial to the location of the wildlife habitat of the area to be replanted with desirable shrubs to provide cover and food (e.g., juniper, cotoneaster, firethorn and holly). In so doing, time of the year and weather conditions shall be taken into consideration, but such replanting of shrubs must be accomplished within one year of the removal.
In pruning trees, all final cuts shall be made sufficiently close to the trunk of the parent limb to prevent leaving a protruding stub but without cutting into the branch collar, and all such cuts shall be in conformity of the standards of the National Arborist Association. All necessary pruning cuts shall be made in such manner as to prevent bark from being torn from the tree and to facilitate rapid healing. Flush cutting shall be deemed unacceptable pruning.
The Township Manager shall enforce the provisions of this article. The Board of Supervisors shall have the right to review the decisions of the Park Board. Any person may appeal from any ruling or order of the Park Board to the Board of Supervisors who shall hear the matter and make a final decision.
The Township shall be exempt from the requirements of this article with respect to tree replacement when the removal of the tree or trees is deemed necessary by the Township Engineer as a condition to the issuance of a Township driveway permit.