[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, 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.
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.