Town of North Beach, MD Chapter 103 Trees

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Town Council of the Town of North Beach 1-15-1997 by Ord. No. 6-96 as Art. XX of the 1982 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 103-1 Purpose.

A. To promote public awareness and pride in our native trees, to observe Arbor Day and to become a "Tree City, USA" community.

B. To establish a North Beach Tree Committee to be responsible for the tree program which regulates the planting, maintenance and removal of trees in public places.

§ 103-2 Applicability.

All trees in the public domain Town of North Beach are considered a part of the town's urban forest and are subject to the provisions of this article.

§ 103-3 Town Tree Committee.

A. Creation. There shall be created a committee to be known and designated as the "North Beach Tree Committee" composed of three members. Appointments to the Committee shall be made by the Mayor with the approval of the Council. Appointments to initially establish the Committee shall be as follows: one member for one year, one member for two years and one member for three years. Subsequently, the terms of the members shall be three years. All members shall serve without pay. Vacancies caused by death, resignations or otherwise shall be filled by the Mayor with the approval of the Council to fill the balance of unexpired term.

B. Duties and responsibilities. It shall be the responsibility of the Committee to study, investigate, counsel, develop and/or update annually and administer a written plan for the care, preservation, pruning, replanting, removal or disposition of trees and shrubs in parks, along streets and in other public areas. Such a plan will be presented annually to the Town Council and, upon its acceptance and approval, shall constitute the official Comprehensive Town Tree Plan for the town. All recommendations, publications and/or documents emanating from the Committee shall be signed by each member of the Committee.

C. Meetings. The Committee shall meet at least one time in the first month of each calendar quarter. Meetings shall be established and published prior to the first of the year. Additional meetings may be called by the Chair or by the Mayor. All meetings shall be open to the public.

D. Chair. The Committee shall elect an individual to serve as Chair for the purpose of conducting meetings.

E. Secretary. The Town Clerk shall serve as Secretary.

[Amended 2-12-2004 by Res. No. 04-01]

§ 103-4 Tree removal.

A. A tree may be removed by recommendation of the Committee and the state forester and approval of the Mayor and Town Council if it is affected by untreatable injurious fungus, insect or other pests, or if it is deemed by the Town Code Enforcement Officer to be in a hazardous condition.

B. To remove a live tree that is not an immediate danger to persons or property and is located on the state road right-of-way, a permit must be obtained from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, after concurrence by Mayor and Town Council.

§ 103-5 Actions affecting trees restricted; topping and disfigurement prohibited.

A. No person shall remove or destroy or cause the removal or destruction of a tree on any public property or undertake construction or other action that may significantly and permanently detract from the health or growth of a tree without first having obtained permission from the Town Code Enforcement Officer, which shall only be issued with the concurrence of the Mayor, based on recommendation of the North Beach Tree Committee.

B. It is unlawful as a normal practice for any person, firm or town department to top any street, park or other tree on public property to such a degree as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes or certain trees under utility lines or other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical may be exempted from this chapter (as determined by the Town Tree Committee).

§ 103-6 Official street tree species.

The official street tree species list is to be established by the Mayor and Town Council on recommendation of the Committee in concert with the State Forest Ranger.

§ 103-7 Enforcement; violations and penalties.

A. Municipal infractions.

(1) Any of the following shall constitute a municipal infraction for which a citation may be issued:

(a) Doing any of the acts prohibited in §§ 103-5 and 103-6 without written permission.

(b) Any violation of an order of the North Beach Tree Committee, including but not limited to the violation or nonperformance of conditions imposed in connection with the issuance of a permit.

(2) (2)[1] Municipal infractions shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article III, Penalties.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

B. It shall be a misdemeanor to do any of the following:

(1) Any of the acts specified above to three or more trees which are part of the urban forest, whether or not such trees are located on the same property.

(2) Any of the acts prohibited after permission has been denied.

C. A misdemeanor violation of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article III, Penalties.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 103-8 Exceptions.

No permission shall be required when performing professionally accepted tree maintenance under the authority of the Town Code Enforcement Officer.