[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Wanaque 12-27-1972 as Ord. No. 20-71-72. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Permits for planting, cutting and removal of
trees, or parts thereof, shall be required, and shall be issued by
the Borough Clerk after review and certification in writing of the
application by the Mayor and Council.
A.
The Mayor and Council shall review and certify all
new construction applications requiring a building permit after compliance
with the following:
(1)
All trees located within areas to be occupied by buildings,
driveways, parking areas, recreation areas, or within 15 feet of the
perimeter of a building, shall be removed. The Mayor and Council,
at the time of review of said application, may specify certain species
of trees within said 15 feet that shall remain standing.
(2)
The cut or fill of land required for proper development
shall be such that it is not deemed injurious or dangerous to remaining
trees.
(3)
All dead or severely injured trees, or parts thereof,
may be required to be removed within 75 feet of new construction on
the applicant's property.
B.
An on-site inspection by one or more members of the
Borough Council, or someone designated by the Borough Council, may
be required for the purpose of examining trees to be removed prior
to the issuance of certification by the Borough Council of the application;
or periodically during construction to ascertain compliance with the
controls and regulations contained herein.
C.
Where it is impossible to preserve existing trees,
or where property is void of existing trees, the applicant shall be
required to plant trees in accordance with the Mayor and Council's
requirements for planting.
D.
The Mayor and Council reserves the power to revoke
a permit for the removal of trees at any time.
A.
Before review and certification of an industrial,
commercial, single- and multiple-dwelling or minor-subdivision application,
the applicant shall submit to the Mayor and Council, at least two
weeks prior to a regular meeting of the Mayor and Council, a detailed
final plan in duplicate showing the location of the following:
(1)
Roads, curbs, sidewalks, buildings, oil tanks above
or below ground, gas lines, water lines, sewer lines, septic systems,
utility poles and wires, underground utility wires and other improvements.
(2)
Trees to be preserved.
(3)
New trees with their varietal names. These trees shall
be located at least 10 feet from sidewalks and at least 25 feet from
intersections. Trees shall not be located in rows nor in symmetrical
patterns on adjacent lots.
A.
Before review and approval of major-subdivision applications
by the Mayor and Council, the applicant shall submit to the Mayor
and Council, at least two weeks prior to a regular meeting of the
Mayor and Council, a location survey, plot plan or preliminary survey,
in duplicate, showing the location of proposed streets and lots, the
number and size of lots to be developed, and a detailed final plan,
in duplicate, showing the location of the following:
(1)
Roads, curbs, sidewalks, buildings, oil tanks above
or below ground, gas lines, sewer lines, septic systems, utility poles
and wires, underground utility wires and other improvements.
(2)
Trees to be preserved.
(3)
New trees with their varietal names. These trees shall
be located at least 10 feet from sidewalks and at least 25 feet from
intersections. Trees shall not be located in rows or in symmetrical
patterns on adjacent lots.
B.
The applicant shall be required to plant a specific
number of trees in approved locations whose caliper, measured one
foot above the soil level, shall be at least 1 1/2 inches. Trees
shall be straight of stem, having a fibrous root system and a uniform
branching habit. Trees shall be in healthy growing conditions, free
of insects and disease. The applicant shall post a cash bond for each
new tree planted.
C.
After trees are planted, the applicant shall request
the Mayor and Council to send a representative to inspect the planted
trees. Should the representative not approve the plantings, other
inspections shall follow until such time as the plantings are approved.
D.
A final inspection shall be made two years after the
approved inspection, and if the trees are found to be healthy and
viable, the Mayor and Council shall release all cash bonds following
the final inspection. Should trees be found defective at the time
of final inspection, the Mayor and Council may, at its discretion,
hire a nurseryman to execute the required plantings with the applicant
bearing the cost from the said posted bond.
E.
Destruction of trees by fire, vandalism, theft, motor
vehicle or such other unnatural causes found to be acceptable to the
Mayor and Council will not result in the forfeiture of the posted
cash bond, provided that the destructive forces can be substantiated
as having occurred during the ownership of some person or persons
other than the applicant.
No person shall remove or plant a tree or any
other type of plant or shrubbery upon any of the streets and highways,
or rights-of-way, public places or parks in the Borough of Wanaque
unless he shall have first obtained approval in writing from the Mayor
and Council.
The Mayor and Council may cause the removal
of a tree, or part of a tree, dangerous to public safety, after reasonable
notice of its intention to remove said tree, or part thereof, is given
to the affected property owner or owners, or an abutting owner, unless
public safety requires immediate removal, in which case no notice
shall be necessary. Costs incurred by the borough for the removal
of the aforesaid tree, or parts thereof, if it is so determined that
the Mayor and Council is to be paid by the owner, shall be paid directly
to the Borough Treasurer. Upon failure of the owner to pay such costs
to the Borough Treasurer, the Borough Treasurer shall certify to the
Tax Collector, in writing, and thereupon become and be a lien upon
said real estate, and shall be included in the next tax bill rendered
to the owner or owners thereof, and be collected in the same manner
as other taxes against said property.
An annual permit may be granted to a public
utility for the purpose of cutting, planting and the removal of trees.
All applicants to the Mayor and Council other
than an officer, department, board or agency of the borough acting
in an official capacity, shall pay the following applicable fees:
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine
not to exceed $500, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days,
or both, for each violation.
