The Town Board of the Town of Colonie hereby
finds that excessive cutting of trees upon large tracts of land has
resulted in creating increased surface drainage and increased soil
erosion, thereby causing increased municipal costs to control drainage
within the Town and impairing the benefits of occupancy of existing
residential and commercial property in such areas and impairing the
stability and value of both improved and unimproved real property
in such areas with attendant deterioration of conditions affecting
health, safety and general welfare of the inhabitants of the Town.
It is hereby enacted by the Town Board of the
Town of Colonie that in presenting plans of developments for approval
by the Planning Board, either residential or commercial developments,
that the applicants must, in addition to existing requirements, show
the area from which trees will be removed.
The Planning Board of the Town of Colonie is
empowered to require that trees will be left standing in areas upon
the plat or subdivision, and no live tree exceeding three inches in
diameter may be cut down in such areas without expressed consent of
the Planning Board, to be indicated upon the approved plan. The Planning
Board may also require that trees shall not be cut down on or removed
from any building plot on the subdivision unless the area is to be
occupied by the building thereon. In such instance trees may be cut
down in area to be occupied by buildings or driveways and within a
distance of 10 feet around the perimeter of such buildings or driveways.