[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Glenville 1-22-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter was developed to promote
and preserve the urban forest, maintain municipal trees and replant
in an effort to protect the environment.
As used in this chapter, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation in public
parks having individual names, and all areas owned by the Town, or
to which the public has free access as a park.
Trees, shrubs, bushes, and all other woody vegetation on
land lying between property lines on either side of all streets, avenues,
or ways within the Town.
There is hereby created and established
a Town of Glenville Tree Board which shall consist of at least five
and at maximum seven members, citizens and residents of the Town,
who shall be appointed by the Supervisor with the approval of the
Board. Appointments may constitute members of the Glenville Environmental
Conservation Commission (GECC) as well as others from relevant Town
stations such as from the Department of Public Works (DPW), Parks
Department, or Planning Department.
The term of the members of the Tree
Board shall be one year. In the event that a vacancy shall occur during
the term of any member, a successor shall be appointed for the unexpired
portion of the term.
Members of the Board shall serve
without compensation.
A.
It shall be the responsibility of the Tree
Board to administer a written plan for the care, preservation, pruning,
planting, replanting, removal or disposition of trees and shrubs in
parks, along streets and in other public areas. It shall also be the
responsibility of the Tree Board to advise the Town Board and such
other Town Officials of the need to study, investigate, counsel and
develop and/or update the tree plan annually. Such plan will be presented
annually to the Town Board and upon the Town Board's acceptance and
approval shall constitute the official comprehensive tree plan for
the Town of Glenville.
B.
The Tree Board, when requested by the Town
Board, shall consider, investigate, make findings, reports and recommendations
upon any special matter or question coming within the scope of its
work.
One member of the Tree Board shall
be designated by the Town Board as its Chair. The Tree Board shall
operate in a manner consistent with Roberts Rules and shall keep minutes
of its proceedings. A quorum shall constitute a majority of the duly
appointed members existing at the time of the action to be voted upon.
The Tree Inventory Summary, Management
Plan and Landscape Guidelines constitutes the official list of street
tree species for the Town of Glenville. No other trees species shall
be planted without Tree Board authorization.
The spacing of street trees will be in accordance with the three species size classes listed in documents referenced in § 250-8, and no trees may be planted closer together than the following: small trees, 30 feet; medium trees, 40 feet; and large trees, 50 feet; except in special plantings designed or approved by a landscape architect.
The distance trees may be planted
from curbs or curb lines and sidewalks will be in accordance with
the three species size classes, and no trees may be planted closer
to any curb or sidewalk than the following: small trees, two feet;
medium trees, three feet; and large trees, four feet.
No street tree shall be planted closer
than 35 feet of any street corner, measured from the point of nearest
intersecting curbs or curblines. No street tree shall be planted closer
than 10 feet of any fire hydrant.
No street trees other than those species listed as small trees in documents referenced in § 250-8 may be planted under or within 10 lateral feet of any overhead utility wire, or over or within five lateral feet of any underground water line, sewer line, transmission line or other utility.
A.
The Town shall have the right to plant,
prune, maintain and remove trees, plants and shrubs within the rights-of-way
of all streets, alleys, avenues, lanes, squares and public grounds,
as may be necessary to ensure public safety or in administration of
the written plan or to preserve or enhance the symmetry and beauty
of such public grounds.
B.
The Tree Board may prune, maintain, remove, or cause or order to be pruned, maintained or removed, any tree or part thereof which is in an unsafe condition or which by reason of its nature is injurious to sewers, electric power lines, gas lines, water lines, or other public improvements, or is affected with any injurious fungus, insect or other pest. This section does not prohibit the planting of street trees by adjacent property owners providing that the selection and location of said trees is in accordance with §§ 250-8 through 250-12.
It shall be unlawful as a normal
practice for any person, firm, or Town department to top any street
tree, park tree, or other tree on public property. "Topping" is defined
as the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches
in diameter within the tree's crown to such a degree so as to remove
the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. Trees severely damaged by
storms or other causes, or certain trees under utility wires or other
obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical may be
exempted from this section at the determination of the Tree Board.
Every owner of any tree overhanging
any street or right-of-way within the Town shall prune the branches
so that such branches shall not obstruct the light from any street
lamp or obstruct the view of any street intersection and so that there
shall be a clear space of eight feet above the surface of the street
or sidewalk. Said owners shall remove all dead, diseased or dangerous
trees, or broken or decayed limbs which threaten public safety. The
Town shall have the right to prune any tree or shrub on private property
when it interferes with the proper spread of light along the street
from a street light or interferes with visibility of any traffic control
device or sign.
The Town shall have the right to
cause the proper maintenance or removal of any dead or diseased trees
on private property within the Town, when, upon consultation with
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC")
such trees are considered by the DEC to constitute a hazard to life
and property, or harbor insects or disease which constitute a potential
threat to other trees within the Town. The Tree Board will cause the
Building Department to notify in writing the owners of such trees.
Proper maintenance or removal shall be done by said owners at their
own expense within 60 days after the date of service of notice. In
the event of the failure to comply with such provisions, the Town
shall have the authority to remove such trees and charge the cost
of removal to the property owner. In the event the owner fails to
pay the cost of removal, it shall become a lien upon the real property
and added to the owner's property tax in the following year.
All stumps of street and park trees
shall be removed below the surface of the ground so that the top of
the stump shall not project above the surface of the ground.
It shall be unlawful for any person
to prevent, delay or interfere with the Tree Board, or any of its
agents, while engaging in and about the planting, cultivating, mulching,
pruning, spraying, or removing of any street trees, park trees, or
trees on private grounds, as authorized in this chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any person
or firm to engage in the business or occupation of pruning, treating,
or removal of trees within the Town without possession of liability
insurance in the minimum amounts of $500,000 for bodily injury and
$100,000 property damage indemnifying the Town or any person injured
or damaged resulting from the pursuit of such endeavors as herein
described.
The Town Board shall have the right
to review, act upon or overrule the conduct, acts and decisions of
the Tree Board. Any person may appeal from any ruling or order of
the Tree Board to the Town Board who may hear the matter and make
final decision.
A.
Any person violating or failing to comply
with any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined a sum not exceeding $500.
Each tree affected by noncompliance with this chapter shall constitute
a separate violation.
B.
In lieu of or in addition to any fine or
imprisonment or both imposed for a conviction of a violation of this
chapter, each such violation may be subject to a civil penalty not
exceeding $500, to be recovered in an action or proceeding in a court
of competent jurisdiction. Each day a violation continues shall be
subject to a separate civil penalty. In addition to said civil penalty,
recovery of the value of any tree damaged, destroyed or removed in
violation of this chapter shall be had by the Town in an amount equal
to the value of said tree or trees.
