Want to cut down a tree on your property in Plainsboro? You’ll have to apply for permission from the township first.
The Plainsboro Township Committee approved an ordinance on Oct. 13 that requires property owners seeking to remove mature trees to apply for a permit.
The new process affects “significant trees” on private property, defined as deciduous trees that could reach a mature height of 50 feet or evergreens that could reach a mature height of 30 feet. The permit fee is $15 and applicants must give a reason for the tree removal.
An applicant denied a permit by the town may appeal to the township administrator. Property owners guilty of removing a significant tree without a permit will be fined $500, or three times the cost of a replacement tree.
“As the community matures, trees in developments that went in 20, 30 years ago are maturing,” planning director Les Varga said. “They are creating a canopy and the township would like to maintain that to the greatest extent possible. If there are safety issues, property owners will of course be allowed to cut down the tree.”
Although the intent of the ordinance is straightforward, it’s unclear what, or who, precipitated the measure.
Mayor Pete Cantu said the ordinance was proposed by member of township committee “alarmed by the number of substantial trees being taken down in town. This ordinance is specific to specimen trees, trees of a certain size. It doesn’t prohibit it, it requires specific reasons to take a tree down.”
Cantu said he did not remember who proposed the ordinance or where trees were being taken down.
“Some people were concerned that trees were being taken down,” said Craig Ross, the chair of the township’s Shade Tree Advisory Committee for more than 20 years. “The thing about Plainsboro, most of the new communities don’t have trees between sidewalks and curb, they aren’t under jurisdiction of the town. Trees line the street but they line the street on the person’s property.”
Asked where trees were being felled Ross said, “Mostly you had homeowner groups that were concerned.”
Ross said the township committee initiated the ordinance, but committeeman David Bander, liaison to the Shade Tree Advisory Committee, said the idea originated with the shade tree folks. Asked about the ordinance, he referred questions to the head of public works, Neil Blitz.
Blitz’s secretary immediately referred inquiries to the township administrator, Anthony Cancro.
Informed of the run around, Cancro said, “Lucky me.”
Asked what the impetus of the ordinance was, Cancro said, “I wouldn’t read too much into it. Sometimes it’s reactionary, sometimes it’s preventative. This is a preventative measure.”
