Mendham Township To Consider Tree Protection Ordinance

MENDHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ — Mendham Township officials are considering adopting an ordinance that would protect trees across the neighborhood.

The ordinance would “adopt reasonable rules and regulations to protect trees within the Township against unnecessary destruction, removal, injury, and disease.”

The ordinance essentially implies that anyone who removes a tree must replace it with an equal-sized or larger tree within 12 months, or pay a $650 “tree replacement fee,” which cannot exceed $30,000.

Below is a tree replacement requirement table, provided by Mendham Township:

If a tree cannot be replanted in the same location as the removed tree, residents can plant it in a different location approved by the township’s Tree Committee.

Proceeds from the tree replacement fees will go towards the Tree Trust Fund, which will be used for tree maintenance and replanting on municipal property or other sites approved by the Tree Committee, according to the township.

The township provided a list of exemptions regarding the proposed tree removal regulations:

1. Residents who remove less than two (2) trees per acre that fall into category 1 or 2 and are not within the Tree conservation area, of the Tree Replacement Requirements Table, within a five-year period. [The number of trees removed is a rolling count across a five-year period. For example, if 3 trees from category 1 are removed in July 2023, the ‘count’ resets to zero in July 2028. However, if 1 tree from category 1 is removed in July 2023 and another in July of 2025 the first tree will come off the count in July 2028 and the second in July 2030.]
2. Trees cut down or removed in accordance with a forest or agricultural management plan that has been approved by the proper state or federal authority.
3. Trees cut down or removed in accordance with a private management plan submitted to and approved by the Tree Preservation and Landscape Committee.
4. Trees that must be cut down in connection with the installation of public utilities, approved private waste disposal systems, or private wells.
5. The clearing of woodlands on a commercial farm that meets the criteria of NJSA4:1C-9.
6. Trees that are verified as a hazard tree by the Tree Committee.

The ordinance also states that a tree removal fee be paid to the township when acquiring a tree removal permit. The fee is $35 for developed properties, and $75 for undeveloped properties.

Violators of the proposed ordinance would have to pay a minimum of $100 for each tree unlawfully removed. The removal of a category 1 or category 2 tree has a maximum penalty of $2,000, removal of a category 3 tree has a maximum penalty of $5,000, and removal of a category 4 tree has a maximum penalty of $10,000.

The township will be hosting a Township Committee Working Session regarding the ordinance amendments on June 30 at 6 p.m. Those with questions are encouraged to attend.