GR Council Concerned for Homeowners Over Proposed Tree Policy

A representative of the Glen Rock Shade Tree Advisory Committee presented a plan to the council that would limit homeowners' ability to cut down trees on their property, according to a report in The Glen Rock Gazzette.

Citing the need to maintain the borough's tree canopy, Commitee Chair Leslie Kameny presented two options to the council, according to the article. One would require a tree-removal permit as part of the borough's building code before "clear-cutting"; the other would limit the number of healthy trees homeowners could remove within specific time periods.

Kameny also pitched the idea that homeowners be required to keep healthy trees on their property for a certain amount of time before they could be cut, the article states.

Council members, according to the article, expressed hesitancy, saying such policies if implemented could be a disturbance to homeowner rights.

The , though the focus was more on dead trees than living ones.

Parks and Recreation Chairman Tim Cronin presented a plan that would force homeowners to get a permit through the Engineering Department to plant, remove or prune a tree in a village right-of-way.

Other stipulations required the trees be replaced and be planted on the property beyond the sidewalk.

Deputy Mayor Tom Riche found the process of forcing such measures on residents "absurd."

"I think this is government rum amok," Riche said.

"We're talking about trees that make the quality of life, the visual impact of Ridgewood," said Village Manager Ken Gabbert, who defended the policy. "If someone did want to, even though its on their property to cut it down, we're saying: 'No, that's a protected tree.' If they want to cut down a dead tree and plant a new tree, that's fine. That's still part of the approval process." 

Ridgewood's Shade Tree Committee is still working on developing a policy.