Tree Cutting Measure Postponed in Teaneck

The Township Council has tabled an ordinance that would give residents the ability to get a permit to hire specialists to cut and remove unhealthy or hazardous public trees after concerns were raised that the move could ax too many trees in Teaneck.

Under the proposed ordinance, residents would be able to obtain a $100 town permit to hire a tree professional to cut, prune or remove specific species of trees. The tree specialist would need to be certified by the state or the International Society of Arboriculture, and cleared by the town's shade tree supervisor.

According to the ordinance, "…The Township Council finds that it would be in the best interests of the citizens…to permit its residents to hire, at their own cost and expense, tree professionals, to cut and remove certain species of trees and to prune and trim public trees upon public lands or within public rights-of-way after first obtaining a permit from the supervisor."

Some members of the town's Shade Tree Advisory Board said they wanted time to review changes to the ordinance and said they were concerned it was unclear who could decide if a tree posed a hazard.

Board member Norma Goetz said the town's tree official should be responsible for making the call, in consultation with the board.

"Otherwise we will be a treeless town," she said.

The decision to remove a tree would still be with the town's tree supervisor, according to the ordinance and Township Attorney Stanley Turitz. Residents, however, could hire their own crews and not wait for the township if it was determined that the trees were unhealthy or presented a risk.

Teaneck's current regulation gives the town's shade tree supervisor lone responsibility in deciding if a public tree, or one located in a public right-of-way, should be cut, pruned or removed. Only the town is allowed to handle the tree work.

Residents often complained about problem trees in Teaneck and what they say is inaction or a slow response from the town to fix the issue. Downed trees have left scores of Teaneck residents in the dark after recent extreme weather.

Shade Tree Advisory Board Chair Roby Langert requested that the ordinance be postponed until board members could further review the measure.

Councilman Elie Y. Katz, who has pushed for the ordinance, said he hoped for quick action.

"We have been talking about this for quite some time and I believe we even went through an additional storm since we began to talk about it," he said. "Teaneck is not haphazardly letting everybody in town cut down trees."

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