A draft version of an updated ordinance regarding the removal and replacement of trees will be presented and discussed in the upcoming West Windsor Council Meeting on Monday February 26th, 7pm.
A few highlights of the new ordinance include:
Tree removal permits required for all trees (minimum size requirements)
Businesses and individuals that provide tree care services are required to be appropriately insured, registered, licensed, and trained.
Tree replacement quantity and planting requirements
Enforcement and appeals process
Reporting, violations, and penalties
In the summer of 2023 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection( NJDEP) revised the Tier A Municipal Stormwater General Permit. The revised permit requirements included an obligation upon municipalities to adopt and enforce a community- wide ordinance covering tree removal/ replacement, based upon a model ordinance, if towns did not already have an ordinance that met the requirements. The final model ordinance was issued on November 3, 2023.
West Windsor Township' s current tree removal code, section 170, does not include provisions to meet the requirements offered in the NJDEP model. The significant differences generally include:
Tree removal or all private property must be regulated. Whereas the West Windsor code exempts the vast majority of single- family residential properties.
The regulations must address replanting of replacement trees to mitigate tree removal. Whereas the West Windsor code does not include provisions for replacement of trees to be removed, with some exception regarding tree clearing associated with land development projects.
If a property owner cannot plant replacement trees on the property subject of the tree removal, than Township should collect a fee to implement replacement tree planting and care on other Township properties to address the mitigation.
A May 1, 2024 deadline was established for municipalities to adopt a Tree Removal Ordinance that addresses the provisions offered in the NJDEP model.
The West Windsor Township Shade Tree Commission initiated a draft revision to the West Windsor Township code, section 170, regarding trees. This draft is intended to replace section 170 of the West Windsor Township code in total.
A copy of the draft revision can be found in the Council Meeting agenda for Feb 26 (once it is published). https://westwindsornj.org/mayor-council/council-agendas-minutes
A copy of the final NJDEP model ordinance an be found here: https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/njpdes-stormwater/ordinances/model-tree-removal-replacement-final-2023.pdf