Tree removal ordinance to go to the public

The Township Council appears ready to give final approval to an amended tree removal ordinance at its July 2 meeting.

By:Al Wicklund
   MONROE —The Township Council appears ready to give final approval to an amended tree removal ordinance at its July 2 meeting.
   The ordinance, which requires contractors to replace trees or pay for replacement trees, was introduced Monday.
   The township has been dealing with the ordinance since it was challenged by a lawsuit by the New Jersey Builders Association.
   The association, represented by Wayne Peck, a Freehold attorney, filed a lawsuit some six months ago that contends that Monroe doesn’t have the authority for such an ordinance under the state’s municipal land-use law.
   Attorney Marguerite Schaffer of Shain, Schaffer and Rafanello of Bernardsville, the township’s attorney, said the ordinance has been moved from the land-use part of the law to the section of the township’s ordinances covering health and public safety.
   She said Monroe has been working with the court mediator and Builders Association to keep the law fair and workable.
   "There hasn’t been much change. We still have our tree replacement fund. We’re seeking to have the replacement or fund-payment aspect of tree removal to be applied fairly in all related aspects of the township code, including our site plan ordinance.
   "I believe the Township Committee will pass the ordinance on July 2 and we’ll ask the court to dismiss the case," Ms. Schaffer said.
   The attorney said that, in preparing the ordinance, she worked with the Planning Board and other township agencies and officials to try to ensure consistency and fairness in the law.
   Mr. Peck could not be reached Thursday, but said recently he and officers of the Builders Association would review the council’s action and then decide whether they would continue the association’s suit.
   The council has been working on the new ordinance for more than four months. It unanimously approved the first version of the amended law on first reading Feb. 7. Since then, there have been a series of changes.
   Mr. Peck said, at the beginning of the process, the association wanted to challenge the fairness of tree-removal ordinances and elected to make the Monroe law a test.
   Ms. Schaffer said, in addition to moving the ordinance to a different section of the municipal code, other changes include exempting from the law trees removed for the construction of public roads and for water detention basins as construction that contribute to the public good.
   She said the goal of the township has remained to achieve laws that will serve to protect the environment.