Move allows township to use
funds for equipment purcahses
By:Roger Alvarado
Despite criticism, the Township Committee voted 3-1 to approve an ordinance amending development regulations with respect to tree preservation and mitigation requirements on off-site contributions on Tuesday.
Under the new ordinance the township will now be able to use money collected for the purchase of replacement trees to purchase equipment for planting and or maintain trees purchased through the fund.
After the meeting, Deputy Mayor Bob Wagner said he voted against the measure because he felt it was being rushed through.
"I just thought there were some other things that they needed to take a look at," he said. "It sounds like there is going to be a need to do other amendments and I didn’t see the need to put it through knowing we’re going to have to look at it again a month or so down the road. I’d rather look at it when it’s done."
Various members of the public called the portion of the ordinance allowing the township the flexibility to buy equipment to plant or maintain trees a mistake that could make the township vulnerable to developer lawsuits.
"By putting that in you commit the township to planting trees," said former Township Committeewoman Sonya Martin.
"It only gives us the option," replied Mayor Steven Sireci. "It’s not a commitment."
"The language of it indicates that the township will plant trees," Ms. Martin said. "It will give developers an opportunity to challenge the ordinance and we could lose the ordinance and lose a great deal of money."
Ms. Martin and others questioned the logic of buying equipment when the ordinance states that it’s up to the developer to handle tree mitigation.
She went on to say that by adopting the ordinance it could give the impression that the township would be "diverting money" from the tree fund for its capital expenditures.
That, she said, would be something developers would sue over since it would be their money and, in effect, the equipment purchased with it that would be used by the township.
Committeeman Tony Gwiazdowski responded to the charge by saying that "the wild spending habits of the previous administration are over, we are not spending taxpayer money" to buy equipment to maintain trees.
Mayor Sireci wholeheartedly disagreed with Ms. Martin saying that there are times when developers choose to pay money in lieu of planting trees and one of his concerns is that any trees planted in the township are maintained beyond the usual two-year period of guarantee that is usually agreed to between the sides.
Planning Board member Valerie Chaucer Levine urged the Township Committee come up with an amendment to the ordinance that would "put some kind of control" to the ability to purchase or not purchase equipment.
Mayor Sireci responded saying the ordinance will be examined further by the Planning Board during its work session later this month and any changes would then be forwarded to the Township Committee.
Much to the chagrin of those in attendance, Mayor Sireci said that despite the high likelihood that further amendments will be made to the ordinance he felt comfortable voting on it and putting it into effect.
The ordinance also clearly delineates the township’s criteria for granting developers economic hardship waivers from the requirements.
In cases of commercial and residential development, the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment will reduce the replanting requirement if the commercial developer can prove mitigation costs of 1.5 percent of total site improvements for a commercial development. The reduction in replanting will be approved at the site plan application stage.
"We are closing a loophole where developers were avoiding paying their required share of costs associated with tree mitigation," Mayor Sireci said.
According to Mayor Sireci, this very issue came up in a couple applications before the Planning Board last year.
Under the revised ordinance the total site improvement costs shall include: the estimated cost of construction for any proposed dwelling(s), commercial building(s) and any other structure(s) associated with the proposed development in addition to those costs normally associated with site preparation, soil erosion control, paving, utility work, landscaping and related site improvements.