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Politics & Government

Tackling the Township's Tree-Trimming Troubles

The big topic at the Baldwin Township Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday night was the enforcement of an ordinance regulating trees in municipal space. A score of residents, and a tree expert, came out to address the board on the matter.

There wasn’t an open seat in the on Tuesday night when the township’s Board of Commissioners held a regular monthly meeting. Approximately 20 residents attended to voice their concerns over the evening’s hot topic: enforcement of the municipal ordinance regulating tree growth in township right-of-ways.

Township solicitor Tom McDermott explained the background of the issue. He said that the township owns a right-of-way in the space in front of residential homes and has an interest in excluding things from said right-of-ways out of concern for public safety.

McDermott said that fallen tree limbs have caused utility outages and road closings in the township and have created life-threatening tragedies in local and distant municipalities.

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Baldwin Township’s municipal ordinance regulating trees in right-of-way space has various clauses pertaining to set-back measurements and tree types, most of which were not at issue in the board’s decision to enforce the ordinance, McDermott said.

According to McDermott, the board sought only to enforce those regulations pertaining to trees encroaching right-of-way space that extended 12 feet from sewer lines and into the open air space, near utility lines, above the right-of-ways.

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To address this concern, McDermott said that the board voted to send out letters last year to property owners whose trees extended into the right-of-ways in this manner. The letters asked them to voluntarily trim their trees to cut back overhang in the right-of-ways, thereby acting in accordance with municipal law.

Residents who did not act accordingly were recently mailed a second letter stipulating fines, and several residents who did not receive a letter last year were issued a first letter this year, McDermott noted.

Addressing the audience of residents in attendance, McDermott said that he asked them to attend the meeting to try to come up with a middle-ground to address both the township’s interest in public safety and the residents’ interests in preserving their trees and/or saving time and money in the removal or trimming process of those trees.

When board president Eileen Frisoli opened the floor to public comments, several residents took the opportunity to express both practical concerns and outrage over the board’s decision to enforce the ordinance and, in particular, over the letters that they received detailing enforcement and penalties.

Mary Cimador, of 551 Dewalt Drive, said that she was very disturbed by the letter that she received and did not appreciate the threat of being fined $1,000 per day if she did not comply.

In response to Cimador’s comments, McDermott restated that letters were sent out last year, giving residents a full year to voluntarily comply. Mentioning fines in the second letter, he said, was at the discretion of the township.

Cimador left the meeting in tears with a warning that she would sue the township for “selective enforcement” and “harassment” if the situation was not addressed in a more amenable manner.

In wake of Cimador’s emotional response, McDermott reminded the audience that they were asked to attend the meeting to try to find a way to handle the situation that appeased both the township and its residents.

Bob Fallon, of 619 Highview Road, asked McDermott if extensions would be given before fines were issued.

McDermott said that he has received several phone calls from residents asking that same question and that he has told residents that a hardship extension would be granted to anyone who had logistic or financial concerns.

These extensions, he said, can go well into the new year so long as the requesting resident stays in communication with the township regarding the matter.

Numerous other residents addressed the board with their concerns, many of whom spoke out-of-turn without giving their names and addresses as dictated by municipal rules of decorum. The board, nonetheless, was receptive to their comments.

Residents spoke of aesthetic, environmental and financial issues, as well as asking why tree regulations were being enforced when other code standards were not.

Responding to the latter, McDermott and board members Frisoli and Nick Pellegrino each told the audience to bring any code violations to their attention by calling township manager Mary McGinley to leave an anonymous tip which would be investigated expeditiously. McGinley's office number is 412-341-9597.

As per why the township decided to enforce the tree regulations, McDermott reiterated the township’s public safety concerns. Pellegrino said that these concerns were particularly pressing during times of winter weather when the weight of snow can cause tree branches to fall.

McDermott said that he had told residents that they could bring tree experts or arborists to the meeting to discuss trimming options. Tree service businessman Philip Snow, of Best 4 Less tree service, was at the meeting for this purpose.

Snow, who is not a resident of Baldwin Township, told the board that a phrase like “anything that hangs over the street” is a communication error that can be very confusing and inaccurate.

Using a potted plant in the meeting room as a visual aid, Snow showed how shaving a tree according to an arbitrary line dictating right-of-way and air space would create numerous problems.

Removing a great deal of canopy, he explained, would spur the tree to create even more foliage in its place. Three branches could grow where one was removed, resulting in substantial overgrowth in as little as five years, he said.

Rather than hacking off all limbs according to an arbitrary line or uniform rule, Snow suggested surveying each tree on a case-by-case basis to identify and remove only threatening limbs.

McDermott and board members Pellegrino and John Paravati said that this was the type of expert testimony that they were looking for to help them reach a middle-ground solution to address only those trees and limbs that threatened public safety.

After further discussion with Snow, and additional audience comments, Pellegrino asked McDermott if it was permissible for the board to look at enforcement on a case-by-case basis.

McDermott said that the board did have the discretion to look at trees on a case-by-case basis. To do so, he said that the board could ask residents to submit a plan from a tree expert, or arborist, outlining how their trees could be trimmed to address both safety and preservation.

The board, McDermott furthered, could then choose whether to enforce the ordinance beyond the arborist’s opinion or allow the plan as an exception.

As far as the ordinance itself goes, McDermott advised the board not to change or amend it in any way but rather to exercise the discretion granted by it.

The board agreed to table the discussion, to address particular trees on a case-by-case basis after Jan. 1 and to send out a new letter to affected residents.

The letter, Pellegrino said, will put everything in the second letter on hold and give residents a chance to talk with an arborist and come up with a plan that tackles both public safety and resident interest.

Check back with the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch later on Wednesday for more odds and ends from Tuesday night’s board meeting.

Have you received a letter regarding your tree(s)? What do you plan to do about it? Tell us in the comments section below.

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