Tree safety a concern in Upper Freehold Twp.
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD- A new forestry plan is not like the controversial tree ordinances voted down in 2005.

Township Attorney Granville Michael Magee made this statement during discussion of the new plan at the March 27 Township Committee meeting.

The township's Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) has developed a new Community Forestry Management Plan (CFMP), according to EAC Chairwoman Jennifer Coffey.

Coffey said creating a CMFP was originally the responsibility of the municipality's Shade Tree Commission, but that commission is now a subcommittee of the EAC.

"The goal is safety of people and trees in the community," she said.

The plan has been certified and meets the standards of the New Jersey Community Forestry Council, she said.

Coffey said that once the township approves the plan, it is provided with liability to protect it from situations with hazardous trees.

Magee said filing the plan is like an insurance policy and would give the town enhanced immunity as it shows the township did its due diligence concerning hazardous trees.

The mission statement of the CFMP is to promote a sustainable and productive community forest and shade tree resource that will improve the quality of life for the residents of Upper Freehold Township. The intention of the management plan is to assist the township in maintaining its rural agricultural character and protecting its tree resource from future development.

The EAC hopes the entire community would view its trees as a valuable resource worth the extra efforts of protection.

Having a community forestry program is new to the township so the EAC would help create outreach programs.

The CFMP has five other goals in its five-year plan. The first goal is to provide safe rights of way, public parks and school properties for residents and visitors. To reach this goal, a hazardous tree survey would be conducted along all public properties and rights of way. The data from the survey would be put into a computer program to map locations of hazardous trees for removal or pruning and such services would be put out to public bid.

The second goal is to continue to promote and expand the EAC's ability to preserve trees and protect critical habitats. For this goal, the township would create a tree preservation ordinance agreeable to farmers, homeowners and township officials. Ordinances would also be drafted to ensure nondiscrimination for any person or entity removing a tree and to ensure local farmers would not be penalized unfairly.

The third goal is to diversify and increase the township's tree resources by pursuing grants, donations and fundraisers to continue planting trees along streets, in parks and on school properties. To meet this goal, the township would perform a window survey to obtain a better estimate for tree species and noteworthy trees within the township.

The plan's fourth goal is to promote general tree awareness and stewardship amongst the community. To reach this goal, the EAC would continue to work with students on the importance of trees and their preservation. Tree-related articles would be posted on the town's Web site and the Arbor Day program would be expanded.

The fifth goal is to increase EAC and Department of Public Works (DPW) knowledge of trees and community forestry-related topics. Members of the EAC would have to attend training to ensure more than one volunteer is certified. DPW employees would continue training on worker safety and tree pruning and care. The EAC's budget would also be increased to include a line item for educational conferences.

Deputy Mayor Robert Faber asked if the plan to survey would include those trees on township rights of way. Coffey said criteria for assessment has yet to be developed.

"We will consult with the township attorney and DPW on how to conduct the survey," she said.

Mayor Steve Alexander asked if the DPW would inspect trees on private property. Magee said the survey should concern trees seen from the roadway but noted homeowners could be asked for permission to inspect trees. He said the DPW would have a letter stating that it did its due diligence if permission is denied.

"It's not an anti-clear-cutting ordinance [that] we dealt with a few years back that was not very popular," he said.

Coffey said the EAC would like the township to adopt the CFMP as an element of its master plan. Alexander noted that the Planning Board recently discussed making the CFMP part of a conservation element to the master plan.