Planning board authorizes engineer to approve field changes removing two trees at 781 Vandenberg

The Township of Washington Planning Board on Oct. 23 authorized the board engineer to permit the field removal of two additional trees at the approved 781 Vandenberg Avenue house project, after the engineer and applicant described outstanding clarifications about how many trees would be removed and replaced.

Board engineer Paul (surname provided in attendance list as Paul Hasnumba) told members that the approved plans had mixed figures — his report included a typographical error showing 25 trees to be removed while the approved plan referenced 17 — and that the applicant had sought to remove four additional trees in the field. One tree identified was dead or dying and one neighbor to the east provided written consent for the removal of two other trees along that boundary. The engineer noted a large front fir tree would be retained for the time being pending further review.

The engineer said the developer proposed to plant more than the two-for-one replacement required by ordinance. Board members indicated they had no objection to Paul authorizing the two remaining tree removals as a field change, and the board asked staff to record that authority so the applicant could proceed without returning to the board on that limited matter. The engineer confirmed grading and seepage pits on the lot are designed to contain runoff and that neighbors’ drainage concerns had been considered in the design.

This decision is recorded as an engineering field authorization rather than a formal board resolution; the board found the proposed removals would not create additional drainage impacts and that replacement plantings exceed the ordinance requirement.