Chesapeake Beach tree board recommends $3,000 fine and five replacement trees after homeowner removed five tulip poplars without permits

The Chesapeake Beach Tree Board on Feb. 4 recommended that the Town Administrator and Planning & Zoning Administrator issue a $3,000 fine and require planting of five replacement trees after a homeowner removed five tulip poplars at 7726 Old Bayside Road without obtaining permits.

The board considered an after-the-fact permit application submitted Jan. 13 by homeowner Alan Callaway and heard his statement that the trees posed a safety hazard, citing fallen limbs and vehicle damage. “I'm not apologizing for them being gone,” Callaway told the board, adding he has donated to the Arbor Day Foundation and other conservation groups.

The board’s recommendation follows a memorandum from Town Planning and Zoning Administrator Sarah Franklin outlining the town code standards. Franklin’s memo said all five removed trees were tulip poplars; one tree was within 50 feet of the public street and measured 83 inches in circumference, and one tree was identified in photos and Jay Barry’s site observations as clearly diseased and dying. Under Chapter 2-63 of the Town Code (the Urban Forest ordinance),…