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), protected trees meet circumference thresholds that trigger preservation rules: trunks at least 50 inches in circumference if located 50 feet or less from a public street or sidewalk, and trunks at least 75 inches in circumference if located more than 50 feet from a street or sidewalk.

Franklin’s memorandum described two possible enforcement paths under the ordinance: a misdemeanor calculation (which, for the facts presented, could yield a maximum assessment calculated in the memorandum at about $10,000) and a lesser municipal infraction calculation (the memorandum estimated a $5,000 total under that table). The Planning and Zoning Administrator recommended treating the incident as a single event under the municipal-infraction table rather than multiple misdemeanor counts because the five trees were removed at once.

During discussion, board members weighed safety concerns about tulip poplars and the location of the trees near the house and driveway against the homeowner’s apparent knowledge of the permitting process from a prior permit in 2017. The board noted a town interest in deterring unpermitted removals and in preventing erosion or runoff damage to neighboring properties when trees at the top of a slope are removed.

Chairwoman (Tree Board) framed possible penalties and mitigation options and proposed either a flat fine or a reduced fine if Callaway agreed to replant five trees within six months. One board member said they would start at the higher municipal-infraction amount but reduce if Callaway submitted evidence that additional trees were diseased. Another said $1,000 was too small and recommended a higher amount. The board ultimately voted to recommend a $3,000 fine and a requirement that Callaway plant five replacement trees not of tulip poplar species and not close to the house.

Board members asked Callaway to submit additional photographs that he says show rotten centers in the stumps of three separate trees; they also said they would follow up with Jay Barry, who took site photos and prepared the field observations referenced in the memorandum. The board agreed the Tree Board would forward its written rationale and recommendation to the Town Administrator and the Planning & Zoning Administrator for final action; staff may consult the town attorney about contractor accountability and other enforcement questions.

The board noted it currently lacks explicit ordinance language to penalize contractors who remove trees without permits and said it will raise that gap with the Town Administrator when discussing ordinance communication and possible amendments. The chair said she will raise with the Town Administrator how the town communicates permit requirements to homeowners and whether the town provides follow-up reporting on whether recommended mitigation has been implemented.

The board’s recommendation will be sent to the Town Administrator for official notice and any subsequent appeal would start with the town administrative process, the board said. The Tree Board vote was taken by voice and the board concluded to forward its written recommendation and rationale to town staff for final determination and notification to the applicant.

The Tree Board also reminded members to provide any suggested ordinance amendments for the board’s annual report due later in February.