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Residents complain about recent tree removals; commission approves conditional trimming under ISA policy
Summary
Residents told the Shade Tree & Parks Commission they did not see approval for recent tree removals; the commission said some trees were on private property or removed for safety and approved a motion to trim a second oak if a homeowner proceeds with an ISA removal and pays for removal and stump work.
W.R. Comery, chair of the Shade Tree & Parks Commission, opened the Feb. 11 meeting and heard public complaints that trees on Monroe Avenue appeared to have been removed without commission approval.
Residents Ms. Mooney and Ms. Gustavsen said they had noticed recent removals and wanted the commission's oversight. Ms. Gustavsen asked whether trimming could be done over a driveway; Comery and Steven Campbell, the borough superintendent, said some of the trees in the photographs are private trees and that the department can remove trees that are diseased or hazardous without commission approval.
Steven Campbell, superintendent, told the commissioners the borough does not have the state certifications required to apply chemicals to trees and therefore cannot perform insect-spray treatments: "we do not have the certifications to apply chemicals to the trees, regulated by state licensing," he said. Campbell also explained that removing limbs over a driveway can eliminate a buffer that prevents acorns from dropping onto vehicles; he noted acorns are present for about six weeks each year.
Commissioner A. Hios raised the option of following the commission's ISA removal policy for one large oak, and Ms. Gustavsen said she supported that approach and asked for an additional tree to be trimmed as part of the same arrangement. The commission approved a motion, made by A. Hios and seconded by F. Rizzo, that if the homeowner pays for the ISA removal and removes the tree and stump, the borough will trim the other oak. The motion passed with all in favor.
The action resolves the immediate request for trimming but leaves broader questions of private-property removals and pesticide authority unanswered.
