Westport mulls requiring permit to cut down trees
WESTPORT — Town officials are considering requiring a permit to cut down mature trees after a bevy of tree removal incidents have left many residents upset.
Planning and Zoning Commission chairwoman Danielle Dobin said the commission’s regulation subcommittee is looking to find a balance between preservation and residential rights.
“It’s not about a particular property, but the idea and purpose behind this is to look to preserve mature trees within the setbacks in a way that doesn’t interfere negatively with the utilization of people’s personal property,” Dobin said. “At the same time, for the sake of preserving our drainage and soil and erosion issues where they are now instead of making them worse.”
The Zoning Regulation Revision Subcommittee has offered a number of suggestions for Westport’s tree protection ordinance after reviewing similar policies in Hartford, Ridgefield, Greenwich and Brooklyn.
Within that proposal, which the subcommittee put together in December, the group decided to restrict removal and setbacks on private property. Westport Planner Michael Kiselak said if a tree provides a safety issue, it has to show that it is a threat of some sort before it can be taken down.
The latest draft amendment adds to the proposal, defining a mature tree as a tree that is alive, non-invasive with a diameter of at least 12 inches and measures 4 feet above ground.
Kiselak said town officials wanted to find something that wasn’t too restrictive, but also something that wasn’t too small to protect.
“We wanted to find a balance on a good size,” he said.
The proposal also states that in order to remove a tree, residents would need a zoning permit. Trees in setbacks of properties at least a quarter-acre would
be further protected unless there was a reason to take them down. Those reasons could be the tree is dead, diseased or a public health hazard certified by a licensed arborist.
Other parts of the proposal include requiring pruning, trimming and repairs to mature trees to meet certain standards and to require a tree protection action plan be submitted with the sediment and erosion control plan if there are any mature trees affected.
Also, any trees that are removed, even with a permit, would have to be replaced with three new trees that are at least two inches in size and a native species. Kiselak said there is a benefit to the type of tree and not just having trees in general.
“Specific types of trees have value to the local ecosystem,” he said.
The subcommittee questioned if the ordinance should pertain to certain species of trees, if the measurements made sense and if the town should incorporate a process that allows a resident to have permission
to take down a tree even if it is not dead or diseased.
Tree Warden Ben Sykas said the ordinance should be for any species that are considered non-invasive.
“I think it’s really important to maintain species diversity and have as many options for tress out there as possible,” Sykas said. “With the number of novel insects and diseases that we are encountering, to make sure that we have the diversity there would really be helpful.”
Sykes also suggested that in terms of replacement the subcommittee should consider an inchby-inch replacement, meaning if 20 inches of trees are removed, another 20 inches need to replace it.
Dobin said the subcommittee plans to pass the draft amendment on to the full Planning and Zoning Commission, but must conduct more research, receive more feedback and consider comments from the community first.