HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTAC Letter to VCH Mayor PLL C 2013-02-11.pdfFebruary 11, 2013
Dear Mayor Supron,
Please find attached for your consideration and the Village Board of Trustees a copy of a
proposed Village of Cayuga Heights Street Tree and Shrub Protection and Planting Law.
This law has been drafted by the Village’s Shade Tree Advisory Committee with the
participation of the Village Forester, the Village’s Superintendent and Assistant
Superintendent of Public Works, and Village Trustee Beatrice Szekely. It is modeled to an
extent on the City of Ithaca Tree and Shrub Ordinance and street tree ordinance from other
municipalities in New York State.
Reasons for proposing this new law include, but are not limited to the following:
Street trees and shrubs are an important public resource. Their planting, maintenance, and
protection are intrinsic to the safety and welfare of Village residents, community identity
and aesthetics, and provision of environmental benefits. The Village has an interest in
regulating the management of street trees and shrubs.
Previously written ordinance regulating publicly managed street trees and shrubs in the
Village of Cayuga Heights is outdated and does not address establishment of the office of
Village Forester, creation of a Shade Tree Advisory Committee, or issuing permits for the
planting, maintenance, protection, and removal of street trees and shrubs.
Grant funding prospects from New York State’s Urban and Community Forestry program
will be enhanced by obtaining Tree City USA designation for the Village from the Arbor Day
Foundation which is in turn contingent on meeting four standards, one of which is a “tree
ordinance [that] must designate the establishment of a tree board or forestry department
and give this body the responsibility for writing and implementing an annual community
forestry work plan.”
Thank you in advance for considering this proposed local law. We look forward to working
with you, the Village Board of Trustees, and Village residents towards its adoption.
Best regards,
Village of Cayuga Heights Shade Tree Advisory Committee