Posted on 05/14/2015 3:58:58 PM PDT by Theoria
A township view 200 years in the making has changed, after a historic tree town officials thought was protected by municipal ordinance was lawfully cut down by a developer.
The swamp white oak tree at 29 Ocean Street had been designated a "bicentennial tree" in Millburn – one that town officials believed to be at least 200 years old. It was one of 23 trees designated as such in the town's 2014 Environmental Resource Inventory Report. The township had an ordinance prohibiting the removal of the historical trees, and named trees to the protected list via resolutions.
"I looked at this tree from my window everyday for 30 years," Chris Tully, who lives in the Millburn neighborhood surrounding the tree, said. "The beauty of this tree was staggering."
In October of last year, township officials said a developer who purchased the property on Ocean Street applied for a tree removal permit. Town Forester Tom Doty denied the application.
"I obviously denied it," Doty said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. "That tree was protected by ordinance."
The development company – 29/33 Ocean Street, LLC – which is planning to build a two-family home on the property, fought the decision in court.
Attorneys Roger J. Desiderio and Christine M. Tiritilli argued in court documents that the township did not have a strong enough basis to designate the trees historical, and because ordinances cannot legally be amended by resolutions, the designations were invalid.
The town's "various characterizations of the tree as a bicentennial tree or as predating the Revolutionary War or as being 'historic' have no support in the record, as there have been no reports or testimony produced relating to the trees on the...list," Desiderio wrote in a court brief. He called the historic designation "arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable."
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
The Southern California coast can be an education on that. The trees eventually can grow to destroy the ocean views of houses on various levels of the hills.
Just because you have the POWER to do something doesn’t mean you should do it. That goes for individuals as much as governments.
It sounds as if you are saying ... All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
Developers should learn some respect or they will learn some communist “property rights.” Be decent people for a change. The dollar is good; but not all there is to life. Leftists will make them broke in a nanosecond.
Yep.
Unfortunately, too many trees are being cut down by developers when they could have saved some of them.
I finally saw one developer in North Arlington, Va. actually save a couple beautiful, tall trees on a triangular corner lot to provide the house in the center of the land, with shade.
In most other cases, they clear-cut everything over 2 inches high. Now a lot of Arlington looks like a liberal, urban desert - lots of concrete, asphalt, potholes, pot heads, and no grass, trees, butterflies, or even honey bees.
The first thing many Hispanic immigrants (probably legal ones), did in my neighborhood when they moved in was to cut down tall (75 ft+) old oak trees from a stand that was behind all of our block’s houses, North and South. They wanted to see the apartment complex directly behind them.
They also wiped out most oldgrowth hedges/roses, etc.
We live in what was part of George Washington’s private lands, i.e. Geo. Washington Forest. What is left has beautiful trees, Barcroft Park and Creek, deer, raccoons, a silver-tail fox, possums, lots of birds (once saw a Baltimore Oriole), snakes, rabbits, an occasional lizard and dragon flies.
I grow milkweed for the Monarch butterflies, and have a Buddleia butterfly bush for the rest of the gang (Swallowtails, Fritillaries, Cabbages and Sulfurs, Painted Lady/Red Admiral, Grey Hairstreaks, etc.) My children and granddaughter grew up with flowers, birds, and butterflies/insects all around us.
Other kids grew up in f*cking backyard deserts and never got to appreciate what we were given by Nature.
Responsible development is the key to keeping a neighborhood looking nice, helping keep the air clean, and having living creatures run across your yards for all to see.
I like private property rights, so I’m not going to comment on this case as I do know see all the information in the article which we would need to make a reasoned appraisal of this particular case.
However, too many so-called conservatives are ready to give less-then-concerned citizen developers the right to create an urban/suburban desert of concrete and asphalt where a little planning could keep the area a livable clean and green area.
PS: I’ve worked in the field of toxic waste site cleanups for over 20 years, saving the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, or more in cleanup costs, while not damning those who intentionally or accidentally (WW2) polluting the environment. There are ways to correct a bad situation without nuking everyone.
“Dendrophilia” - Wow, I’ve never encountered that word (or condition) before, though it does explain some of those idiot “tree-sitters” that make the news. That girl must really be pining for it.
True, don’t need to nuke everyone or everything....but the best way, and the most moral way, to save those oaks and rose hedges and meadows...is to buy them.
Once I buy that land, I have the right to choose the values of my options. Cut the tree, $70,000 more to get the surgery my wife needs, send my baby to college, put in trust for my grandkids, or even to take that awesome South Pacific vacation. Maybe those are all more valuable to me than the tree.
I was willing to invest in my values...you are too....but you want to invest MY money in your values. Obviously, the $70,000 was more important to me than the tree was to you, or you would have bought the tree; so why do you want me to put more value on the tree than you do?
I bought a farm 10 years ago. It has a 25 acre woodlot. In that woodlot were magnificent Doug Firs. They were worth $80,000, net to me. I loved their beauty, I loved how my property looked with them defining my skyline, and loved the grandness of them...but I needed that money to pay for machinery to run the farm. I cut what I needed, kept what I could...but had someone offered me $80,000 to leave them standing, they would still be there.
I have a similar experience.
Great post to keep things in perspective.
More like, it may be legal but it may not be right.
I remember the William Penn oak in my township being cut down in 1977. It was planted by Penn. The township wanted to “improve” the obstructed view at the fork of the road, so they removed it. They did however hand out slabs to anyone who wanted a chunk to remember it by.
377 years old when they cut it down.
I have one of the largest chinkapin oaks in the US in front of my home on 10 acres
It’s around 450 years old
Given my home sits on a plantation home foundation with ancient cistern/well intact and that both Forrest and A.P. Stewart traversed our fair line between the eastern CSA FLANK and Main body at the center of the assault...of the Godawful bloody battle of Franklin TN..well we hope they took water under this tree with its by then late autumn leaves....
Needless to say....local folks and county would be distraught if I chopped it down....it’s truly huge
I like trees
If it was 200 years old, how did it survive the Revolutionary War? 200 years old would mean it was planted in 1815. Are they talking about the War of 1812?
Yep - a number of years back, my wife saw one of those "save the rain forest" commercials and said she was thinking of donating. I told her to donate to something worthwhile like stopping abortions. Then I asked he if she thought we should be able to cut the trees on our property without folks from other nations getting involved to stop us. Took a bout 1.3 seconds for the lights in her eyes to return to full normal brilliance...
Of course.
Sexual attraction to trees: Dendrophilia.
I went to school at SFSU.
There was actually a classs that discussed this this, and other stuff.
Sadly, most class time was spent viewing pornos involving barnyard animals.
And no, I am not making that up.
bliss
I’d love to see that tree.
You’re welcome over anytime
Cept tonite
Date night.,,,
Red Pony or Mack and Kate’s or Saffire or Bricktops or Sperrys or venture into town
The dilemma of middle aged date night Williamsonians....lol
I’m series just holler
It’s a good season for sitting out back
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