April 11, 2018
As the weather slowly warms, we each find ourselves searching the branches of trees for signs of Spring. Needless to say, however, trees do more than mark the change of seasons. Trees in Munsey Park provide visual beauty, enhance the value of our homes, muffle street noise, purify the air, calm the nerves and convey a sense of place that is timeless. In recognition of these benefits, the Village has a policy designed to protect and maintain trees on public and private property.
The Village is undertaking a review of its policy regarding tree maintenance with a view toward determining whether the current provisions of the Village Code relating to trees on private property and along the Village “right of way” (ROW) adequately reflect the interests, concerns and values of the Village and its residents.
In reviewing our policy and formulating any changes to this policy, we expect to consider the following areas:
• Standards for tree removal applications including requirements for replacement trees including size and variety of the replacement tree(s) to be planted with separate and specific reference to the Village ROW, private front yards and rear yards;
• Standards for tree pruning applications;
• Development and adoption of “best practices” standards for arborists licensed by the Village;
• Consideration of responsibility for maintenance of trees on the Village ROW;
• Consideration of incentives/disincentives for acceptance of replacement of trees on the Village ROW;
• Composition, duties and authority of the Village “Tree Committee”;
• Consideration of policies to promote tree replacement;
• Consideration of policies governing planting of trees and other landscape items on the Village ROW;
• Fiscal implications of the policies under consideration;
• Consideration of alternative sources of funding for tree replacement and maintenance; and
• Consideration of updates to the list of “specimen trees” to be promoted by the Village.
In order to accomplish the foregoing, we plan on convening a select group of interested residents to discuss the related issues. We are looking for a diversity of opinions from a cross-section of Village residents. We plan on keeping the working group manageable in size and expect participants to be available to meet two or three times to discuss the issues. It is expected that the consensus plan will be presented to Village residents for further consideration.
If you are interested in assisting the Village in this endeavor, please send an email to mpmclean@munseypark.org or a letter addressed to The Village of Munsey Park, 1777 Northern Boulevard, Manhasset, NY 11030 describing your interest.