Baxter Estates considers a board for trees

Luke Torrance

During Thursday’s board of trustees meeting in Baxter Estates, several residents asked the board for permission to remove trees from their property.

The requests to remove trees occurs at nearly every meeting, but a new bill proposed by the board would put an end to that.

Bill 7 of 2017 would create a separate board for tree removal, consisting of three people.

“Instead of having residents wait up to 30 days to have their tree removal approved by the board of trustees, it can be done in a couple of days,” said Trustee Chris Ficalora.

Discussion on the bill was adjourned until the board’s next meeting in January.

Ficalora said the reason for the delay was that the board was still trying to simplify the village code.

“The code is written in language for arborists, terminology that residents wouldn’t understand,” he said. “We’re making it so that its very easy to look at and understand.”

Trees would be put into different categories based on size. Size would be determined by measuring the circumference or diameter of the trunk 36 inches from the ground. Knowing this would help the tree board determine whether the tree should be taken down, or if it needs to be replaced.

Ficalora said the simplified code would more clearly define what constituted a tree.

“For example, a tree that is dead with no leaves is not a tree,” he said. “A dead tree will not be judged as a live tree.”

Baxter Estates has many trees, and those trees produce many leaves that need to be cleaned up in autumn. It is one of the few villages that provides a leaf collection service, but Ficalora said that has led to some unintended problems.

“We have had other landscapers come in and dump their leaves on their street, so they don’t have to pay to have them dumped,” he said.

The board discussed the issue and considered implementing a fine for illegal leaf dumping in the village.

Currently, those who dump leaves illegally are only required to pay for costs related to clean-up by the village. Ficalora said that the fine would help to further deter illegal leaf dumping, which has increased since last year.

The board also reviewed the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, which Ficalora said the village updated constantly.

The trustees also approved the payment of bond interest on village hall and the 2018 contract with the Port Washington Fire Department.

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