Tree Removal Regulations to Know

Our area has seen its share of storm damage, as it does every year, and fall is when many folks do tree maintenance to remove dead, dying or damaged tree branches and trees.

The public right-of-way for shade trees generally refers to the planting strip or strip of ground located adjacent to the street or between the street and the sidewalk. The Frenchtown Shade Tree Commission is responsible for planting, trimming, care, and removal of trees within these public right-of-way areas. Residents are expected to apply to the Shade Tree Commission—call the Borough Clerk for more information—before removing a street tree located in the public right-of-way, unless the tree is immediately hazardous.

For non-street trees, the Tree Removal and Replacement Ordinance that was adopted by Council in 2024 applies (24-919, now section 50-311 of the Borough Land Use Ordinance). In 2024, every municipality in the state was required to adopt a Tree Removal and Replacement Ordinance based on environmental frameworks established by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to preserve mature trees, whenever possible, throughout the state of New Jersey and, when preservation is not possible, to replace them. The borough ordinance specifically applies to the removal of any large non-street tree—that is, any tree with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of six inches or more. In most cases, to remove a large tree, residents must fill out and submit a tree removal application to the borough clerk. The ordinance also spells out replacement requirements—these detail which species of tree can be planted as approved replacement trees, how large the replacement trees must be, as well as how many trees must be planted to replace each removed large tree (that number being based on the size of the removed tree). It is important to note, however, that hazardous trees (including dead or dying trees) and invasive tree species are exempt from this ordinance. For more details and information, the full ordinance can be found here: https://ecode360.com/47941029.

—Randi Eckel