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BY STEVE KELMAN
CORRESPONDENT
CRESSKILL, NEW JERSEY —— A new ordinance that would regulate the removal of trees in Cresskill was introduced by the borough council last week. The proposed also sets administration fees for tree removal.
Under the ordinance, a permit fee of $300 would be charged for removing a tree from an area where there is new construction while a $35 fee will be charged for their removal from vacant lots and existing structures. Trees would not be allowed to be removed from any of these areas without a permit.
The ordinance also requires that all tree removal contractors who work in the borough to be fully licensed tree care operators.
“It was time that we did something to regulate the tree removals in town with all of the building that is going on,” Mayor Benedict Romeo said at the Feb. 7 meeting. “We worked with the environmental commission to get this [ordinance] together in order to protect our environment.”
A public hearing on the new ordinance is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Pay for emergency workers
The governing body also adopted an ordinance that establishes compensation for per diem members of the borough’s volunteer ambulance and emergency services company.
The measure established a pay rate of between $15 and $25 an hour for these per-diem members.
“This ordinance just establishes pay rates for EMS workers,” the mayor said.
Per-diem members, however, according to the ordinance, are not eligible to receive pension benefits, health insurance or vacation time pay.