The stumps say it all: two trees were cut down at the corner of Olson Drive and Maple Street this spring as the state Department of Transportation prepares to rebuild the bridge there.
But different interpretations of the city’s tree ordinance have left some questioning whether the proper channel of approval was followed to get permission to remove the trees.
In a letter to the Board of Aldermen, Conservation Commission chairman William Urban objects to the process.
“We had absolutely no input from the company working there,” Urban said in a phone interview this week. “We would only guess that they were making room for a staging area. That would be our guess. With no communication, we don’t know what their intent and purpose was.”
State Department of Transportation workers received approval from Michael Schryver, the city’s tree warden and director of Public Works, before cutting down trees at the south end of the bridge.
But Urban says the approval needs to come from his commission, according to the city’s decade-old tree ordinance.
Urban wrote the letter to the Board of Aldermen asking that all future tree cutting be referred to the Conservation Commission for approval.
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The Ordinance
It’s not clear if the Conservation Commission is supposed to receive notification whenever trees are cut down in Ansonia.
The tree ordinance lists the conservation commission as the city’s “tree advisory board,” which is tasked with helping the tree warden oversee the ordinance.
But under the section dealing with tree removal for city and state road projects, it doesn’t specify that approvals need to come from the conservation commission.
“Any such work shall be reviewed by the city tree warden prior to being undertaken and such work shall be done in a neat and professional manner,” the ordinance states in section 24 – 55.7 (6). “The city tree warden shall, to the extent possible, supervise the work performed.”
In the ordinance, the tree warden is granted the authority to issue removal permits and the conservation commission, recreation commission and public works department are assigned the responsibility of assisting the tree warden.
The Trees
The state DOT received a permit from Schryver to remove the trees at the staging site, according to Schryver and DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick.
The construction crews rebuilding the Maple Street bridge had to remove a few trees and trim back one in order to be able to park their equipment in the staging area next to the bridge.
Two other trees were marked for removal, but weren’t taken down because it wasn’t necessary.
Schryver said he posted notices on the trees that announced their pending removal, in case anyone objected. He received no input.
The trees will be replanted and a park, mirroring the one on the corner across the street, will be built at the site once the construction work is complete, Schryver said.
In most cases, more trees than were removed end up getting planted in their place, Schryver said.
“I’ve already applied for a grant to purchase some trees to plant in that area,” Schryver said. “You can never have enough trees. Every time there’s a grant that comes before us, we apply for it.”
Board of Aldermen
The board Tuesday directed corporation counsel Kevin Blake to meet with Schryver and Urban to help work out the procedure.
“If there are trees to be removed, the conservation commission is supposed to hold a special hearing,” Blake said. “Only for trees on city property.”
But aldermen said it shouldn’t be required for all circumstances, especially if a single tree becomes a danger.
“It depends on the amount and location of the trees,” said Alderman Robert Duffus. “If it’s a big field, then it should go for a hearing. But if it’s just one or two trees, the warden should be able to take car of it.”
