What began more than six years ago as an effort to tighten clearing restrictions in Sag Harbor to prevent the clear-cutting of building lots has evolved into a more modest attempt to protect more village trees from the chainsaw.
Trees are important for many reasons, besides screening one’s pool and deck from the prying eyes of neighbors. They also absorb carbon dioxide and release pure oxygen into the atmosphere. They provide important habitat for all manner of animals, from birds to tiny insects, reduce rainwater runoff, and, in a world that is growing hotter by the year, help reduce the temperature by providing welcome shade.
While the Sag Harbor Village Board is to be commended for taking the initiative to get tree preservation legislation on the books as early as next week, the measure currently before it is inadequate.
The draft law would require homeowners to obtain permits from the village’s Building Department before being allowed to cut down trees that measure more than 18 inches in diameter at breast height. To meet that threshold, a tree would have to measure a tad more than 57 inches in circumference 4½ feet above ground. That’s a big tree — and surely one that would make a noise if it fell over deep in the forest, even if there was nobody around to hear it.
Advocates responsible for advancing the tree legislation argue that the limit should be closer to 8 to 12 inches in diameter at breast height, or dbh, but a large group of reputable arborists have come down on the side of the 18-inch limit as well.
Supporters of a stricter law fear that adopting the 18-inch requirement would give homeowners the wrong impression — that trees smaller than that are not valuable. Those who favor a larger size limit argue that making the law too strict would infringe on residents’ property rights and be a nightmare to enforce, because there are literally thousands of such trees across the village.
Last month, board members spoke of reaching a compromise of 15 inches dbh. But that compromise misses a key point. It’s more important than a matter of a few inches. It’s a matter of a many years and even decades. It’s also a matter of showing respect and appreciating the environmental value and aesthetic qualities of a majestic tree that may have first taken root when our grandparents were children.
And while it is true that a person of means can afford to replace the trees they cut down with larger specimens, it doesn’t mean they will.
As drafted, Sag Harbor’s law provides plenty of leeway to remove dead, diseased or dangerous trees, and property owners would be allowed to clear a building envelope on any of the few vacant lots remaining in the village. The law would not be that onerous for the village to enforce, because property owners would have to provide surveys showing what trees they wanted to remove and hire one of those certified arborists, who would presumably be able to explain why they should be allowed to cut them down.
Sag Harbor is known as an attractive village largely for its beautiful houses and landscaped lawns and gardens, many of which feature more than one stately tree. The village would be seriously remiss if it failed to provide its trees with the protection they deserve.
While an 18-inch limit would go too far, a 12-inch limit, while strict, would go a long way toward protecting the village’s trees.
