Oyster Bay urged to keep tree ordinance

A proposal to repeal an Oyster Bay Town ordinance that requires permits for tree removal evoked disbelief Tuesday from nearly a dozen local civic, political and environmental leaders who implored officials to keep some tree protections in place.

"The thought of eliminating a tree ordinance completely in the Town of Oyster Bay flies in the face, in my mind, of good reasoning and good environmental concern," Nassau County Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) told the town board.

Town officials Tuesday took public comment during the first of two hearings on several proposed code changes.

Supervisor John Venditto, calling trees "one of the most visible symbols of our quality of life," said the town board would weigh modifying the ordinance or replacing it, rather than dropping it altogether.

Venditto said the current code has been slammed by many residents as "adding insult to injury" -- permit fees on top of "government intrusion," as he put it.

He invoked former President Ronald Reagan, paraphrasing, "Government typically is not the solution, it's usually the problem."

Two opponents of the proposed repeal invoked Theodore Roosevelt.

"A people without children would face a hopeless future. A country without trees is almost as helpless," quoted Robert DiGiacomo, a Hicksville resident who called himself "the tree-hugger you love to hate."

The issue overshadowed other elements in a bundle of proposed town code amendments that included regulations on bamboo growth.

The tree provision was adopted in 1973, after a Woodbury developer razed his 15 wooded acres in a zoning dispute with the town, and expanded in 2007.

A removal permit now costs up to $75 per tree and requires a site inspection. The town could not produce the number of permits issued or amount of fees paid by day's end.

Environmentalists said the cost of a repeal could be greater than any fee.

"If you don't have an ordinance, it's going to be open season for property owners and developers to remove trees at will," said Ben Jankowski, of the preservation group Save the Jewel by the Bay.

The public hearing is to be continued on Sept. 4.