West New York, NJ Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Chapter 379 of the Town Code, adopted by the Board of Commissioners on 12-16-2015 as Ord. No. 25/15, governs shade trees on public streets and places. The planting restriction sits in § 379-8: poplar and willow trees are barred from any public street or public place and from the strip within 40 feet of the side lines of any street or place. The rule reaches a person who plants such a tree and a person who permits one to be planted.

Planting standards are tied to removal. Under § 379-1, no person can remove, break, damage, alter, kill, destroy, mutilate or cut down a shade tree on a public street or place, including a public right-of-way, without a permit from the Building Department. The fee is $25 per tree, paid by check or money order to the Town of West New York. Under § 379-7, any tree removed under the chapter must be replaced at or near its location within six months of the permit. The replacement must be at least six feet and three inches tall with a caliper of three to five inches. The owner consults the Building Department on species, and the species comes from the approved list the Department maintains.

Related limits: cutting a limb on a street tree needs a $5 permit under § 379-4, except that an owner can cut a branch that is dead, diseased, broken or decayed, or a menace to public safety, without one. Where a raised or cracked sidewalk is traced to a tree, § 379-6 directs the owner to trim the root while it is dormant and permits removal only if absolutely necessary. A refused permit can be appealed to the Board of Commissioners under § 379-10 on not less than five days' written notice, with a hearing fixed no later than 30 days after the notice is received.