N.J. tree that survived Revolutionary War, Sandy chopped down on Earth Day

NJ ^ | 06 May 2015 | Jessica Mazzola

[Theoria]

A township view 200 years in the making has changed, after a historic tree town officials thought was protected by municipal ordinance was lawfully cut down by a developer.

The swamp white oak tree at 29 Ocean Street had been designated a "bicentennial tree" in Millburn – one that town officials believed to be at least 200 years old. It was one of 23 trees designated as such in the town's 2014 Environmental Resource Inventory Report. The township had an ordinance prohibiting the removal of the historical trees, and named trees to the protected list via resolutions.

"I looked at this tree from my window everyday for 30 years," Chris Tully, who lives in the Millburn neighborhood surrounding the tree, said. "The beauty of this tree was staggering."

In October of last year, township officials said a developer who purchased the property on Ocean Street applied for a tree removal permit. Town Forester Tom Doty denied the application.

"I obviously denied it," Doty said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. "That tree was protected by ordinance."

The development company – 29/33 Ocean Street, LLC – which is planning to build a two-family home on the property, fought the decision in court.

Attorneys Roger J. Desiderio and Christine M. Tiritilli argued in court documents that the township did not have a strong enough basis to designate the trees historical, and because ordinances cannot legally be amended by resolutions, the designations were invalid.

The town's "various characterizations of the tree as a bicentennial tree or as predating the Revolutionary War or as being 'historic' have no support in the record, as there have been no reports or testimony produced relating to the trees on the...list," Desiderio wrote in a court brief. He called the historic designation "arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable."

[Jonty30]

While I agree with you, that we should be willing to consider things like, heritage or aesthetics when building communities, not people think in those terms.

It is unfortunate when that happens.