Tree Advocate Wades into Pool Ordinance; Wonders Why Guidelines Weren’t Upheld

AVALON – An issue that had dominated public comment at borough meetings in the past resurfaced at an otherwise routine meeting of Borough Council Dec. 9.
Resident Martha Wright, who has long advocated for stricter enforcement of a landscape ordinance concerning trees felled during demolition activities, once again notified council that the ordinance was being ignored, especially when residents construct new swimming pools.
Armed with site plans, which she maintains should never have been approved, Wright renewed her plea that the borough work harder to save Avalon’s remaining trees when they are situated where the ordinance should protect them.
Wright pointed to the landscape ordinance already in place, stormwater management requirements and the ordinance requiring a landscape buffer around swimming pools.
For Wright, it all relates to her crusade to save trees that she maintains are destroyed at high rates when demolition and construction projects are undertaken by property owners or when new pools are constructed.
At the end of 2014, the borough acknowledged that there had been, in the words of the Nov. 25 council meeting, a need for a plan “To address the longtime lack of enforcement of an ordinance to protect and preserve vegetation.” 
Noting that the borough would have to temporarily “live with what’s on the books,” Assistant Administrator James Waldron explained the present requirements. The administration agreed to bolster them with an administrative order by Mayor Martin Pagliughi requiring contractors to document vegetation on lots scheduled for demolition.
That documentation was to serve as a baseline for redevelopment showing how contractors would adhere to borough requirements.
Around the same time, the borough invited Wright, as a knowledgeable advocate, to meet with a committee charged with adding enforcement capabilities to the existing ordinance.
Wright said that the committee met several times and “good work was being accomplished.” Just prior to the summer the group stopped meeting and Wright says that in the fall she tried to get it revived.
Borough administration says they are committed to moving ahead with the review and modification of the ordinance as it impacts preservation of existing landscaping within the boundaries of the present ordinance. Wright is hopeful that will happen after the council discussion period.
Swimming Pools
Wright’s examples for this public comment period consisted of a series of new pool construction projects where she maintained the borough requirements were not followed and yet the site plans were approved.
She presented three plans for pools on the bay that have been or will be constructed according to plans that do not leave the required landscape buffers stated in the ordinance. She presented copies of the approved plans to each council member.
The evening she chose for her comments was coincidentally the one in which council adopted an ordinance amending its code pertaining to installation of swimming pools.
The amendments were drafted and finally adopted to allow the borough greater enforcement power with contractors who construct and maintain pools.
Faced with a similar problem that it faces with its landscape ordinance, the borough worked to add enforcement clout to its ordinance.
Penalties in the previous ordinance did not deter violations and officials were not given sufficient power to force violators to observe requirements or be barred from similar practice in the municipality.
Wright sees an analogous problem with the landscape ordinance.
“Borough officials who see violations just don’t have enough enforcement power,” she said. Wright still wonders why the three plans she showed council were approved when they did not comply with the code. She asked “Why do citizens have to complain to get basic rules enforced?”
Waldron apologized to Wright for the recent lack of meetings on the landscape issue. Wright characterized the evening’s exchange as constructive. She is hopeful the committee will continue its work and produce amendments to the code that will give officials greater enforcement power. She also hopes they will then use that power.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.