FARMINGTON — The final draft of a new tree ordinance may be ready for voters to consider at the annual town meeting on March 25, it was noted at the selectmen meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

Town Manager Erica LaCroix said the final warrant for the town meeting has to be published seven days prior to the meeting, getting anything in the town report was needed by Feb. 28. The draft could be tweaked later and still meet the first deadline noted, she stated.

On Jan. 9 selectmen reviewed several ordinances from around the country. Conservation Commission Chair Bill Haslam told the board then Arbor Day Foundation wants Farmington to have a more general Tree Ordinance dealing with tree planting, removal and maintenance on public rights of way, on public properties. The foundation has named Farmington a Tree City USA for more than 40 years.

“This draft is intended to be kind of in the middle – not overly simple, not too complex,” Haslam said Tuesday. “It covers what we are doing now.” It codifies the cooperative relationship with Public Works, they consult us on trees, he noted.

The ordinance has provisions for managing trees on publicly owned lands only, Haslam said. It includes town land and trees within street right-of-ways would be subject to it, too.

Selectman Joshua Bell asked about tree replacement.

If a tree is presenting a public hazard, it should be taken down, Haslam noted. “You don’t need to replace every tree that comes down.”

When trees are sparse, each tree is a bit more valuable on it’s own, he said. Water retention, aesthetics, shade are all factors, he noted.

When Bell asked about leeway in tree replacement and if a tree could be put in the backyard instead, Haslam replied that is a great solution as long as it’s serving the same purpose.

“There’s nothing in [the ordinance] that requires replacement,” Patty Cormier, a commission member and Maine Forest Service director,” said. It is up to the town, the Conservation Commission to decide, she noted.

“The right-of-way can extend onto somebody’s lawn, is larger than the roadway,” Selectman Dennis O’Neil stated. “Some people may not realize if they have a tree in their yard it is also in the right-of-way. It could become an issue.”

Public Works has a map of the right-of-ways, Haslam said.

Chair Matthew Smith suggested putting the map on the town’s website.

“To clarify, ownership stops at your boundary,” Cormier stated.

Code enforcement wanted to make some changes, Town Manager Erica LaCroix said. No one from the department was at the meeting. Some language may need to be tweaked, make sure everything is right, she noted.

“It reads well for me,” O’Neil stated.

“I think we are pretty close to what we want,” Smith said.

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