By Jarret Liotta

WESTPORT — Trees have become a hot topic in Westport, but the Tree Board appears to still be getting its ducks in order as it moves forward to fulfill its role.

Members as yet have little to say about the Planning and Zoning Commission’s proposal to make removal of mature trees from private property a less attractive option for developers.

Tree Board Chair Monica Buesser said Thursday afternoon that the proposal, being discussed in the P&Z’s Zoning Regulation Revision Subcommittee, was still a rough draft, but that Tree Board members should learn more about it in order to give input.

“They were trying to refine it and were looking for comments,” she said of the P&Z’s Ordinance Committee.

“It’ll be good for the trees, though it might be more work for the Tree Board in the future,” she said.

Fairfield Watching Westport

Toward that end, she said the Fairfield Forestry Committee had reached out to her and wanted to see how Westport was going to respond to the proposal.

“Everyone on that committee is very interested in how things work out in Westport, so we could be a test case,” Buesser said.

Westport’s new Tree Warden, Ben Sykas — the former assistant tree warden who replaced Bruce Lindsay — shared an update on response to complaints about tree pruning and cutting — in particular work being done by companies that don’t hold the proper license and/or insurance.

“The goal of this in most cases isn’t necessarily to go after people and be malicious about it, but also to try to educate them,” he said, explaining that contractors need to be licensed arborists to do pruning work and must carry the right insurance that is required by the town.

Proper Pruning Urged

“That’s the important thing,” he said, noting it protects the homeowner as well as the employees.

While he admitted the law can be vague — as a licensed arborist can assign work to a contractor and then not technically be present at a site where the work is being done — there is still a requirement for that kind of professional to oversee the work and hold responsibility.

“You will often see people who are tree removal companies that will end up doing pruning, and technically that is against the Connecticut law and you can report that,” he said, noting that an arborist has more defined skills, insurance and a license.

Sykas noted, too, that enforcement by the state is very hard, as much of their attention goes toward pesticide application and related issues, with differences between those who can treat trees versus lawns.

Sykas asked that people who have local issues to report to him directly do so by putting the address of the incident in the subject line of emails, along with the tree company names and the questionable acts being committed.

“Even planting without permission is not allowed,” he said, pointing out the town’s policy not to put certain trees — such as evergreens — in the right of way.

“That’s something that a lot of people want to do for screening,” he said, but it’s a “weak wood” and not conducive to power lines, etc.

New Members Sought

Buesser, who said at least one new person is being interviewed for an open slot — and that an alternate board member was also needed — spoke to their goals.

“We, as a group, (want) to encourage the entire town to take care of trees, to plant trees, and that should be our big goal,” she said, describing Westport as an “urban forest.”

She said there were many advantages for homeowners to have trees on their property, including various environmental reasons, but also because it increases property value, she said, by 10 to 18 percent.

Going forward, Buesser said, the board will be reaching out directly to different builders and developers on a one-by-one basis to try and enlighten them as to the value of keeping trees on properties, rather than clear-cutting, which is the traditional practice.

“That’s something that we need to do, get a committee to do, and just — one at a time — talk to different people,” she said.