Trustees Review Proposal to Require Licensing for Tree Contractors

A few weekends ago I took a walk around the neighborhood and saw a mountain of shrubs, trees, leaves and roots piled along the street. The greenery had been chopped up, roots and all, and were amassed in a huge heap. Basically, all the greenery in the front yard had been removed to make way for new plantings.

In the pile I saw some large tree trunks but I had no idea if the work had been done legally and if the residents had a permit. Not wanting to police my neighbors I moved on.

Though current law allows the removal of two trees per year, a permit is needed. Often those without permission take trees down after hours or on weekends to avoid scrutiny. So the question is, how can the Village enforce these laws and bar the removal of trees without a permit?

One proposal was vetted at a work session of the Village Board on June 17, 2025.

Trustees discussed adding a licensing requirement for companies that perform tree cutting, pruning and removal in Scarsdale. The intent of the law is to be sure that licensed contractors familiarize themselves with Scarsdale’s tree laws and will make them accountable for violating the laws. Those who do will have their licenses suspended or revoked.

If police see work in progress they can stop any work being done if the contractor cannot display a decal to show that they are licensed.

The new ordinance could limit work hours to 8 am to 6 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 5 pm on weekends. After discussion, the Board proposed barring any tree work on weekends because it is difficult to enforce the law and it would prevent noise.

The proposed law suggests a fine of $750 -$2,000 for a first conviction and $1,000 - $5,000 for a subsequent conviction. The Attorney also suggested that the tree license of a violator could be suspended or revoked. See the proposed code here:

During the discussion Trustee Goldschmidt asked, “What are we trying to solve? I am all for making sure bad actors don’t take down trees. But I don’t want to make life difficult for someone who wants to prune a tree. Why should the resident have to go to a licensed tree vendor? I think we should narrow the proposed law.”

Deputy Mayor Gruenberg asked Superintendent Coleman, “Can your department give the police a list of people with open tree permits each Friday – so that the police know who has a permit to do work?”

Coleman said, “Even if they have a permit it’s hard to know how many trees they took down legally or illegally.”

Joan Weissman of 3 Kingston Road said, “This is a great step in the right direction however without enforcement it will not be effective. The licensing is good – but there should be enforcement.”

Michelle Sterling of 6 Brayton Road said, “I appreciate the proposal and I am in favor of it.
Keep the registration fee low so we can get people to register. It is duplicative of what they have to file with the county. I would like to keep the tree definition to what we have now. Stick with the definition of a tree that is widely used. I am in favor of stiff penalties. They should pay a fine. I like the idea to give the police a list of people who have tree permits, weekly.”

She suggested, “Why don’t we have no tree removals on the weekends? People don’t want to hear tree removals on the weekends.”

Madelaine Eppenstein of18 Autenreith said, “I think it is unreasonable to expect landscapers and arborists to understand the code. I don’t expect people with chain saws to have read the code. I don’t think the workers will understand the code. There is already a penalty for the homeowner for a permit violation.”

Marian Greene of 43 Butler Road said, “Do people need permits to prune trees?”

Susan Douglass said, “I think no weekend work is a great idea.”

Susan Levine of Ardmore Road agreed, saying “It’s a good idea because police don’t come out on the weekend. Give us peace on the weekends.”

At the conclusion of the discussion the Village Attorney said he would draft some clarifications regarding tree pruning and enforcement procedures. He said, “I think there is consensus to move forward.”