Preserving The Tree Canopy In Tree City
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Big trees do more than create an ornamental enhancement to our town. They provide shade, cooling, prevent erosion and absorb ground water to alleviate flooding. In 2013 they Conservation Advisory Council found that the Village does little to protect Scarsdale’s tree canopy which at that point stood at about 50%.
After years of consideration on how to safeguard trees, in April 2018 Scarsdale Trustees took some steps to preserve trees and the tree canopy in Scarsdale by passing code changes regarding protection of trees or regulations requiring the replacement of trees with a diameter of more than 24” at breast height( DBH). However they were not able to agree on new code to prevent “clear cutting,” meaning the removal of larger areas or stands of trees, often done by builders when they are renovating or building homes.
Protection of wider areas proved to a be a thorny issue and the Trustees said they would revisit the code later in the year.
Under the current tree code a homeowner is permitted to remove two trees per year without paying a permit fee. The Village does require that you get a permit to remove them for tracking purposes, but there is no fee associated with that permit. Due to the new permitting requirements, the Village Engineer reported that this year there were 270 applications for tree permits vs. 208 last year.
As long as the two trees are less than 24 inch DBH each year you do not need to replace them. If they are 24” or more you do need to replace them. Right now the code requires a 3” DBH replacement but this might be changed to a 2” replacement. The change from 3” to 2” is being considered in order to save residents money and increase the viability of the newly planted tree.
Dead, dying, hazardous or diseased trees can be removed with an evaluation from a tree expert in writing. There is no permit fee to remove trees in this category. You are also not required to plant a replacement for the trees in this category.
There is a list of protected tree species naming trees that cannot be removed including redbuds, birches and amelenchiers (serviceberry).
However these provisions do not address the clear cutting of many trees. At a meeting on Monday night December 10, trustees discussed proposed code that would protect trees in the aggregate.
Specifically the proposed change is that if trees that are 48” DBH or greater in total are cut down (even if the trees are under 24”DBH individually) within a 3 year period then you will need to plant a 3” (but this may go down to 2”) replacement for them. This proposal is to address clear-cutting. Right now a homeowner can take down as many 23.99” trees as they would like and not have to plant a replacement for them. This change to requiring replacements for trees taken out totaling 48” or more (what is called an “aggregate test”) would be one step to preserve the canopy for future generations and address clear-cutting.
The code change includes a step up schedule in the proposal such that the more trees you take out (as measured by aggregate DBH) the more replacements you will need to put in.
The proposed code states:
When an aggregate/total of anywhere from 48” to 120” DBH of trees are removed, one tree is required to be planted for every 24” of DBH between 48" and 120”. So if you took out 48” of trees in aggregate you would only be required to plant one 3” (or 2” if the change is approved) replacement tree. Then for every 24” of trees that are removed above 48”, and up to 120”, one tree will be required to be planted.
When you have over 120” and up to 240” DBH of trees being removed, you then have to plant TWO replacement trees for every 24” of DBH being removed between 120 and 240.
When you have over 240” DBH of trees being removed, you have to plant THREE replacement trees for every 24” of DBH removed over 240.”
Commenting on the proposed code, Trustee Lena Crandall said, “The Conservation Advisory Council has been working on it for years ….The whole idea is to keep Scarsdale with a 50% tree canopy – for flooding water conservation etc…. This is pretty lenient code (when compared to other municipalities.) We already allow people to take down two per year as of right.” Matt Callaghan also supported it saying, “I think it’s simple, enforceable and reasonable.”
Village staff will revise the code per the discussion at the Monday night meeting and schedule a public hearing to review it.
Mobile Parking App May Soon Come to Scarsdale
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Though the Village cannot increase the number of parking spaces in Scarsdale Village, they can make it easier to pay for parking and eliminate the frustration from broken parking meters.
In the fall of 2017 the Village tested a variety of meter pay options but shopper found that there were not user friendly and malfunctioned often. The cost to install these multi pay meters would have been around $400,000 so the Village decided against this option.
Instead Village staff is now investigating the use of mobile parking apps and is finalizing their recommendation to go with PANGO. PANGO is already in use on Garth Road and in Bronxville and the feedback is good.
To use it, drivers would need to download the app, complete their profile, fill in a credit number and zone. Once installed, drivers can use the app to pay for parking. It will also prevent users from adding extra funds to pay for parking once the maximum time limit is reached.
There is no fee for the Village to use the service. The vendor will send monthly checks to the Village and retain a convenience fee and credit card fees.
A resolution to approve PANGO was on the agenda for the Village Board of November 29 but was tabled as the Board of Trustees had some additional questions.
In other parking news, the Village will soon provide more merchant parking by permitting eight hour parking at the current two-hour meters located on East Parkway near the Bank of America/Scarsdale Police Sub-station. These meters will require a permit to park between 8am-11am Monday through Friday, and open to the general public outside of those times. The target market is the merchant community however the Village anticipates that commuters will likely use the spaces as well.
The Village is working on a new virtual parking permit system called Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR). Currently the Village issues paper parking permits – an ALPR would allow the village to transition to a “virtual permit” system whereby the ALPR (a camera mounted on a vehicle) would scan license plates in permitted lots and check them against the active permit list for validity.
This “virtual permit” system, in conjunction with an online permitting system, should allow the Village to issue quarterly or perhaps monthly permits to merchant parkers (currently, the administrative burden involved with accepting paper applications and issuing paper permits makes issuing quarterly or monthly permits impractical). The ability to provide quarterly or monthly permits helps to remove barriers to purchasing a permit (i.e. cash-flow issues for merchants and their employees). The goal of removing these barriers is to reduce on-street meter feeding.
Where Your Village Property Tax Dollars Go: Panel Discussion on January 10, 2019
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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On Thursday, January 10, 2019, the Scarsdale Forum and League of Women Voters Scarsdale will host a panel discussion, “Where Your Village Property Tax Dollars Go: An Overview,” in Scarsdale Village Hall at 8:00 pm. A number of senior village officials will participate, including Scarsdale Village Manager Steve Pappalardo, Scarsdale Village Treasurer Mary Lou McClure, Scarsdale Police Chief Andrew Matturro, Scarsdale Fire Chief James Seymour, and Scarsdale Superintendent of Public Works Benny Salanitro.
The event is an important opportunity for the community to learn more about how local taxes are allocated, the scope of services that Scarsdale Village provides, and how our taxes and spending compare to other municipalities in Westchester. The panel will be moderated by Paul Schwarz, of the League of Women Voters, and will be followed by a question and answer session with residents.
Janice Starr, co-president of the League of Women Voters Scarsdale said, “We are pleased to offer the community an opportunity to learn more about how the village works. This event is part of our larger efforts to promote civic education, and provide citizens with the knowledge they need to protect and support our democracy.”
Recipe: Kerala Spiced Sweet Potatoes for Thanksgiving
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- Written by: Rajni Menon
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Looking for a new twist on sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving? Local chef Rajni Menon, a Scarsdale resident who hails from the southern Indian state of Kerala, shared this recipe which melds sweet potatoes with ingredients from her Kerala pantry and spices that are available here in the United States.
Here’s a recipe to bring a touch of the exotic to your Thanksgiving table:
Roasted Sweet Potatoes in Coconut Milk
(Serves 3-4 as a side dish)
Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes (cubed)-3 cups
Coconut milk-1/4 cup
Coconut oil-3 tablespoons
Jaggery(Indian brown sugar grated)-1/4 cup
Garlic powder-1/2 teaspoon
Kashmiri chill powder or paprika-1 teaspoon
Onion powder-1/2 teaspoon
Vanilla powder-1/2 teaspoon
Cinnamon powder-1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder-1 teaspoon
Salt-1/2 teaspoon
Black pepper-1 teaspoon
Maple Syrup-3 tablespoons
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Cube the sweet potatoes and place it in a shallow baking pan.
Add spices, coconut oil and the coconut milk.
Mix well to coat the sweet potatoes.
Bake for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Stir it gently at the 20 minute mark and bake for another 20 more minutes until the sweet potatoes are fully cooked and roasted at the bottom.
Add in the maple syrup and give it a gentle stir.
Transfer this to a serving platter and enjoy!
Rajni Menon
Menon teaches authentic Kerala cuisine which is mostly gluten free and vegan. She teaches private Indian cooking classes in clients’ homes, preparing full meals from scratch. See more about Menon here: www.creativerajni.com
Recycling Made Easier
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- Written by: Conservation Advisory Council
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What can be recycled in Scarsdale can sometimes be confusing. This is the first article in a series of articles on WHAT and HOW to recycle in Scarsdale.
Our Sanitation Department does a great job of making our waste disappear so it’s easy not to think about it, but it all has to go somewhere. Instead of ending up as garbage that is burned just 30 minutes from Scarsdale, most items we use every day can be recycled and turned into something new while generating revenue for our County.
Every additional item that is recycled keeps our air, land and water safer, lessens the need to manufacture products from scratch, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. With a little effort and armed with a little knowledge, we can individually and collectively make a big difference!
This first article is a comprehensive guide to Commingled Recycling - Plastic, Glass, Metal, and Cartons. For a printable version or to read other CAC sustainability articles, click here. An article about Paper and Cardboard recycling will be published next month.
To ask further questions, please contact the Scarsdale Conservation Advisory Council using the online contact form.
Commingled Recycling (Plastic, Glass, Metal, Cartons)
Containers should be emptied and rinsed (see FAQ below). You can include caps and lids.
PLASTICS
ACCEPTED ITEMS: Any plastic coded #1 - #7
(except NO plastic bags, Styrofoam, or big, bulky items - even if numbered)
HOW TO DISPOSE OF NON-ACCEPTED PLASTIC:
• ALL plastic bags, Saran wrap, bubble wrap, air pillows: Trash or store recycle bins (FAQ below)
• Styrofoam (even coded #6, see FAQ), vinyl, diapers, utensils, and straws: Trash
• Very large items such as very large plastic toys: Donate or curbside Bulky Trash
• Empty containers that held hazardous material: Trash (see FAQ below)
GLASS
ACCEPTED ITEMS: Glass bottles and jars for food and drinks (any color)
HOW TO DISPOSE OF NON-ACCEPTED GLASS OR GLASS-LIKE ITEMS:
• Glass vases, Pyrex, drinking glasses, ceramics, plate glass, candle jars: donate or trash
• Light bulbs: LED and Incandescent (trash); CFL (recycle at vendors, see FAQ below)
METALS
ACCEPTED ITEMS: Metal food and drink cans, aerosol cans, aluminum foil and foil pans, and screw-top metal lids (separated from glass jars)
HOW TO DISPOSE OF NON-ACCEPTED METALS:
• Metal hangers: dry cleaners, scrap metal bin at Scarsdale Recycling Center, or trash
• Batteries: Non-rechargeable (trash), rechargeable (big box stores, see FAQ below)
• Bulky metal (e.g. water heater): leave at curb on bulk pickup day (2nd trash day of week)
• Other metal (keys, pipes, knobs, nails, etc): scrap metal bin at Scarsdale Recycling Center
• Empty containers that held hazardous material: Trash (see FAQ below)
CARTONS (NEW!!!)
ACCEPTED ITEMS: Food and drink cartons, soup cartons, juice boxes, and ice cream cartons
Commingled Recycling FAQs
COLLECTION: Why can’t we place recycling in plastic bags for pickup? Plastic bags jam the sorting machines at the recycling center so recycling needs to be placed LOOSE in our bins. If worried about your bin getting dirty, you can line it with a large bag that stays in the bin.
RINSING CONTAINERS: Do I have to clean my containers before recycling? Food residue should be removed and containers should be briefly rinsed but they don’t need to be sparkling clean. The recycling process can handle a little residue but rinsing keeps everything neater.
PLASTIC BAGS: Are plastic bags with recycling number signs accepted? No, not in the County program. But clean soft, thin film plastic, such as plastic bags (grocery, bread, cereal, garbage, newspaper, dry cleaner, Ziploc, etc.); Saran wrap; bubble wrap, air pillows, and packaging wrap may be recycled through supermarkets/large box stores which are required to have bins. Click here for more information on plastic bag recycling.
PLASTIC BAGS: Can we get a plastic bag recycling bin at the Scarsdale Recycling Center? Our County does not currently process plastic bags and Scarsdale cannot meet the minimum volume required to recycle privately. The Scarsdale CAC will continue to look into options.
PLASTIC CODES: What does the number inside the triangle recycling symbol mean? It denotes the type of plastic that the container is made of and can aid recyclers in the sorting process. Westchester accepts all numbers (#1 -#7) EXCEPT Styrofoam (even if #6) and plastic bags.
STYROFOAM: Why is Styrofoam not accepted, even when coded #6? Municipal recycling programs rarely accept Styrofoam for recycling due to the difficulty in processing, transporting and recycling Styrofoam. Some shipping stores (more info) accept loose fill peanuts. The most waste-conscious option is to avoid Styrofoam whenever possible.
CARTONS: Why are cartons put in commingled recycling when they look more like paper? Food and beverage cartons are lined with a thin film of plastic to make them leak-proof so they go through a different recycling process than regular paper/cardboard. The same equipment used to sort other commingled items is used to sort the cartons so they are processed together.
LIGHTBULBS: Why do different bulbs have different disposal requirements? Incandescent bulbs and LEDs may go in trash or be recycled through some retailers. However, fluorescent tubes and CFLs contain mercury which is toxic. Large home improvement stores typically accept CFLs (more info) but not fluorescent tubes which should be brought to the County Hazardous Materials depot (link).
METAL: What if I have an item that is part metal (like a broken scissor with plastic handle)? If the metal can be separated, it may be placed in the scrap metal bin at the Recycling Center and the plastic placed in recycling or trash; otherwise, the whole item should be placed in trash.
BATTERIES: How do I dispose of batteries? Regular (non-rechargeable) batteries go into trash. Rechargeable batteries contain toxic materials and should be brought to big box electronic stores that have rechargeable battery recycling bins, not placed in trash.
HAZARDOUS ITEMS: What’s considered “hazardous?” Materials such as pesticides, herbicides, stains, kerosene, automotive fluids, solvents, and pool chemicals are considered hazardous. Empty containers used for such hazardous materials should go into the trash, even if empty. Full or partial containers with hazardous material should be brought to the County Hazardous Materials depot (link). Household cleaners are not considered hazardous and these empty containers can go into recycling if coded #1-7. Click for a list of hazardous materials.
General FAQs
What happens to our garbage? Household garbage is brought to a County incinerator 30 minutes north of Scarsdale, where it is burned and generates electricity. The County has controls in place to minimize the negative environmental impact, but there are unavoidable toxic by-products. Residual toxins are emitted into the air and hazardous ashes must be buried in landfills. Recycling helps to reduce these negative environmental impacts.
How does recycling help? Every additional item that is recycled keeps our air, land and water safer; reduces use of fossil fuels; lessens greenhouse gas emissions; and enables us to turn items we no longer use into something new while generating revenue for our County.
What happens with our recyclables? Our recyclables are brought to the County’s Material Recovery Facility in Yonkers, where they are sorted, bundled into bales, and sold on the open market to manufacturers who turn our recyclables into new products.
What determines what recyclables are accepted? Not all plastics, glass, metals, or paper products are the same. Even if they look similar, raw materials can be different, or they may require different processing equipment due to materials or shape. The County specifies what is accepted based on what it’s able to process and what it’s able to sell.
Why are commingled and paper/cardboard collected separately? Processing them separately yields a much higher quality recycling stream which helps ensure our recyclables are sold and turned into new items.
I’ve read about towns throwing out their recycling. Is this happening here? NO! Our dual-stream recycling system and residents’ efforts to minimize contamination have ensured all our recycling is sold and turned into new products even as other municipalities have had difficulties.
Additional Recycling Resources:
• Scarsdale Recycling Guide
• Yonkers Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) video
• Scarsdale Sanitation Dept: [email protected] or 914.722.1294 (Mon-Sat, 8am-3pm)
• Westchester County Recycling Helpline: 914.813.5425 (Mon-Sun, 9am-7pm)
