Stalled tree code update in Southold causing concern

Some residents of Southold Town are upset that the tree code has not been updated with new rules about clearing residential parcels. One resident, Lynne Normandia, chose to speak for the trees by posting a sign on the trunk of an oak set to be removed by the homeowner as a form of protest.

“We’ve watched many houses along Sound View clear cut the yards to build up these houses that are not in perspective of what the lot is. They’re small lots and they take up the entire space,” said Ms. Normandia. “They take down all the trees to make space for the house that they want to build.”

A new code has been proposed. As previously reported, Southold Town Board member Jill Doherty, liaison to the town’s Tree Committee, presented a 15-page proposed tree code in November 2024.

“Trees stabilize the soil and control water pollution by preventing soil erosion and flooding, reduce air pollution, provide oxygen, yield advantageous microclimatic effects, temper noise,” the draft code states. “Indiscriminate removal of trees causes deprivation of these benefits and the Town’s ecological systems.” 

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said enforcing this part of the code could prove difficult, since it requires engaging an authority to determine what trees are healthy and of benefit. 

“I can see trees that have been overgrown around the house and whatnot, but healthy trees are coming down,” said Mr. Krupski. “But then to try to get that granularized to say, that tree is healthy and it’s of benefit to the whole community, you have to leave it up. I think that was the difficult part of that tree code that had been proposed.”

According to Ecode360, Southold does have rules in place regarding the clearing of lots by percentages, with lots up to 15,000 square feet allowed to clear 75% of the vegetation and decreasing to 15% for lots greater than 200,001 square feet. However, enforcement seems to be an issue.

“We have two departments that are active in this already, one of the highway department, and they do it for safety reasons on the highway, and also, they work with our utility partners with line clearing,” said Mr. Krupski. “And then also the town trustees, anything done in their jurisdiction requires an action from them.”  

Of concern to the town and the residents are the environmental impacts that indiscriminate tree removal will have. The detriment to the area’s rural character is also a factor. “I think that’s more concerning too. That it opens up the soil and then the sediment washes off either into the neighbor’s or into the town roadway,” Mr. Krupski said.

.Karen Karp, a 28-year Southold resident said, “The trees are a subtopic of this overarching issue, which is the nature of this place, the character of this place, what the town and the state and private entities have been doing to preserve farmland, to make sure we have an agriculture economy out here, and it’s just this constant conflict. If you take a 100-year-old tree down, planting the new one is nice, if you do it, but it’s not going to replace the ecosystem service value of that 100-year-old tree.”

The issue of who gets to decide what happens to the town’s trees is almost as old as the town itself. Mr. Krupski said the town historian recently gave him a book about Southold that included the first rules about trees. “The first tree code went into effect in 1654 in Southold Town” he said. “It was a result of a lot of clear cutting in Mattituck. This has been a longstanding problem here that we haven’t solved yet.”