New Jersey Shore Builders Ass'n v. Township of Jackson

At issue in this appeal is the validity of a tree removal ordinance, enacted by a municipality under the police power. The ordinance requires a property owner to replace any tree that is removed (with certain enumerated exceptions) or, if that is not feasible, to make a payment into a fund dedicated to the planting of trees and shrubs on public property. The trial judge held that the intent of the ordinance was to ameliorate the hazards of removing trees by regulating “the indiscriminate and excessive cutting of trees on the specific properties,” and that the payment for tree placement on…