New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 16 - TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 41F - VEGETATION CANOPY MANAGEMENT › Subchapter 2 - DEFINITIONS › Section 16:41F-2.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
				  shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"ANSI A300 Standards" means the accepted industry standards
				  for tree care practices developed by the American National Standards Institute.
				  The ANSI A300 Standards, which are incorporated herein by reference, as amended
				  and supplemented, can be found at
http://tcia.org/business/ansi-a300-standards
.
"Applicant" means the holder of a valid outdoor advertising
				  permit issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 16:41C who seeks approval to implement a VCM
				  Plan to allow or improve the visibility of an off-premise outdoor advertising
				  sign.
"Cleaning" means selective pruning to remove only dead or
				  broken branches.
"Crown" means the leaves and branches of a tree measured from
				  the lowest branch on the trunk to the top of the tree.
"Crown raising" means the removal of lower tree limbs to
				  allow clearance or visibility beneath the tree crown while maintaining the
				  natural symmetry of the tree.
"Crown reduction" "or reduction" means selective pruning to
				  decrease height or spread of the crown.
"Crown thinning" or "thinning" means selective pruning to
				  reduce the density of live branches.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of
				  Transportation.
"Flood hazard area" means as defined by
				  N.J.A.C.
				  7:13-1.
"Hardwood" means trees, usually with deciduous leaves,
				  including examples such as Ash, Beech, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Oak, Plum,
				  Poplar, Sweetgum, and Willow, with notable broadleaf evergreen exceptions, such
				  as Magnolia.
"Historic site" means as defined by the New Jersey Register
				  of Historic Places Act,
				  13:1B-15.1 28 et seq.
"Historic trees" means trees identified by the Community
				  Forestry Program of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP),
				  Division of Parks and Forestry.
"No Net Loss Reforestation Act" means a law that requires
				  State entities to replant trees when they are removed during development
				  projects at least one-half acre in size pursuant to
				  13:1L-14.1 et seq.
"Pruning" means the selective removal of plant parts without
				  damaging the natural symmetry of the vegetation or having a negative effect on
				  its long-term health by cleaning, thinning, raising, or reduction.
"Removal" or "removed" means the elimination of trees or
				  other vegetation. "Riparian zone" means as defined by
				  N.J.A.C.
				  7:13-1.
"ROW" means right-of-way.
"Scenic and historic highways" means any highway, or portion
				  thereof, designated for inclusion in the New Jersey Scenic and Historic
				  Highways Program in accordance with
				  27:5K-1 et seq.
"Scenic byway" means any highway, or portion thereof, that
				  has been nominated or designated as a scenic byway by the Department. A list of
				  scenic byways is available on the Department's website at
www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuity/scenic/
.
"Scenic corridor" means any highway, or portion thereof, that
				  has been designated as a scenic corridor by the Department as found at N.J.A.C.
				  16:41C.
"Threatened or endangered species habitat" means habitat
				  protected under
				  16
				  U.S.C. §§
										1531 et seq., and
				  23:2A-3.
"Trim" or "trimming" means the same as pruning.
"VCM" means vegetation canopy management.
"VCM distance" means a horizontal dimension of vegetation
				  based on the official highway speed, designed to create a viewing time of
				  approximately 3.9 to 5.4 seconds for approaching motorists.
"VCM height" means the vertical dimension of the vegetation
				  canopy management area.
"Vegetation" means all woody and herbaceous plants either
				  naturally occurring or planted.
"Vegetation canopy" means the leaf and stem area of plants,
				  grasses, shrubs, and trees.
"Vegetation Canopy Management Plan" or "VCM Plan" means a
				  plan by which existing vegetation within State highway ROW is reconfigured
				  through pruning, selective removal, supplemental plantings, and other means, to
				  produce and maintain a vegetation canopy that has sufficient horizontal and
				  vertical dimension to allow visibility of outdoor advertising signs, but which
				  also maintains a vegetated corridor for the motorist.
"Wetlands or Wetland Transition Areas" means as defined by
				  N.J.A.C. 7:7A.
"Zone of visual influence" means the area from which an
				  outdoor advertising sign is visible to a motorist as illustrated by N.J.A.C.
				  16:41F Appendix 3, Figures 1, 2, and 3 and Table 2.