Resident urges retention of newly planted apple trees; township says unauthorized plantings must be removed

Janine Nakarado, a resident at 788 Aurora Drive, told the Upper Allen Township Parks and Recreation Advisory Board she and two neighbors paid a landscaper to remove hazardous wood debris and planted three young apple trees behind their homes. “I just want number one permission to leave those trees there,” she said during public comment.

Parks Director Chad Krebs responded with a property history and a safety rationale: the strip in question sits within the Winding Hills Park south parcel and is partly under a PPL right-of-way, limiting where the township can plant. Krebs said the township performed winter brush mowing to follow DCNR best practices that avoid nesting periods and that equipment access to the parcel is limited. He noted that unauthorized plantings on township property create liability and maintenance obligations for the township.

The board and staff told Nakarado that township policy does not permit unapproved plantings on parkland and that the manager had granted a temporary extension to remove the trees until the resident could present her case to the board. Board members acknowledged the residents’ good intentions—some said they appreciated neighbors taking initiative to improve safety and aesthetics—but emphasized the need for a coordinated plan. One board member said unauthorized plantings “would become our liability and responsibility moving forward.”

Members suggested alternatives short of immediate disposal: relocating the trees to HOA-owned land, donating them to a local orchard, or working through a formal volunteer friends group that would be added to township insurance and act with staff oversight. Board members also asked staff to help the resident identify off-site donation options and to explore whether the trees could be safely transplanted by a contractor if removal were required.

The board did not reverse the township’s authority to remove unauthorized plantings. Members encouraged Janine and other neighbors to assemble a volunteers’ group, submit a formal plan to parks staff, and follow the township’s permit/coordination process for future plantings. The board reiterated that leaving unauthorized plantings on township-owned parcels is not allowed because the township would assume long-term maintenance and liability.

The immediate practical outcome is that residents were asked to coordinate with the township about whether the trees can be moved to private/HOA property or accepted as donations; the township manager’s temporary extension remains the controlling timeline until staff confirms next steps.