Bakersfield Municipal Code Ch. 12.40 Street Trees

Sections: 12.40.010 Title. 12.40.020 Definitions. 12.40.030 Establishment of comprehensive plan. 12.40.040 Jurisdiction and control. 12.40.050 Duties of adjacent owners to maintain. 12.40.060 Interfering with planting or caring for trees prohibited. 12.40.070 Killing or injuring trees prohibited—Harmful substances. 12.40.080 Inspection and removal. 12.40.090 Duty of private owners—Removal of hazardous trees—Charging costs of work done by city. 12.40.095 Permits for commercial tree contractors. 12.40.100 No liability upon city. 12.40.110 Types prohibited.

This chapter shall be known as the “tree ordinance” and may be cited as such. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.010)

For the purposes of this chapter, the words set out in this section shall have the following meanings:

A. “Director” means director of recreation and parks or designee.

B. “Parkway” means and includes that area between sidewalks and that portion of streets ordinarily used for vehicular travel, or any other public area adjacent to sidewalks and streets ordinarily and usually used as and for planting areas.

C. “Public place” means and includes streets, avenues, highways, alleys, parks, parkways, sidewalks, sidewalk spaces or any other place open to or for the use of the public.

D. “Sidewalk” means and includes that portion of a street, other than the roadway, set apart for pedestrian travel.

E. “Street” means and includes any way or place, of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular or pedestrian travel. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.020)

A. It is for the best interests of the city that a comprehensive plan for the planting and maintaining of trees within the city should be developed and established, and this chapter is adopted for the purpose of providing for such a plan, and for the purpose of establishing regulations relating to the planting and maintaining of trees in the streets of the city and other public and private places therein.

B. The city planning commission is charged with the duty of determining the types and varieties of trees for planting along the streets. Such determination shall be made by the commission after consultation with city urban forester. When such determination has been made, the commission shall report its determination in writing to the city council in a report to be designated “Official Tree Planting List, Bakersfield, California.” Said report shall be placed on file in the office of the city clerk, and after such filing, the same shall be the official determination of the commission. Thereafter said commission may, from time to time, file subsequent reports covering the same subject, each of which shall be complete in itself and each shall also be filed in the office of the city clerk. The latest of such reports so filed shall constitute the official list until supplanted by a subsequent list.

C. The director shall from time to time, at the request of the city council, prepare plans which shall designate, by means of a complete map of the city streets, a uniform method of street tree planting, the zoning of certain streets for certain types and varieties of trees, selecting suitable types for residential areas and special types of trees for nonresidential areas. Such plans shall show the intervals between said trees, and the place where each tree is to be planted. The director shall submit such plan or plans to the city council for its approval or modification, together with the recommendation of the city planning commission.

D. When the uniform plan in its original or modified form is adopted by the city council, it shall become the tree planting plan for the streets of the city, and shall be strictly adhered to in all future street planting projects. The director and the city planning commission shall develop such plans together. Copies of such plans shall be made and kept on file in the office of the city clerk where they may be obtained by the public. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.030)

The director shall have full jurisdiction and control of the designation of types and varieties, planting, setting out, locating and placing of all trees, shrubs and plants in the streets, parks, parkways and public places of the city, and shall likewise have supervision, direction and control of the removal, relocation and replacement thereof; provided, however, that in making such determinations and exercising such control, he or she shall be limited to the trees, shrubs or plants designated on the then current official tree planting list. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.040)

It is made the duty of all owners, agents, tenants or other persons having possession or control of real property within said city to properly cultivate, care for and maintain all trees, shrubs and plants now or hereafter planted or set out within any parkway or public place immediately adjacent to their respective real properties, subject, however, to the general supervision, direction and control of said director. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.060)

No person, firm or corporation shall interfere with the director or persons acting under his authority while engaged in planting, mulching, pruning, trimming, spraying, treating or removing any tree, shrub or plant in any street, park, parkway or public place within the city, or in the removing of any stone, cement or other substance from about the trunk of any tree, shrub or plant in any such street, park, parkway or public place. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.070)

A. No person, firm or corporation shall, in any way, harm, injure, destroy or kill any tree, shrub or plant growing upon any street, park, parkway or public place, by any method whatsoever.

B. No person, firm or corporation shall cause, authorize or allow any brine water, oil, liquid dye or any other substance deleterious to tree or plant life, to lie, leak, pour, flow or drip on or into the soil about the base of any tree, shrub or plant in any street, park, parkway or public place in the city at a point from which such substance may, by lying upon or by flowing, dripping or seeping into such soil injure, destroy or kill such tree, shrub or plant.

C. No person, firm or corporation, without the approval of the director, shall place or maintain any stone, cement or other substance which might impede the free access of water or air to the roots of any tree, shrub or plant in any street, parkway or public place in the city. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.080)

A. The director may inspect any tree, shrub or plant upon any street, park, parkway or public place of the city, to determine whether the same or any part thereof constitutes a hazard or an impediment to the progress or vision of anyone traveling on said street or public places.

B. If the director determines that any tree, shrub or plant is hazardous to the traveling public or impedes the progress or the vision of said public on any such street or public place, he or she may cause the same, or such parts thereof as are hazardous or impeditive, to be trimmed or removed so as to remedy such hazardous or impeditive condition. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.090)

costs of work done by city.

A. It shall be the duty of every person, firm or corporation having charge or control of any lot or premises, either as owner, agent, lessee, tenant or otherwise, to trim or cause to be trimmed, or remove or cause to be removed, all trees, shrubs or plants or any part or parts thereof, growing or standing on said property, which may constitute a hazard or an impediment to the progress or vision of anyone traveling on any street or public place.

B. Whenever it comes to the attention of the director that any tree, shrub or plant growing or standing on any private property constitutes a hazard or an impediment to the progress or vision of anyone traveling on any street or public place, he or she shall give notice of such hazard or impediment to the owner or occupant of said premises together with a request to remove or correct such condition. Such notice and request may be given either by personal service or by mail, to the owner or occupant or other person in charge or control of said premises, or by posting notice upon said property and mailing a copy thereof to the owner or occupant. The owner or occupant of said premises shall, within ten days after the service or posting and mailing of said notice, remove or cause to be removed, such hazardous or impeditive condition.

C. Should any person, firm or corporation fail, neglect or refuse to conform with the provisions of this chapter, the director shall have the power to carry out such provisions and the cost thereof shall be charged to and become a valid claim against such person, firm or corporation, recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.100)

All contractors that perform any type of work or maintenance on trees within the streets, parks, pathways and public places of the city are required to obtain a city-issued permit from director prior to performing said work. The cost of said permit shall be set by resolution by the city council and the permit does not supplant the requirement for an encroachment permit. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003)

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to impose any liability upon the city, its officers or employees, nor to relieve the owners of any private property from the duty to keep any tree, shrub or plant upon his property, or under his control, in such a condition as to prevent it from constituting a hazard or an impediment to the progress or vision of anyone traveling on any street or public place within the city. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; prior code § 12.36.110)

It is unlawful for the owner, lessee, agent, tenant or any other person having charge or control of any lot, piece or parcel of land within the city, to plant, grow or permit to be planted or grown any female Populus fremontii wats tree or trees commonly known as female cottonwood trees or trees which bear seeds of a cottony, wingy or downy nature; the fruiting variety of Morus alba and Morus nigra tree or trees, commonly known as the fruiting variety of mulberry tree; or any Ailanthus tree, commonly known as tree of heaven within said city. (Ord. 4122 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2738 § 1, 1982; prior code § 12.36.120)