Lemoore Municipal Code Ch. 5 Street Trees

This Chapter is adopted to preserve, protect and promote the public health, safety, peace, comfort, convenience, prosperity and general welfare. More specifically, this Chapter is intended to achieve the following:

A. To provide a comprehensive plan for the planting, replanting, removal and maintenance of trees within designated public streets, including arterial and collector streets as designated by the City's General Plan, streets within the Central Business District and streets providing access to schools, parks and other public facilities.

B. To establish and maintain a pattern of street trees within all public streets which will enhance the living and working area of the City, enhance real property values, conserve energy, reduce glare, diminish the effects of vehicular noise, provide shade and avoid hazards to street improvements and to public safety occasioned by trees which are of such physical condition or location as to constitute a public nuisance. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-91)

For the purpose of this Chapter, words hereinafter listed shall have the meanings set forth in this Section:

CITY: The City of Lemoore, California.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: The Community Development Director of the City.

OWNER: The legal owner of real property fronting on any street of the City and any lessee of such owner.

PERSON: An individual, firm, association, corporation or copartnership, and the lessees, trustees, receivers, agents, servants and employees of any such person.

PLANNING COMMISSION: The City Planning Commission of the City.

PUBLIC STREET or STREET: All roads, streets, avenues, boulevards, alleys, parkways and other public rights of way, or any portion thereof, of the City.

PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR or DIRECTOR: The Public Works Director of the City.

TREE: Any woody plant which normally has one stem or trunk bearing lateral branching and foliage, or a crown of foliage, well above the ground level at maturity.

TREE COMMITTEE or COMMITTEE: The Tree Committee of the City. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-91)

There is hereby created an advisory committee of the Planning Commission, to be known as the "Tree Committee of the City". (Ord. 9111, 7-16-91)

A. Comprehensive Street Tree Plan: The planning commission shall prepare and recommend, and the city council shall adopt by resolution, a comprehensive plan for the planting and maintaining of trees within the public streets of the city, which plan shall be designated as the comprehensive street tree plan. Said plan shall include those public streets which, in the commission's judgment, bear a relationship to the purposes of this chapter. The plan shall be so prepared that all appropriate public streets may be included in the plan. The plan shall consist of a written statement, maps and such detailed designs as may be appropriate, setting forth or depicting the following:

1. The specific types of trees to be planted, including their desirable location or spacing.

2. The identification of those existing trees which should be retained.

3. The identification of those existing trees which may constitute a public hazard or public nuisance and which may require substantial maintenance or removal.

In preparing initial and subsequent versions of the comprehensive street tree plan, the commission and city council may limit the plan's content to only that information required under subsection A1 of this section. It is the intent of this section that the plan shall be developed gradually in recognition of the practical problems associated with fulfilling all requirements of this section within any specified period of time.

B. Master List Of Trees 1 : The tree committee shall prepare and recommend, and the city council shall adopt by resolution, a master list of trees that are suitable for implementing the comprehensive street tree plan, and for the planting of trees within all other public streets not included in the comprehensive plan. The master list shall be prepared and adopted within three (3) months after the adoption of this chapter. In preparing and amending the master list, the tree committee shall consult with persons who, by reason of training and experience, have expertise in the selection, planning, planting and maintenance of trees that are well suited to local climatic and soil conditions. Upon its adoption, the list shall be known as the master list of trees, and shall be placed on file in the offices of the city clerk, public works director and community development director. Revisions or changes to the master list may be made in the same manner prescribed for the preparation and adoption of the original master list.

C. Conformance With Tree Plan Or Master List: All trees hereinafter planted within a public street shall conform as to type, species, location and spacing as prescribed by the comprehensive street tree plan, if applicable, or by the master list of trees. Projects requiring approval by the planning commission under site plan review provisions of the zoning ordinance 2 shall conform to the requirements of this section. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-1991)

No person shall plant, remove, injure or interfere with any tree upon the public streets of the city without obtaining an encroachment permit from the public works director. The director is hereby authorized to grant such permission at his discretion as being necessary. The public works director's decision to disallow the issuance of a permit to remove may be appealed by an aggrieved party to the planning commission, which shall then have the power to allow or disallow issuance of a permit to remove the tree. A permit to remove a tree shall be valid for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days after its date of issuance. (Ord. 2011-01, 3-1-2011)

It shall be the obligation of the owner to water and otherwise maintain all trees planted or growing in the public street, as defined in this chapter, and those trees growing on the owner's real property. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-1991)

Any tree which is removed by a property owner under the provisions of this chapter shall be replaced by the property owner in accordance with the provisions of the comprehensive street tree plan or master list of trees, whichever is applicable. Where required, replacement shall be made at the expense of the property owner within ninety (90) days of obtaining a permit for the removal of the original tree as prescribed under section 7-5-5 of this chapter. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-1991)

A. Nuisance Declared; Abatement: Any tree growing within a public street which is endangering or in any way may endanger the security or usefulness of any public street, or of any underground or overhead utility, may be declared a public nuisance and the Public Works Director may cause such tree to be pruned, thinned, cut back at the roots or removed, or to permit any public utility to do so. Before taking an action to remove a tree, the Director shall notify the Tree Committee, the Planning Commission, the City Council and the affected property owners. The Planning Commission or property owner may, within thirty (30) days of receiving notice, appeal such proposed action to the City Council, and the City Council shall hear such appeal and shall have final authority over any such appeal.

B. Summary Abatement: The Director may cause a street tree to be trimmed, pruned or removed when the condition of the tree is so hazardous as to constitute an immediate and significant danger to the public. Conditions warranting such action include serious damage to the tree incurred through vehicular collision, fire, explosion or other casualty, or by an act of God or the public enemy.

C. Abatement Costs: The cost of removing any tree which has been determined a public nuisance under subsection A of this Section, or the cost of trimming, pruning or removal of a tree which has become a hazard under subsection B of this Section due to any act, fault or neglect of the owner shall be at the sole expense of the owner. In all other cases, the cost of removal shall be borne by the City. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-91)

It shall be a violation of the provisions of this Chapter to abuse, destroy or mutilate any tree within a public street, or to attach or place any rope or wire (other than as required to support a young or broken tree), sign, poster, handbill or other material to any tree growing within a public street, or to cause or permit any electrically charged wire to come into contact with any such tree, or to allow any gaseous liquid or solid substance which is harmful to such tree to come into contact with its roots or leaves. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-91)

Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be deemed to impose any liability upon the City, its officers or its employees, nor to relieve any property owner from the duty to avoid violating any of the applicable provisions of this Chapter. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-91)

The Public Works Director is hereby charged with the responsibility for the enforcement of this Chapter and may serve notice to any person in violation hereof or institute legal proceedings as may be required, and the City Attorney is hereby authorized to institute appropriate proceedings to that end.

Any person violating any provision of this Chapter shall be guilty of an infraction. (Ord. 9111, 7-16-91)