Lincoln Municipal Code Ch. 18.69 Oak Tree Preservation

The city council finds and determines that oak trees are beneficial to the health and welfare of the citizens of Lincoln in that they preserve and promote natural beauty, reduce soil erosion, enhance property values, improve air quality, help maintain climatic balance, decrease wind velocities, abate noise, aid in water absorption, and help reduce energy consumption for air cooling by providing shade, and that preservation of these oak trees is in the public interest.

It shall be the policy of the city to preserve all oak trees possible through its development review process while at the same time recognizing individual rights to develop private property.

(Ord. 459B §1, 1984; Ord. No. 1039B, § 5, 9-28-2021)

The city council may adopt guidelines to regulate the preservation of oak trees located within the city limits. After adoption of the guidelines, the planning commission, the city council and/or the design review committee, as the case may be, shall utilize these guidelines in reviewing applications for projects including but not limited to rezonings, subdivision maps, parcel maps, development permits, conditional use permits, design review board approvals, and variances and shall impose conditions of approval on such projects consistent with said guidelines.

(Ord. 459B §2, 1984)

Inspection for compliance with the conditions of project approval relating to the preservation of oak trees shall be part of the city's regular project inspections. Whenever the city building official or city planner determines that construction activities are not in compliance with the conditions of project approval, the building official shall issue a stop work order which shall prohibit any further development activity until the violation(s) have been corrected. The stop work order shall set forth in writing the violation(s) and shall list the remedies to be taken to correct the violation(s).

(Ord. 459B §3, 1984)

If it is determined pursuant to the procedure set forth in Section 18.54.080 that an oak tree(s) has been removed or irrevocably harmed so that its death is imminent in violation of the conditions of project approval, the city may require one or more of the following to correct the violation:

(1) Replacement of the oak tree(s) removed or irrevocably harmed in violation of the conditions of project approval by planting replacement specimen trees of no less than 15 gallons in size, having a total combined diameter at the time of planting equal to the diameter of the removed tree(s).

(2) If the project site is not capable of supporting all the required replacement trees, a fee shall be paid to the city equal to the retail cost, at the time of the violation, of the replacement trees required in subsection (1) of this section, but which cannot be accommodated on the project site. Such fees shall be deposited in a separate fund and used to plant new trees, to secure oak tree habitat, to maintain existing trees owned by the city and to maintain trees located within the city's right-of-way.

(3) In addition to the remedies set forth in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the city shall have recourse to any penalty which may be imposed under this title for failure to comply with conditions of project approval.

(Ord. 459B §4, 1984; Ord. No. 1039B, § 6, 9-28-2021)