§ 26.10

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

Director means the Director of Parks and Public Works or the Director's designated representative.

Owner of the property means the person who is the owner of the fee simple title of the property on which a street tree is planted.

Parkway strip means that public area between the curb and the sidewalk, or between the sidewalk and the property line on a public street.

Public place means any road or street, or public school, or place of public assemblage, or real property, building, or other space or area which is open to public access, and which is under public control, or maintained at public expense, or which the Town or the County of Santa Clara, or the State of California, or the United States, as the case may be, owns some or all interest or which it leases.

Public street means all or any portion of territory within the Town set apart and designated for the use of the public as a thoroughfare for travel, including the sidewalks, curb and gutter.

Street trees means those trees in a public place, or along or within a public street or within a parkway strip.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

It is for the best interests of the Town that a comprehensive plan for the planting, maintenance and removal of trees in, or which may overhang, public streets within the Town should be developed and established; and this chapter is adopted for the purpose of developing and providing for such a plan and program, and for the purpose of establishing rules and regulations relating to the planting, maintaining and removal of such trees.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

This chapter is intended to give, and does hereby give, full and complete authority to the Director, or the Director's authorized agent, over all trees planted and growing, or to be planted and grown, upon or overhanging any streets, public places and parkways in the Town. The provisions of this chapter are not superseded by Chapter 29 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

The Director shall have jurisdiction and control over the planting, setting out, location, selection and placement of all trees in the public streets of the Town, and shall likewise have supervision, direction and control of the care, trimming, removal, relocation and replacement thereof.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

(a)

A Master Street Tree List shall be established by resolution of the Town Council.

(b)

A copy of the Master Street Tree List shall be kept on file in the office of the Director. Revisions, additions or changes in the Master Street Tree List may be made from time to time by resolution of the Town Council. Additional tree varieties may be used at the discretion of the Director in conjunction with new tree introductions recommended by urban forestry and horticultural organizations, research foundations and educational institutions.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

Only those trees which are designated on the Master Street Tree list and which are approved by the Director shall be planted along the public streets of the Town.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

No person shall plant or set out any tree in or along a public street without first filing an application and procuring a written permit to do so from the Director. In such an event, the Director may require that the person to whom such permit is granted either deposit per tree an amount established by the Council from time to time by resolution with the Director, who shall then plant approved trees, or plant approved trees subject to the control of the Director, as provided in section 26.10.025. No person shall place or maintain shrubs or plants in a parkway strip in such a manner that they restrict the growth of, or potentially harm, a street tree.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

No person shall do any of the following:

(1)

Damage, cut, carve or injure the bark of any street tree;

(2)

Attach any sign, wire or injurious material to any street tree;

(3)

Cause or permit any unshielded wire charged with electricity to come in contact with any street tree;

(4)

Allow any gaseous, liquid or solid substance harmful to trees to come in contact with the roots, leaves, bark or any part of any street tree;

(5)

Construct concrete, asphalt or brick paving, or otherwise fill up the ground area, within four (4) feet of any tree, so as to shut off air, light or water from its roots, without written permission from the Director.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

(a)

Any tree, shrub, plant or part thereof growing in, or overhanging, a public street or right-of-way interfering with the use of any public street or public place in the Town, or tree which, in the opinion of the Director, endangers the life, health, safety, comfort or property of any persons using such public street, or in such public place, because of the tree's or shrub's location, condition of its limbs, roots or trunk, or because of its diseased condition, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

(b)

Any Sweet Gum (Liquidambar syraciflua) planted in a parkway strip that has created, or will imminently create, persistent and uncontrollable damage to the sidewalk, curb and gutter, pavement, or adjacent private property that cannot be reasonably remedied through root pruning or other accepted arboricultural means is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

(a)

The Department of Parks and Public Works is responsible for inspection, maintenance, removal and replacement of all trees in public places and parkways. No person shall trim or prune any tree in the public right-of-way without written authorization from the Director. When a tree in a parkway does not constitute an immediate danger to persons or property, the Director shall not remove it without giving at least ten (10) days' written notice to the owner of the property, or if the tree is located on a parkway owned in fee by the Town, to the owner of the nearest abutting property, and posting notice of removal on or near the tree.

(b)

Maintenance of trees, as authorized in subsection (a) of this section includes, but is not limited to, root pruning to prevent damage to sidewalks and curbs or to permit repair of such damage, and pruning of limbs to compensate for root removal.

(c)

The Director may remove limbs from any tree regardless of the location of the tree upon a finding that the removal is necessary in the interest of public safety. If such tree is on private property and does not come within the provisions of section 26.30.010, the Director shall not remove any such limbs without giving at

least ten (10) days' written notice to the owner of the property, and posting notice of removal on or near the tree.

(d)

Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to impose any liability upon any member of the Town Council, or the Town or any of its officers or employees, or to relieve the owner and the occupant of any private property from the duty to keep the property, and the sidewalks and parkway in front of the property in a safe condition, and not hazardous for public travel.

(e)

Whenever a property owner wishes to have a tree removed from a parkway planted thereon by the Town, the owner shall apply to the Director for a permit for removal. The Director shall determine whether to issue the permit and whether the work of removal is to be done by the Town. If the tree is found to be in good condition and the permit is granted primarily for the convenience of the applicant, then the full cost and responsibility of such removal shall be borne by the applicant including replanting of a new street tree. Where replanting is impractical or infeasible, the adjacent property owner may pay an in-lieu fee in an amount approved by resolution of the Town Council.

(f)

Removal of street trees shall be subject to the Standards of Review set forth in section 26.10.062 and the Required Findings set forth in section 26.10.063 of this chapter of the Town Code.

(g)

All street trees removed pursuant to this chapter shall be replanted with a tree selected from the approved Master Street Tree List suitable and complimentary to the location, except where replanting is not feasible due to modifications to the public improvements or infrastructure associated with an approved project.

(h)

Notices as required by this section may be given in the manner provided in section 26.30.015.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

The Director or deciding body shall review each application for a tree removal permit required by this division using the following standards of review. The standards of review are intended to serve as criteria for evaluating tree removal requests and provide the basis upon which the Director will subsequently determine whether or not one (1) or more of the required findings listed in section 26.10.063 can be made.

(1)

The condition of the tree or trees with respect to disease, imminent danger of falling or structural failure, proximity to existing or proposed structures, structural damage to a building or a public nuisance caused

by a tree. The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Best Management Practices for Tree Risk Assessment shall be used where appropriate in determining a Tree Risk Rating.

(2)

The condition of the tree giving rise to the removal request cannot be reduced to a less than significant level by the reasonable application of preservation, preventative measures or routine maintenance.

(3)

The removal of the tree(s) will not result in a density of trees or tree cover that is inconsistent with the neighborhood.

(4)

The number of trees the street frontage or adjacent parcel can adequately support according to good urban forestry practices, or whether the tree proposed for removal is a detriment to or crowding other trees, including Heritage Trees or other protected trees as defined in Chapter 29 of the Town Code.

(5)

Whether the removal of the tree and replanting with a different species will help promote a more unified street tree canopy.

(6)

The species, size (diameter, canopy, height), estimated age and location of the tree.

(7)

The impact of the tree on the adjacent property and the adjacent public improvements, including sidewalks, curb, gutter, pavement, drainage, lighting, or traffic control devices.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

The Director, Director's designee, or deciding body shall approve a street tree removal permit only after making at least one (1) of the following findings:

(1)

The tree is dead, severely diseased, decayed or disfigured to such an extent that the tree is unable to recover or return to a healthy and structurally sound condition.

(2)

The tree or some of its major component parts present a clear safety hazard that cannot be controlled or remedied through preventative procedures or pruning within ISA guidelines.

(3)

The tree is crowding other trees to the extent that removal is necessary to ensure the long-term viability of adjacent and more significant trees.

(4)

The retention of the tree restricts the economic enjoyment of the adjacent property or creates an unusual hardship for the adjacent property owner by severely limiting the use of the property in a manner not typically experienced by owners of similarly situated properties, and the applicant has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director that there are no reasonable alternatives to preserve the tree.

(5)

The tree has, or will imminently, interfere with utility services where such interference cannot be controlled or remedied through reasonable modification, relocation or repair of the utility service or the pruning of the root or branch structure of the tree; or where removal or pruning is required by a public utility to comply with California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rules or regulations.

(6)

The tree has caused or may imminently cause significant damage to an existing structure that cannot be controlled or remedied through reasonable modification of the root or branch structure of the tree.

(7)

The removal of the tree is necessary to repair a geologic hazard.

(8)

The removal of the tree has been approved by the Town Council as part of an approved Capital Improvement Project.

(9)

The removal of the tree has been approved by the Town Council, Planning Commission, or DRC as part of an approved development project.

(10)

The tree is interfering with the use and function of public sidewalks, curb and gutter, pavements, or other public improvements and cannot be retained through root pruning or reasonable modifications of the affected public improvements.

(11)

The tree is of a species, size or character such that removal and replacement with a more appropriate tree species will enhance the Town's urban forest.

(12)

The tree has been declared a public nuisance pursuant to section 26.10.055 of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

The owner or occupant of any corner lot or premises in the Town shall keep trees, hedges and growth at the corners of intersecting streets, whether between the curb line and the private lot line, or within the private lot or premises, so trimmed that the height of the same shall not exceed three (3) feet above the curb level for a distance of thirty (30) feet measured horizontally in any direction from the point of intersection of the property lines at street corners; provided, that trees whose main trunks are exposed to a height of seven and one-half (7½) feet above the curb need not be so trimmed or cut.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15)

(a)

Decisions of the Director under the provisions of sections 26.10.055, 26.20.010, 26.20.015, and 26.10.060(a} and (c) (in instances involving trees located on private property only), and 26.10.060(e), and 26.30.010 concerning notices to cut down, trim or remove a tree, only, are appealable to the Parks and Sustainability Commission. Appeals shall be commenced by filing a written notice of appeal with the Secretary of the Parks and Sustainability Commission within ten (10) days after the property owner or possessor of land is notified of the decision. The notice of appeal shall state the name and address of the appellant, the location of the tree, including the street address of the property most likely to assist in locating the tree if there is such address, a description sufficient to identify the tree, describe the specific action of the Director which is the subject of the appeal, and state the grounds for the appeal.

(b)

Determinations of the Parks and Sustainability Commission under the provisions of this chapter, including determinations on appeal from decisions of the Director, are appealable to the Town Council. Appeals shall be commenced by filing a written notice of appeal with the Town Clerk within ten (10) days after the property owner or possessor of land is notified of the decision. The notice of appeal shall state the name and address of the appellant, shall describe the determination or decision appealed from, and shall state the grounds for appeal.

(c)

Any interested person may appeal.

(d)

All appeals under the provisions of this chapter shall be determined after hearing by the appellate body of all of the evidence concerning the determination from which the appeal is taken.

(Ord. No. 2240, § I(Exh. A), 6-2-15; Ord. No. 2346, § II, 11-21-23)