San Fernando Municipal Code Div. 1 Generally

This article is established to promote and protect the public health, safety, and general welfare by providing for the regulation of the trimming, pruning, planting, mulching, watering, fertilizing, staking, spraying, maintenance, removal and replacement or any and all treatment and care of trees upon any street, parkway, park, playground, boulevard, alley or public right-of-way within the city, as being governed and interpreted by the standard practices of good arboriculture as commonly accepted in the professional trade by the National Arborist Association (NAA) and the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

This article provides full power and authority over the planting, removing and cutting of trees located within public property in the city.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

[The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:]

City-owned tree shall mean any tree on public property.

Damage shall mean any action undertaken which causes injury, death, mutilation, stapling or disfigurement of a tree. This includes, but is not limited to, cutting, poisoning, over-watering, relocating or transplanting a tree, topping, girdling, trenching, grading or excavating within the drip line of the tree.

Drip line shall mean a line which may be drawn on the ground around a tree directly under its outermost branch tips and which identifies that location where rainwater tends to drip from the tree.

Heritage tree shall mean a specifically designated by city council upon recommendation by the city's tree commission as a heritage tree which meets one or more of the following set of criteria:

(1) The tree's age and association with a historic building or district gives the tree historical significance;

(2) The tree represents a specimen that is particularly rare in the Los Angeles basin and is of considerable size and age;

(3) The tree possesses unique characteristics or special horticultural significance; or

(4) The tree is of a significant size and/or makes a significant and outstanding aesthetic impact to its setting and is an exceptional specimen in good condition and health.

Public property shall mean any road, street, avenue, alley, parkway, right-of-way, or property, or any portion thereof, dedicated for or used by the public.

Removal shall mean the uprooting, cutting or severing of the main trunk, or major branches, of a tree or any act which causes, or may be reasonably expected to cause a tree to die, including but not limited to the following:

(1) Inflicting damage upon the root system of a tree by root pruning, machinery, storage of materials, or soil compaction;

(2) Substantially changing the grade above the root system or trunk of a tree; and

(3) Excessively or improperly pruning a tree.

(4) Damage to trunk, where as the tree would not likely survive.

Street trees shall mean each of those trees planted or to be planted in the various parkways along city streets, roads, boulevards and alleys.

Topping shall mean the severe cutting back of limbs within the tree's crown to such a degree as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.

Trees shall mean any woody perennial plant, usually having a single main axis or trunk, but including specimens of such plants having multiple trunks.

Tree master plan shall mean a comprehensive plan approved by the city council, which provides for planting, care, preservation, maintenance, and removal of all trees on public property.

Trimming shall mean the removal of dead, dying, diseased, life interfering, objectionable and weak branches in accordance with the most current and best practices of the National Arborist Association (NAA) and International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

It shall be the duty of the public works director to plant, trim, prune, remove and care for all city-owned trees in accordance with this article. It shall also be the duty of the public works director, in accordance with this article, to designate the kind or variety of trees to be planted upon any street, parkway, park, playground, boulevard, alley or public property in the city as stated in the approved tree master plan.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

No person shall cut, trim, prune, plant, remove, injure or interfere with any city-owned tree, without a permit from the public works director. The public works director is authorized to grant a permit in accordance with the street encroachment permit procedures, but no such permit shall be valid for a period longer than 20 days after its date of issuance. Before a permit is issued pursuant to this article, a permit fee shall be paid to the city in accordance with the amount set forth by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

Any person maintaining any overhead wires, poles or construction or any pipes, conduits or services underground, along or across any public property in the city or owning any property abutting upon any public property in the city desiring to have any city-owned tree cut, trimmed, pruned or removed shall file with the public works director a written request for the applicant to perform such work. Such request shall describe the work to be performed by the applicant. The issuance of any such permit shall be at the discretion of the public works director. It shall be within the discretion of the public works director, as a condition of any such permit, to require a written agreement upon the part of the applicant to perform such work in the way stipulated by the public works director and to pay the cost thereof.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

When the erection, repair, alteration or removal of any building, house or structure necessitates the trimming, pruning or removal of any city-owned tree, it shall be within the discretion of the public works director to grant or refuse permission to do such work. The public works director may stipulate the conditions upon which any trimming, pruning or removal may be done and may request the applicant to enter into an agreement whereby the applicant shall agree to pay all costs incurred for any inspection, labor, equipment or service charge deemed necessary by the public works director.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

Care shall be exercised by all individuals, developers and contractors working near preserved trees so that no damage occurs to such trees. All construction shall preserve and protect the health of trees to remain, relocated trees, and new trees planted to replace those removed in accordance with the following measures:

(1) All trees to be saved shall be enclosed/delineated by an appropriate construction barrier, such as fencing or other mechanism, prior to commencement of work. Barriers are to remain in place during all phases of construction and may not be removed without the written consent of the public works director.

(2) Such barrier(s) must be located a distance from the trunk base of two times the trunk diameter, up to a maximum of 15 feet, unless otherwise approved in writing by the public works director.

(3) No fill material shall be placed within three feet from the outer trunk circumference of any tree.

(4) No fill materials shall be placed within the drip line of any tree in excess of 18 inches in depth. This guideline is subject to modification to meet the needs of an individual tree species, as determined by a certified arborist or licensed landscape architect.

(5) No substantial compaction of the soil within the drip line of any tree shall be undertaken.

(6) No construction, including structures and walls, that disrupts the root system shall be permitted. As a guideline, no cutting of roots should occur within a distance equal to 3½ times the trunk diameter, as measured at ground level. Actual setback may vary to meet the needs of individual tree species as determined by a certified arborist or licensed landscaped architect. When some root removal is necessary, the tree crown may require thinning to prevent wind damage.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

Within available resources, the city shall implement practices to prevent the removal of existing public trees whenever possible. The removal of a single tree or groups of trees may be approved pursuant to this article, after one of the following findings has been made:

(1) The tree is dead.

(2) The tree has reached an over-mature condition for its pre-existing location and will result in the deterioration of surrounding hardscaped areas potentially resulting in a health and safety hazard.

(3) The tree which is infected with a disease which cannot be treated successfully, or there is a strong potential that the pathogen could spread to other trees in the immediate vicinity.

(4) The tree has a severe void of heartwood due to wood consuming organisms which could potentially cause catastrophic failure (i.e. collapse).

(5) A tree has been determined to be a hazard because of its high potential for failure due to considerable dead or dying foliage, branches, roots or trunk.

(6) The tree requires extensive root pruning because of excessive hardscape damage resulting in the severe reduction of its capacity to support itself thereby creating a potential safety hazard.

(7) A healthy living tree that has caused damage to any underground utility as a result of root blockage.

(8) A tree that is causing an immediate threat to the health and safety or general welfare of the public.

(9) As part of a master plan approved by city council.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

(a) Prior to the removal of any city-owned tree, it shall be the city's responsibility to evaluate the condition of the tree's root system, trunk, branching system, canopy and foliage. Based upon this evaluation, the public works director in consultation with the city's tree commission shall make a determination as to whether the tree must be removed. However, in the case of a heritage tree the final determination will be made by city council upon recommendation by the tree commission. Public works staff and if necessary the public works director shall initiate the review process. In cases where, following an evaluation by public works staff, a tree is posing an immediate hazard and is considered to be a threat to public safety, the public works director shall have administrative authority to allow the tree to be immediately removed in the interest of public safety.

(b) The city council shall have the discretion to identify special situations where a targeted replacement program may be desirable. An example is a comprehensive streetscape project in a commercial district where a primary goal is to unify the area through a newly designed streetscape. Street trees are a significant unifying feature and it may be important to replace all or a portion of the trees in order to create this unity and give a special identity to the particular street. In cases where this is appropriate as determined by the city council, the city shall make relocation of existing healthy trees that are removed a priority.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

In the event a city-owned tree must be removed pursuant to one of the conditions outlined in section 98-34 of this article, all reasonable efforts should be made to conserve these trees through transplanting. The following factors should be considered when attempting to relocate a tree:

(1) The appraised value and species of the tree in relation to the cost of relocation.

(2) The available size of grow space for the root ball of the relocated tree.

(3) How the tree is to be transported.

(4) How the tree can be maneuvered into the site once it gets there.

(5) Existing underground and overhead utilities.

(6) Long-term and short-term maintenance and irrigation requirements of the tree.

(7) The mature size of the tree.

(8) Chances of surviving relocation.

(9) Public concerns.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

(a) The public works department in conjunction with the city's tree commission shall review all plans for new development in the city and may require as a condition of approval of a project that a particular number of street trees of the species desired in section 98-38 be planted in accordance with this article.

(b) Specific tree plans/tree focus areas, specifically designed to enhance/revitalize a certain area of the city, where trees are to be planted on public property, may also be adopted and amended by resolution of the city council from time-to-time. Once adopted, these plans shall also be included into this article and comply with all requirements and regulations set forth herein. All street trees shall be planted per the city residential and commercial tree planting standards on file in the public works department.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

The tree commission shall prepare, and the city council shall adopt, a master plan which provides for the planting, care, preservation, maintenance, removal and appropriate species for all trees on public property.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

All street trees planted shall be in accordance with the city's tree master plan, and/or as directed by the city's tree commission or by standards set forth by the NAA and/or ISA.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

It shall be unlawful for any person to top any street tree or other tree on public property. Trees severely damaged by storms or other natural causes or trees under utility wires or other obstructions which cannot be removed to provide for proper pruning may be exempted from this section by the public works director or his designee. An application for an exemption from this section must be filed with the public works department.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

Requests for a parkway tree shall be submitted in writing to the public works department. A request will be considered once the property owner has demonstrated that the parkway is well maintained, in accordance with division 6 of this Code, and groundcover if applicable is planted and maintained. If a request is approved the tree will be planted in accordance with the residential and commercial tree planting standards on file in the public works department and in accordance with species outlined in section 98-39 of this article.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

The public works director, through city police officers, building inspectors and members of the public works department, in the course of their duties, when monitoring construction activities, shall check for compliance with the provisions of this article. Any irregularities or suspected violations of this article shall be reported immediately to the public works director.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

(a) It has been determined that street trees within the city are valuable environmental assets to the citizens of the community and as a result of the loss of any trees on public property, the public should be compensated, and penalties applied to assure the primary goal of conservation, protection and preservation of trees as set forth in this article.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this article.

(c) In addition to or in lieu of penalties provided in chapter 1, any person who violates any provision of this article may be required to make restitution. Such restitution may include, but shall not be limited to the replacement of a tree which has been removed, cut and/or damaged by planting a new tree of comparable size or equivalent footage.

(d) The cost for replacement of a street tree, pursuant to this article, shall include the actual cost of a replacement street tree to replace the street tree that has been removed, cut, damaged or destroyed, and shall also include the cost of transporting and planting the replacement street tree. The type, number, size and location of replacement street trees shall be determined by the public works director or his or her designee.

(e) The city council hereby directs that all fines imposed for violation of this article be used in reforestation efforts or for the implementation of a component of the tree master plan.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

Any person whose application for a permit under this article has been refused by the public works director or his designee who may consider that the provisions of this article would cause a manifest injury to be done or is aggrieved may appeal to the city tree commission. Any person aggrieved in a similar manner by any action taken by the tree commission may appeal such action the city council. The city council may appeal any action taken by the commission to the city council by majority vote of a quorum. The tree commission, and ultimately the city council if appealed, shall make final determination of the street trees that may be planted in, upon or along any portion thereof and the distances apart at which such street trees shall be planted.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)

Appeals made pursuant to this article shall be addressed to the appellate body on a form prescribed by such body, and shall state the basis of the appeal. An appeal of an action by the director shall be filed with the public works department within ten days following the date of action for which an appeal is made. An appeal of a tree commission decision shall be filed in the office of the city clerk within ten days following the date of action accompanied by the filing fees as specified by the city council.

(Ord. No. 1539, § 3, 11-4-2002)