Torrance Municipal Code § 75.1 General

This Chapter shall be known as the "Tree Ordinance" of the City and may be cited by such name.

The word "Superintendent" as used in this Chapter, shall mean the Superintendent of Parks of the City, or any of his authorized agents or deputies.

(Amended by O-767)

It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to plant, trim, prune, and care for all trees, shrubs, or plants and to remove all objectionable trees, shrubs or plants in and upon any street, park, alley or public place in the City, subject to the approval of the City Manager, and, except as otherwise provided in the Subdivision Standards of the City. Subject to such approval the Superintendent shall have the power to designate the kind or variety of trees, shrubs or plants to be planted upon any street, park, alley or public place of the City.

(Amended by O-767; O-2078)

All trees installed on any public property shall be planted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Park Superintendent. All canned stock shall be in containers of not less than fifteen (15) gallon capacity.

(Amended by O-3433; O-3438; O-3681)

a) No person may cut, trim, remove, prune, plant, injure or interfere with any tree upon any street, park, alley or public place of the City without first obtaining a permit from the Public Works Director. The permit will be valid for thirty (30) days.

b) Permits will be issued in compliance with the following criteria:

1. The owner of the property immediately adjacent to the street or parkway tree must complete a permit application.

2. All permitted tree services must be performed by a professional tree services contractor selected from a list of City-approved contractors.

3. Any trimming, pruning or removal must be done in accordance with City standards.

4. The property owner must pay all costs of the trimming, pruning or removal.

5. Tree services contractors are subject to reasonable requirements of the City concerning such matters as equipment, insurance, qualifications of employees and licensing.

c) In the Hillside Overlay District, as established in Chapter 1, Article 41, Section 91.41.1 in Division 9 of the Torrance Municipal Code, removal of a tree upon any parkway will be permitted, subject to the conditions listed in (b) of this Section, as well as the following:

1. All new or replacement parkway trees will be selected from a list of trees that are of a limited height, to be determined by the Streetscape Administrator.

No person shall plant or grow or cause to be planted or grown any ivy, geranium or other vegetation to a height of more than eighteen (18) inches above the top of any curb, sidewalk or ground on, against or around any tree upon any parkway in the City. For the purpose of this Section, the term parkway shall include that area of any public street between the curb or other edge of the pavement and the private property line.

Any person maintaining any overhead wires or pipes or underground conduits along or across any street, park, boulevard, alley or public place of the City, or owning any property abutting upon any street, park or public place of the City, desiring to have any tree, shrub or plant cut, trimmed, pruned or removed, may file with the Superintendent of Parks a written request that such work be done and it shall be within the discretion of the Superintendent to require a written agreement upon the part of the petitioner to pay the cost thereof and to do such work in the manner stipulated by the Superintendent before the issuance of any permit.

No person shall interfere with the Superintendent of Parks 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, alley or public place in 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, alley or public place.

No person shall cause, authorize or otherwise permit any brine water, oil, liquid dye or other substance deleterious to tree life, to lie, leak, pour, flow or drip upon or into the soil about the base of any tree, shrub or plant in any street, alley or public place of the City, or onto any sidewalk, gutter, road or pavement within the City at a point from which such substance may be lying upon or by flowing, dripping or seeping into such soil, injure such tree, shrub or plant, or to otherwise harm or kill any such tree, shrub or plant. No person without the approval of the Superintendent of Parks shall place or maintain any stone, cement or other substance so that it shall impede the free access of water or air to the roots of any tree, shrub or plant in any street, park, alley or public place of the City.

No person without the permission of the Superintendent of Parks shall attach or keep attached any tree, shrub or plant in any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or other public place of the City, or to the guard or stake intended for the protection thereof, any wire, rope, sign or any other device whatsoever.

During the erection, repair, alteration or removal of any building, house or structure in the City, no person in charge of such work shall leave any tree, shrub or plant in any street, park, boulevard, alley or public place of the City in the vicinity of such building or structure without good and sufficient guards or protectors as shall prevent injury to such tree, shrub or plant arising out of or by reason of the erection, repair, alteration or removal.

The Superintendent of Parks may inspect any tree, shrub or plant upon any street, park, alley or public place of the City or any tree, shrub or plant standing on any private property which overhangs or projects into any street, park, alley or public place of the City, to determine whether the same or any part thereof is in such progress or vision of any person traveling on such street, park, alley or public place.

If, in the opinion of the Superintendent, any such tree, shrub or plant is hazardous to the traveling public or impedes the transportation or the visibility of the public on any such street, park, alley or public place, he may cause the same or such part thereof as is hazardous or obstructive to be trimmed or removed so as to remedy such condition.

(O-1288; O-1394; Amended by O-3681)

It shall be the duty of property owners to provide for maintenance and replacement of all trees, grass and landscaping in public parkways abutting their property. No maintenance, trimming, cutting or removal performed on a street tree may be done until a permit has been obtained per TMC 75.1.5.

(O-1288; O-1577)

No person owning or in possession of real property shall install or maintain, or permit the installation or maintenance or existence of any tree, shrub or plant which interferes with a driver’s view of pedestrians or vehicles on the sidewalk or street while the driver is exiting from a driveway onto a street.