Vallejo Municipal Code Ch. 10.12 Trees

This chapter shall be known as the "tree ordinance" and may be cited as such.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 1, 1958.)

A. "City of Vallejo" shall hereinafter be referred to as "city."

B. "Director" means the public works director of the city of Vallejo or any of his authorized representatives.

C. "Master plan" means the master plan — trees and shrubs of the city of Vallejo.

D. "Objectionable," in reference to the definition of "objectionable trees," means all trees which the director finds are diseased, or in danger of falling over or becoming a hazard of any kind; or whose root systems are such that they damage surface or underground utilities. It also means trees which are not consistent with the general planting plan or plans for any given area.

E. "Permit" as used in this chapter means written authorization, issued by the collections and permits division of the city, to do specified work. Any fees provided for hereinafter shall be paid to the collections and permits division.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 2, 1968.)

It shall be the duty of the director to plant, trim, and prune all trees, shrubs, or plants and to remove all objectionable trees, shrubs or plants in and upon any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of the city, subject to supervision of the city manager. Subject to said supervision the director shall have the power to designate the kind or variety of trees, shrubs or plants to be planted upon any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of the city in conformity with the master plan; provided, however, that the owners of property fronting on any street, alley or public place may petition the city council that such trees, shrubs, or plants shall be a certain kind or variety, and the city council shall make the final decision.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 3, 1958.)

A. No person, firm or corporation shall cut, trim, prune, plant, remove, injure or interfere with, any tree, shrub or ornamental plant upon any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of the city without a permit for that purpose. The applicant shall state the extent and purpose of the trimming. Permits shall be issued by the director, except where the applicant proposes to cut or top a tree to the point where no foliage, or virtually no foliage, remains. In such case, the director shall refer the application to the beautification advisory commission for an advisory recommendation. The commission may appoint a committee of at least three of its members to consider such applications. The commission or committee shall thereafter report its findings and advisory recommendation to the director, who shall grant or deny the application. No permit issued pursuant to this section shall be valid for more than thirty days after its date of issuance.

B. Nothing in subsection A of this section shall be construed to prevent a person, firm or corporation from performing without permit the trimming or pruning of trees to eliminate dead or broken limbs or branches, overgrowth impeding use of the street, sidewalk, lawn area or the like, or to remove sucker growth, and done in accordance with accepted horticultural standards of caring for the particular tree or trees to be trimmed or pruned, or the trimming, pruning, planting or removal of any shrub or ornamental plant, within the area behind the sidewalk, curb, gutter or street pavement, as the case may be, but within the public right-of-way or the public easement granted the city for such planting immediately fronting or adjacent to the real property owned, leased or controlled by such person, firm or corporation. Further, nothing in subsection A of this section shall preclude removal and destruction of weeds and other noxious vegetation (including dead or diseased trees and their roots) as defined and declared a nuisance and subject to abatement under Chapter 7.56 of this code.

C. Any person doing business as a public entity subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission of the state may obtain a permit from the director, valid for one year from the date of issuance, permitting such person to trim, brace, remove or perform such other acts with respect to trees growing upon the public streets of the city, or which grow upon private property to the extent that they encroach upon such public streets as may be necessary to comply with the safety regulations of said commission and as may be necessary to maintain the safe operation of its business.

(Ord. 666 N.C.(2d) § 1, 1982: Ord. 290 N.C. § 4, 1958.)

Any person, firm or corporation maintaining any overhead wires or any pipes or underground conduits along or across any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of the city, desiring to have any tree, shrub, or plant in the public right-of-way cut, trimmed, pruned or removed may file with the collections and permits division an application, for such work to be done, and such request shall describe the work desired to be done and it shall be within the discretion of the director to require a written agreement upon the part of the petitioner to pay the cost thereof and to do such work in the way stipulated by the director before the issuance of any permit hereunder.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 5, 1958.)

No person, firm or corporation shall interfere with the planting, mulching, pruning, trimming, spraying, treating or removing any tree, shrub or plant in any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of 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, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place when such work is being performed by persons acting under the director's authority.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 6, 1958.)

No person, firm or corporation shall cause, authorize or permit any brine water, oil, liquid dye or other substance deleterious to tree life and/or plant or shrub 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, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of the city, or onto any sidewalk, road, or pavement within the city at a point from which such substance may by lying upon or by flowing, dripping or seeping into such soil injure such tree, shrub or plant. No person, firm, or corporation 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, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of the city without a permit to do so.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 7, 1958.)

No person, firm or corporation of the city shall place, apply, attach or keep attached to 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, paint or any other substance, structure, thing or device of any kind or nature whatsoever, without a permit to do so.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 8, 1958.)

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

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 9, 1958.)

When the erection, repair, alteration or removal of any building, house or structure necessitates the trimming, pruning or removal of any tree, shrub or plant on any street, park, pleasure ground, alley or other public place of the city, except any trimming, pruning or removal required by the construction of a residential driveway, (which shall be governed by Section 10.12.040), it shall be within the discretion of the director to deny application for a permit to do such work. Applications for a permit to trim, prune or remove any tree, or plant on any of the above-mentioned places for the above-mentioned reasons shall be filed at least three days prior to the time of doing such work. The director may stipulate the conditions upon which any trimming, pruning or removal may be done and may require the applicant to enter into an agreement whereby said applicant shall agree to pay all costs incurred for any insertion, labor, equipment or service deemed necessary by the director.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 10, 1958.)

A. The director may inspect any tree, shrub or plant upon any street, sidewalk, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place of the city or any tree, shrub or plant siding on any private property to determine whether the same or any portion thereof is in such condition as to constitute a hazard or an impediment to the progress or vision of anyone traveling on any street, sidewalk, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place, or to determine whether the same is damaging to the operation of public utilities.

B. If in the opinion of the director any such tree, shrub or plant is hazardous to the traveling public or impedes the progress or the vision of the public on any such street, sidewalk, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place, or is damaging to public utilities, the director may cause the same or such part or parts thereof as are hazardous or are an impediment to be trimmed or removed, so as to remedy such condition. Any such tree, shrub, or plant which in the opinion of the director is a hazard or an impediment as described above, shall be deemed a nuisance. However, except as provided in Chapter 10.14, no tree with a diameter of ten inches or more, and/or a width of twenty-five feet or more, shall be removed without a tree permit application signed by the property owner. If the property owner does not sign the tree permit application, the director shall advise the owner that objection may be taken to the proposed action by filing a protest, in writing, with the director addressed to the beautification advisory commission within ten days of the date indicated on the notice. Additionally, except as provided in Chapter 10.14, no such tree, shrub or plant standing on any private property shall be cut down or removed unless ten days' notice in writing of such intention is given by the director to the owner, occupant or agency which notice shall specify the right to object to such action by filing a protest, in writing, as provided in subsection C of this section.

C. If the owner, occupant or agent of such private property within ten days after receipt of such notice files a protest to such removal with the director addressed to the beautification advisory commission, such tree, shrub or plant shall not be cut down or removed unless the director gives such owner occupant or agent a reasonable opportunity to be heard in support of such objection. If such objection is not sustained, after receipt of the findings and advisory recommendation of the commission or committee, the director shall thereafter approve in writing the cutting down or removal of such hazardous or impedient tree, plant or shrub.

D. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to impose any liability upon the city, its officers or employees, nor to relieve the owner of any private property from the duty to keep any tree, shrub or plant upon his property or under his control in such a condition as to prevent it from constituting a hazard or an impediment to travel or vision upon any street, sidewalk, park pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place within the city.

E. Upon completion of the work described in subsection B of this section, the director of public works shall file a notice with the city council setting forth the fact that the work has been completed and the cost thereof. The cost of the work shall include an overhead or administrative charge of five dollars or five percent of the cost of the work whichever is the greater. The city council shall thereupon fix a time for hearing protests against the assessment for the cost of such work. Said time shall not be less than twenty days from the date of filing of the public works director's notice aforesaid. The procedures set forth in Sections 10.14.100 through 10.14.160 for the assessment of the cost of work done by the city and imposition of a lien on property for the cost of work done under Chapter 10.14 shall be applicable to this section.

(Ord. 1012 N.C.(2d) § 1, 1988; Ord. 666 N.C.(2d) § 2, 1982; Ord. 290 N.C. § 11, 1958.)

Owners of private property shall be responsible for watering trees in parkways or other public property immediately adjacent to the private property. The city of Vallejo shall not be responsible for watering any such trees. This section is not intended to require property owners to water trees in public parks.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 12, 1958.)

A. It shall be the duty of the city planning commission to prepare and approve a master tree plan for the city of Vallejo, specifying a list of approved street trees, a uniform method of street tree planting, and designating certain streets or blocks for certain specimen of tree or trees.

B. Said plan shall be submitted to the city council for adoption, and as submitted or modified, in accordance with law, it shall become the master tree plan of the city of Vallejo.

(Ord. 290 N.C. § 13, 1958.)

The director shall prepare periodically a tree removal program. Each tree recommended for removal shall be marked and a notice sent in the mail advising the owner or agent of the immediately adjacent property of the intention to remove the tree, unless such owner has signed a tree permit application requesting removal of the tree, or trees, in which case, the marking and mailing of the notice shall not be necessary. Any tree which is not dead or diseased, and which has been approved for removal by the owner and director, shall not be removed without providing the chairperson of the beautification advisory commission or the chairperson's designated representative, a copy of the tree permit application and allowing at least ten calendar days for the representative of the commission to investigate the tree removal. If the representative of the beautification advisory commission has reason to believe the tree removal should be deferred for action of the full commission or a committee of the commission, the representative shall notify the director, and the tree shall not be removed until the matter has been reviewed, and the commission or committee has issued its findings and advisory recommendation.

(Ord. 666 N.C.(2d) § 3, 1982: Ord. 290 N.C. § 14, 1958.)

Street trees which have been removed as required by this chapter shall be replaced by the property owner with an equal number of trees from the approved street tree list within sixty days of the date of the removal, unless such replacement trees would, in the opinion of the director, also be hazardous or impedient. Replacement trees shall be a minimum fifteen-gallon size. With respect to a person, firm or corporation who makes application to the city for the removal of a street tree, the applicant shall be required to pay a fee in an amount established by city council resolution, which fee shall be used by the city to purchase and replant a street tree on the property of the applicant or, at the option of the applicant, to purchase and replant a street tree on public property at another location within the city. In the event that the application to remove the street tree is denied, the fee shall be returned forthwith to the applicant.

(Ord. 781 N.C.(2d) § 1, 1984: Ord. 680 N.C.(2d) § 1, 1983: Ord. 666 N.C.(2d) § 5 , 1982.)

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter, or who causes, allows or permits any violation of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by jail imprisonment for a period of not more than six months, or by both said fine and imprisonment. Each such person, firm or corporation shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for every day during any portion of which any violation of this chapter is committed, continued, or permitted by such person, firm or corporation, and shall be punishable therefor as provided in this chapter.

(Ord. 666 N.C.(2d) § 4, 1982; Ord. 290 N.C.§ 15, 1958.)