12.24 — STREET TREES

This chapter shall be known as the "Tree Ordinance" of the City and may be cited by such name. (Prior code § 22.132)

This chapter 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, 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). (Prior code § 22.133)

This chapter provides full power and authority over the planting, removing and cutting of trees located within public property in the City. (Prior code § 22.134)

"City-owned tree" means any tree on public property.

"Damage" means 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.

"Director" means the Director of Public Works or designee.

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

"Removal" means 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;

• Substantially changing the grade above the root system or trunk of a tree;

• Excessively or improperly pruning a tree; and

4. Damage to trunk, whereas the tree would not likely survive. "Responsible department" means the Public Works Department is the responsible department to implement the City's Forestry Program under the leadership of the Director.

"Street trees" means each of those trees planted or to be planted in the various parkways along City streets, roads, boulevards and alleys.

"Topping" means 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.

"Tree master plan" means a comprehensive plan approved by the City Council, which provides for planting, care, preservation, maintenance, and removal of all trees on public property.

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

"Trimming" means 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). (Prior code § 22.135)

It shall be the duty of the Director to plant, trim, prune, remove and care for all City-owned trees in accordance with this chapter. It shall also be the duty of the Director, in accordance with this chapter, 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.

(Prior code § 22.136)

No person shall cut, trim, prune, plant, remove, injure or interfere with any City-owned tree, without a permit from the Director. The 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 90 days after its date of issuance. Before a permit is issued pursuant to this chapter, a permit fee shall be paid to the City in accordance with the amount set forth by resolution of the City Council.

(Prior code § 22.137)

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 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 Director. It shall be within the discretion of the 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 Director and to pay the cost thereof. (Prior code § 22.138)

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 Director to grant or refuse permission to do such work. The 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 Director. (Prior code § 22.139)

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:

• A. 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 Director.

• B. 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 Director.

• C. No fill material shall be placed within three feet from the outer trunk circumference of any tree.

• D. 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.

• E. No substantial compaction of the soil within the drip line of any tree shall be undertaken.

• F. 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 three and one-half 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.

• (Prior code § 22.140)

With 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 chapter, after one of the following findings has been made:

• A. The tree is dead.

• B. 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.

• C. The tree 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.

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

• E. 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.

• F. 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.

• G. A healthy living tree that has caused damage to any underground utility as a result of root blockage.

• H. A tree that is causing an immediate threat to the health and safety or general welfare of the public.

• I. As part of a tree master plan approved by City Council. (Prior code § 22.141)

• 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 Director shall make a determination as to whether the tree must be removed.

• 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.

• (Prior code § 22.142)

• A. The Director in conjunction with the Public Works Department staff 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 12.24.130 be planted in accordance with this chapter.

• B. Specific tree plans/tree focus areas, specifically designed to enhance or 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 chapter and comply with all requirements and regulations set forth herein. All street trees shall be planted per the street tree master plan on file in the Public Works Department.

(Prior code § 22.143)

The Public Works Department shall prepare, and the City Council shall adopt, a tree master plan which provides for the planting, care, preservation, maintenance, removal and appropriate species for all trees on public property. (Prior code § 22.144)

All street trees planted shall be in accordance with the City's Tree Master Plan, and or as directed by the City Council or by standards set forth by the NAA and/or ISA. (Prior code § 22.145)

It is 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 Director or designee. An application for an exemption from this section must be filed with the Public Works Department.

(Prior code § 22.146)

The 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 chapter. Any irregularities or suspected violations of this chapter shall be reported immediately to the Director. (Prior code § 22.147)

• 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 chapter.

• B. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this chapter.

• C. In addition to or in lieu of penalties provided in Chapter 1.08, any person who violates any provision of this chapter 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 chapter, 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 Director or designee.

• E. The City Council hereby directs that all fines imposed for violation of this chapter be used in reforestation efforts or for the implementation of a component of the tree master plan.

(Prior code § 22.148)

Any person whose application for a permit under this chapter has been refused by the Director or designee who may consider that the provisions of this chapter would cause a manifest injury to be done or is aggrieved may appeal to the City Administrator. Any person aggrieved in a similar manner by any action taken by the City Administrator may appeal such action to the City Council. The City Administrator, 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. (Prior code § 22.149)

Appeals made pursuant to this chapter 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 City Administrator within 10 days following the date of action for which an appeal is made. An appeal of a City Administrator decision shall be filed in the office of the City Administrator within 10 days following the date of action. (Prior code § 22.150)

The Director may inspect any tree, shrub or plant upon any street, parkway, alley or public place in the City or any tree, shrub or plant standing on any private properly which overhangs or projects into any street, parkway, alley or public place in the City to determine whether the tree, shrub or plant or any part thereof is in such condition as to constitute a hazard or an impediment to the progress or vision of anyone traveling on the street, parkway, alley or public place. (Prior code § 22.151)

If in the opinion of the Director, any tree, shrub or plant is hazardous to the traveling public or impedes the progress or the vision of the public on any street, parkway, alley or public place, he or she may cause the tree, shrub or plant or such part thereof as is hazardous or an impediment to be trimmed or removed to remedy such condition. (Prior code § 22.152)