(A) Within the limits of the City Tree Plan and of the City Tree Budget and except as provided by divisions (C) through (G) below, the city shall assume the expense of tree care, defined in § 152.01, for street trees.
(B) All street tree care undertaken by the city shall be undertaken by city workers or a certified arborist.
(C) The owner or occupant shall be responsible for the routine care of street trees in the right-of-way between his or her property and the street such as watering and raking and preparing leaves, twigs, and other debris for removal by the city. No permit is required for such activity.
(D) The owner or occupant shall be responsible so as to not permit limbs or branches to obstruct moving vehicles or pedestrians along streets, alleys, or sidewalks in the city. Such limbs shall be trimmed in a manner as to not obstruct the view of any street light, traffic sign, signal device, or street intersection. In the case the owner or occupant is unable to safely perform these duties, he or she shall be responsible to notify the City Forester when such tree maintenance is needed. No permit shall be required for this.
(E) Should an owner or occupant wish to perform routine trimming on a street tree beyond that which is described in divisions (C) and (D) above, he or she may do so at his or her own risk and shall be held responsible for his or her actions but subject to the limits of division (G) below. A permit is required for this activity.
(G) It shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person to top (see the definition for TOPPING in § 152.01) or prune horizontally a branch of more than one inch in diameter or cut limbs within the tree’s canopy back to stubs larger than three inches in diameter on any street tree unless approved by the Tree Board or City Forester.
(Prior Code, § 95.100) (Ord. 1339, passed 8-28-1995) Penalty, see § 152.99