(A) License required. It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct as a business the cutting, trimming, pruning, removal, spraying or otherwise treating of trees in the city without first having secured a license from the city to conduct the business.
(B) Application; fee and expiration.
(1) Application for a license shall be made at the office of the City Clerk.
(2) The application for a license shall be made at the office of the City Clerk.
(3) The annual fee for the license shall be in the amount specified in the appendix to Chapter 35.
(4) All licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire on December 31 following the date of issue.
(C) Liability insurance. No license or renewal shall be granted, nor be effective, until the applicant files with the City Clerk proof of a public liability insurance policy covering all operations of the applicant hereunder for the sum of at least $300,000 combined single limit coverage. The policy shall provide that it may not be canceled by the insurer, except after ten days written notice to the city, and if the insurance is so canceled and the licensee fails to replace the same with another policy conforming to the provisions of this section, the license shall be automatically suspended until the insurance shall have been replaced.
(D) Conformance required. All contractors licensed under the requirements of this section shall conform with the abatement methods as prescribed by this subchapter, as they relate to emerald ash borer infestation, and Dutch elm and oak wilt diseases.
(E) Revocation of license. Failure to comply with any part of the tree treating license shall be grounds for revocation of the license by the City Council, following a public hearing. Written notice of the public hearing shall be mailed at least ten days prior to the hearing to the current holder of the license. The notice should outline the violation(s) considered by the city to be grounds for revocation and inform the current holder of the license of the opportunity to be heard at the public hearing.
(F) Chemical treatment requirements. Applicants, who propose to use chemical substances in any activity related to treatment or control of insect-infested and diseased trees, shall file with the City Clerk proof that the applicant or employee of the applicant administering treatment has been certified by the Agronomy Division of the state department of agriculture as a “commercial pesticide applicator.” Certification shall include knowledge of tree disease or insect infestation chemical treatment.
(Ord. 633, passed 10-9-97; Am. Ord. 818, passed 7-12-07; Am. Ord. 864, passed 6-11-09)