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(a) Board-controlled places do not require a permit for planting, pruning, maintenance or removal of trees, shrubs or hedges, but said Board must administratively communicate all activity to the Urban Forester to preserve current records.
(b) Except as provided in division (a) of this section, no other person shall plant any tree, shrub or hedge upon any tree lawn or public place unless he or she shall have first obtained a permit in writing from the Urban Forester specifying the size, type, species and location on the tree lawn or public place so to be planted. Approval to plant requires adherence to the specifications set forth in the Avon Lake Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice.
(c) The Urban Forester shall have the authority to deny a permit to any person who proposes to plant any tree or shrub upon a tree lawn or public place of a size, type or species found to be undesirable by the Urban Forester or found to be undesirable for the location proposed, or he or she may deny a permit to any person who proposes to plant any tree, shrub or hedge upon a tree lawn or public place at a location found by the Urban Forester to be of a size or type unsuitable for planting of trees, shrubs or hedges.
(d) Hereafter, when any tree is planted in a tree lawn or public place and is in conflict with specifications of the master street tree plan, as found in the Avon Lake Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice, it shall be lawful for the city to request tree, shrub, hedge, or stump removal by the property owner within 30 days.
(e) The Tree Commission shall develop and maintain a list, found in the Avon Lake Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice, of desirable and undesirable large, medium, and small trees for planting in tree lawns and public places.
(f) Trees planted upon a tree lawn or public place may be removed by the city as necessary to protect the public health, safety, welfare and aesthetics. The Urban Forester may cause the removal of any such tree by using city employees or private contractors under contract with the city. Stump grinding and restoration of tree lawn grass shall take place when trees are replaced or removed.
(Prior Code, § 1018.05) (Ord. 199-94, passed 10-24-1994; Ord. 21-182, passed 12-20-2021; Ord. 23-84, passed 5-9-2023)
Any person or property owner granted permission to remove a tree from tree lawns or public places for the purpose of construction shall replace the removed tree or trees with a species designated on the master street tree plan as part of the city’s Street Tree Program. The person or property owner shall bear the cost of replacing all trees removed. Projects initiated by the city shall have the replacement costs included in the project costs. Trees removed by the city or in Board-controlled places are to be replaced. Replacing trees in the same location is not necessary and sometimes not practical. The city shall only pay for tree replacement when the original tree was part of the city’s Street Tree Program funded by the original developer.
(Prior Code, § 1018.06) (Ord. 199-94, passed 10-24-1994; Ord. 21-182, passed 12-20-2021; Ord. 23-84, passed 5-9-2023)
(a) Every owner of any tree overhanging any public street, sidewalk or right-of-way within the city shall prune the branches of such trees so that the branches will not obstruct or shade any street lights; obstruct the view of traffic signs or street intersection, or obstruct the passage of pedestrians on public sidewalks so that there shall be a clear space of at least 14 feet above the surface of the street or seven feet above the surface of the public sidewalk.
(b) The city shall have the right to prune any tree or shrub on private property when it interferes with the light from a street light, the visibility of any traffic control device, sign or intersection, obstructs the passage of pedestrians on public sidewalks, or generally obstructs vehicular, bicycle, or pedestrian traffic.
(c) Pruning of public trees by persons other than the city, persons contracted for by the city, or persons approved by the Urban Forester, requires a permit which identifies each tree being pruned and the type of pruning.
(d) No person, firm or city department shall top any public tree. TOPPING is defined as the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter within the tree’s crown to such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. Public trees that have been severely damaged by storms or other causes, or certain trees under utility wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical, may be exempted from this section at the determination of the Urban Forester.
(Prior Code, § 1018.07) (Ord. 199-94, passed 10-24-1994; Ord. 23-84, passed 5-9-2023)
(a) The city shall remove all public trees or portions of such trees which are dead, diseased or dangerous to the life, health or safety of pedestrians, vehicular or bicycle traffic, or public property.
(b) The city shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased tree or portions of such trees on private property within the city, when such trees constitute a serious hazard to the safety of the public.
(c) The city shall have the right to cause the removal of any tree or shrub that harbors insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees or shrubs within the city. The Urban Forester or Tree Commission shall notify the owner of any such tree or shrub on private property of the nature of such threat.
(1) Within 30 days after the date of service of the notice to remove tree diseased or infested tree or shrub, the owner shall cause the removal of such tree or shrub at the owner’s sole expense.
(2) Upon the failure of the owner to comply with the notice to remove diseased or infested tree or shrub, the city, its employees or agents may enter upon the property to remove the diseased or infested tree or shrub and bill the property owner for the actual cost of the work, which shall become an assessment against the property until paid.
(Prior Code, § 1018.08) (Ord. 199-94, passed 10-24-1994; Ord. 23-84, passed 5-9-2023)
Unless specifically authorized by the Urban Forester, no person shall intentionally damage, cut, carve, transplant, whether above or below ground, or remove any public tree, attach any rope, wire, nail, advertising, poster or other contrivance to any public tree, allow any gaseous liquor or solid substance which is harmful to such trees to come in contact with them, or set fire to any public tree or permit any fire to burn when such fire or the heat therefrom will injure any portion of any public tree. No person shall pour salt water or a chemical or chemicals upon any street in such a way as to injure any tree planted or growing thereon. The city shall not be restricted in the use of anti-icing materials.
(Prior Code, § 1018.09) (Ord. 199-94, passed 10-24-1994; Ord. 23-84, passed 5-9-2023)
(a) All trees measuring 12 inches DBH (diameter at breast height) or less on tree lawns or public places near any excavation, construction of any building or structure, or street work, soil excavation work or root cutting shall not occur closer than three feet from the outer bark of the tree. For trees measuring greater than 12 inches DBH, soil excavation work or root cutting shall not occur closer than a distance equal to the circumference of the tree measured at a height four feet above ground level or six feet, whichever is less.
(b) Trees shall be guarded with a protective device such as a substantial fence, frame or box not less than four feet high and eight feet square or placed at a distance in feet from the tree equal to the diameter of the trunk in inches, measured at a trunk height of approximately four and one-half inches from the ground, (DBH), whichever is greater, and all building material, dirt or other debris shall be kept outside the barrier. The protective device must be structurally sound and capable of protecting the trees from all expected encroachment by debris and machinery associated with said excavation and/or construction.
(c) Soil excavation work is permitted closer than the distance parameters established in divisions (a) and (b) of this section provided all excavation of soil is accomplished by hand shovel, air spade or auger, and no roots greater than two inches in diameter are severed.
(d) If lateral roots greater than two inches in diameter are encountered, they shall be exposed beyond the excavation limits and an attempt shall be made to bend and relocate the roots without breaking them. If such lateral roots are encountered immediately adjacent to the location of new construction and relocation does not appear practical, the Public Works Director or his or her designee shall be contacted.
(e) If, after inspection by the Urban Forester or his or her designee, it is determined that the cutting of roots cannot be avoided, the following standards shall be observed. Roots must be cut sharply and cleanly. The wound shall not be painted or treated. All excavated roots shall be backfilled by hand as soon as possible to prevent drying. If immediate backfilling is not possible, roots shall be covered with peat moss or wet burlap and watered. The tree shall be thoroughly watered by providing the equivalent of one inch of water per week for up to one year at the direction of the Urban Forester or his or her designee.
(f) No construction equipment shall be parked and no particulate construction material such as sand, soil or gravel shall be stored on the surface of any unpaved areas within the drip line of any public tree without the express permission of the Urban Forester of his or her designee.
(g) If the removal of a public tree cannot be avoided, or if a public tree does not survive due to construction activities, the owner of the facility to be constructed shall obtain a permit as specified in § 1018.04 and shall remove the tree at its expense. Said owner shall also plant, at the owner’s sole expense, a replacement tree of a size, type and at a location approved by the Tree Commission.
(h) No person shall excavate any ditches, tunnels or trenches or lay any drive within a radius often feet from any public tree without first obtaining a written permit therefore from the Urban Forester.
(Prior Code, § 1018.10) (Ord. 199-94, passed 10-24-1994; Ord. 23-84, passed 5-9-2023)
No person shall deposit, place, store or maintain upon any public place of the city, any stone, brick, sand, concrete or other materials which may impede the free passage of water, air, or fertilizer to the roots of any tree growing therein, except by written permit of the Urban Forester.
(Prior Code, § 1018.11) (Ord. 199-94, passed 10-24-1994; Ord. 23-84, passed 5-9-2023)
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