(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business or occupation of cutting, trimming, pruning, spraying or otherwise treating public trees or privately-owned trees, within the City of Bellevue, without having first secured a license to do so from the city Permits & Inspections Department.
(B) The application for an arborist license shall include all information required by the city tree ordinance and each applicant shall comply with the reasonable requests of the city to supply additional or updated information. The city Permits & Inspection Department is authorized to develop additional license requirements and forms for permit applications.
(C) An applicant must show proof of a valid current arborist certification from either the Nebraska Arborist Association or the International Society of Arboriculture or a City of Omaha issued current first or second-class arborist license. The arborist certification may be issued to the applicant or an employee, and at least one such valid certification must be current to the person, firm or business at ail times of operation. Any applicant who sprays, injects, fertilizes or otherwise chemically treats any tree for pests or diseases shall show proof of a valid pesticide applicator's license issued by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.
(D) All vehicles associated with the person, firm or business, in the conduct of the business, shall have the name of the person, firm or business and the arborist license number visibly displayed, clearly, on vehicles associated with such, in letters not less than two (2) inches high.
(E) Nothing contained in the provisions of this chapter, except as provided in subsection (C) above, shall be interpreted as prohibiting the employment by a holder of an arborist’s license of assistants who are not license holders; provided that the holder of the license shall be equally responsible for all acts of his/her assistants as if he/she had done them himself/herself. The holder of the license shall be available to his/her assistants within sixty (60) miles from the work being performed.
(F) Arborist licenses under the provisions of this act shall be effective and valid from January 1 through December 31 of each calendar year and shall not be assignable.
(G) The fee for an arborist license shall be set in the Master Fee Schedule and shall be paid annually as listed in division (F) and may be paid up to three (3) years in advance.
(H) Failure to make application and pay the renewal fee for a license renewal, before the expiration date thereof, subjects the applicant to pay the renewal fee, plus an additional late fee as established by the Permits and Inspections Department.
(I) In addition to any other penalty imposed for a violation of this act, the city may at any time revoke the license of any person, arborist, firm, or business, who neglects to carry out the provisions of this act or who is found using improper methods as defined by ANSI standards. Procedure for license revocation shall follow sections 29.5-14 through 29.5-17.
(J) No license, required under this act, shall be required of an individual, doing work themselves as a private party and not as a business or an agent of a business, on trees in the yard of their personal residence.
(K) Before an arborist license may be issued, each applicant shall first file evidence of possession of liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 for injury and damage, indemnifying the city or any person injured or damage resulting from the pursuit of such endeavors as herein described.
(L) Any person performing tree work and removal shall have proof of liability and workers compensation insurance submitted annually to the Permits and Inspection office and follow ANSI standards. A copy of the ANSI standards shall be kept on file in the permits and inspections office and shall be available to the public for reference during business hours.
(M) The city Permits and Inspections Department will annually notify current Arborist License holders within the City of Bellevue of the requirement for a license and renewal to operating in the City of Bellevue. The active licensees may be listed on the city web site for public reference.
(Ord. 4002, § 1, passed 8-18-2020)