(A) Street tree species to be planted. The tree board will formulate an official Street Tree Species List for Berea, Kentucky. The list of allowable species shall be set out in categories of small, medium, and large trees. No species other than those included in this list may be planted as street trees without written permission of the city tree board.
(B) Spacing. The spacing of street trees will be in accordance with the three size classes referred to in division (A), and no trees may be planted closer together than the following: small trees, thirty (30) feet; medium trees, forty (40) feet; and large trees, fifty (50) feet.
(C) Distance from curb and sidewalk. The distance trees may be planted from curbs or curblines and sidewalks will be in accordance with the three size classes listed in division (A), and no trees may be planted closer to any curb or sidewalk than the following: small trees, two (2) feet; medium trees, three (3) feet; and large trees, four (4) feet.
(D) Distance from street corners and hydrants. No street tree shall be planted closer than twenty (20) feet to any street corner, measured from the point of the nearest intersection's curbs and curblines. No street trees shall be planted closer than ten (10) feet to any hydrant.
(E) Public tree care. The city shall have the right and authority to plant, prune, maintain, and remove trees, plants, and shrubs within the lines of all streets, alleys, avenues, lanes, squares, and public grounds as may be necessary to ensure public safety or to preserve or enhance the symmetry and beauty of such public grounds. The city tree board may remove or cause or order to be removed any tree or part thereof which is in an unsafe condition or which by reason of its nature is injurious due to fungus, insects, or other pests. This section does not prohibit the planting of street trees by adjacent property owners providing that the selection and location of said street tree is in accordance with this chapter.
(F) Tree topping. If shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person, firm, or city department to top any street tree, park tree, or other tree on public property. 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. Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes or certain trees under utility wires and other obstructions where alternative pruning practices are impractical may be exempt from this chapter at the determination of the city tree board.
(G) Pruning, corner clearance. Every owner of any tree overhanging any street or right-of-way within the city shall prune the branches so that such branches shall not obstruct the light from any street lamp or obstruct the view of any street intersection and so that there shall be a clear space of eight (8) feet above the surface of the street or sidewalk. Said owners shall remove all dead, diseased, or dangerous trees or broken or decayed limbs which may constitute or public safety hazard by interfering with the proper spread of light along the street from a street light or with visibility of any traffic control device or sign.
(H) Dead or diseased tree removal on private property. The city shall have the right and authority to cause the removal of any dead or diseased trees on private property within the city when such trees constitute a hazard to life and property or harbor insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees within the city. The city tree board may determine trees which may constitute a public safety hazard by interfering with the visibility of any traffic control device, sign, or street light.
(Ord. No. 10-05, 5-17-05)