The Director of the Parks and Recreation Department shall designate an individual as the City Forester and authorize such person to perform the duties imposed and exercise the powers granted by this chapter. For the purposes identified in section 7-2-4 of this chapter, the City Forester, subject to the provisions of this chapter and available resources, is hereby authorized to carry out the following duties:
A. Administrative/Management Duties:
1. Develop, administer and maintain a Community Forestry Management Plan;
2. Administer a program of public outreach and education relating to community forestry and the planting and care of trees;
3. Maintain a licensing program as set forth in section 7-2-10 of this chapter;
4. Administer and maintain a permitting procedure for all planting, pruning, protection and removal of trees as set forth in section 7-2-9 of this chapter;
5. Establish and maintain an inventory of all public trees;
6. Maintain a community forestry budget to be contained within, but as a separate division of, the budget of the Boise Parks and Recreation Department. The City may expend funds to plant, maintain or remove trees in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the Community Forestry Management Plan and existing policies;
7. Oversee and require compliance with the Dutch Elm Disease (DED) Management Program as required by this chapter, and other pest management programs as may be adopted by the Board of Parks and Recreation Commission;
8. To facilitate the proper selection, planting and maintenance of trees in residential, commercial and industrial developments within City limits and the City area of City impact, the City Forester shall review and provide comment on development applications when such applications are submitted to the Planning and Development Services Department;
9. Establish policies to carry out the provisions of this chapter;
10. Perform all necessary acts to ensure that all public trees conform with the Community Forestry Management Plan and this chapter;
11. Annually provide public notification of the requirements of this chapter.
B. Tree Planting Duties:
1. Establish and maintain specifications for tree planting on public property;
2. Maintain a nursery for the growing of the species of trees permitted on public property, and to sell and plant the same, upon the payment of established fees.
C. Tree Maintenance Duties:
1. Order the pruning or removal of public trees to ensure public health, safety and welfare while considering the health of the tree and other elements of the infrastructure;
D. Tree Removal Duties:
1. Remove trees located on public rights-of-way which have been declared to be a public nuisance, as defined in subsection 7-2-12A of this chapter;
2. Any trees on public rights-of-way scheduled for removal shall be affixed with a public notice stating the reason for removal. Such notice shall be posted not less than thirty (30) days prior to scheduled removal date unless determined by the City Forester to be an emergency or immediate hazard to public safety.
E. Tree Protection Duties: To avoid creating public nuisances or damaging public trees, the City Forester is authorized to require their protection (including the critical root zone) from construction or other harmful practices. (1952 Code § 9-16-06)