For the purposes of this chapter:
A. “Arborist” means a certified arborist who is registered with the International Society of Arboriculture, or a member in good standing with the American Society of Consulting Arborists.
B. “Damage” means:
1. “Minimal Damage” means any intentional action or gross negligence which causes injury to or disfigurement of a tree that will not result in the destruction of the tree, as certified by the urban forest manager or an arborist.
2. “Major Damage” means any intentional action or gross negligence which causes injury to, disfigurement, destruction, or effective removal of a tree as certified by the urban forest manager or an arborist
C. “Development” means any improvement of real property which requires the approval of grading permits, building permits, encroachment permits, parcel or tentative subdivision maps, planned development permits, or use permits.
D. “Diameter at breast height” or “DBH” means the diameter of a tree at four and one- half feet above adjacent ground.
E. “Director” means the director of the public works department or a designee.
F. “Drip line” means the area within a circle defined by a radius measured from the trunk to the outermost branch, plus an additional 10 feet.
G. “Effectively remove” includes, but is not limited to, any extreme pruning that is not consistent with standard arboriculture practices for a healthy tree and that results in the tree’s permanent disfigurement, destruction, or removal pursuant to this chapter.
H. “Private property” means property owned by a private person or entity. “Private property” does not include property owned by the state or federal government, or by any local public agency.
I. “Protect” means the protection of an existing tree from damage and stress such that the tree is likely to survive and continue to grow normally in a healthy condition, through measures that avoid or minimize damage to branches, canopy, trunk, and roots of the tree. Such measures may include, but are not limited to, installation of tree protective fencing, mulching and watering of roots, supervision of work by an arborist, installation of aeration or drainage systems, root pruning, and use of nondestructive excavation techniques.
J. “Remove” or “removal” means cutting a tree to the ground, extraction of a tree, or killing of a tree by spraying, girdling, damaging the roots of a tree, or any other means.
K. “Tree” or “trees” means any of the following:
1. Any live woody plant having a single perennial stem of 18 inches or more in diameter, or multistemmed perennial plant greater than 15 feet in height having an aggregate circumference of 40 inches or more, measured at four feet six inches above adjacent ground;
2. Any tree that meets the following criteria:
12-inch DBH or greater | 6-inch DBH or greater |
All Oaks (Quercus) | Blue oak (Q. douglassii) |
Sycamores (Platanus racemosa) | Canyon live oak (Q.chrysolepsis) |
Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) | Interior live oak (Q. wislizenii) |
Big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) | California buckeye (Aesculus californica) |
Madrone (Arbutus menziessii) | |
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) | |
Redbud (Cercis occidentalis) | |
California bay (Umbellularia californica) | |
Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) | |
3. Any tree or trees required to be preserved as part of an approved building permit, grading permit, demolition permit, encroachment permit, use permit, tentative or final subdivision map; or
4. Any tree or trees required to be planted as a replacement for an unlawfully removed tree or trees.
L. “Tree” or “trees” does not include the following tree species: Ailanthus, Chinese Tallow, Freemont Cottonwood or Poplar, Privet, Box Elder, Silver Wattle, Black Acacia, English Hawthorn, Russian Olive, Olive, Red Gum, Tasmanian Blue Gum, Edible Fig, English Holly, Cherry Plum, Black Locust, Peruvian Peppertree, Brazilian Peppertree, Western Catalpa, Chinese Elm or Winged Elm; or the following fruit and nut trees: Almonds, Apples, Apricots, Avocados, Cherries, Chestnuts, Mandarins, Nectarines, Olives, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Pecans, Persimmons, Pistachios, Plums or English Walnuts.
(Ord. 2286, Ord. 2364 §336, Ord. 2402, Ord. 2439 §113)