(d) Civil Penalties.
(1) Any person, firm, or corporation that fails to properly preserve, maintain, and protect a public tree during construction as required under division (a) of Section 509.14, shall be charged one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per area of damage to the roots or the above ground portion of the tree. If the damage can be repaired or reduced following Best Management Standards and ANSI Standards for Arboriculture, as may be amended from time to time, the party responsible for the damage shall hire an ISA-Certified Arborist to repair or reduce the damage at the cost of the responsible party. If the damage to the tree is adequately repaired by the ISA-Certified Arborist, in the discretion of the Commissioner or designee, the Commissioner may waive the civil fine.
(2) Any person, firm, or corporation that removes any public tree in violation of division (b) of Section 509.14 shall be charged a civil fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each tree removed in addition to the full cost of the removed tree based on the replacement cost of the tree as established using the Trunk Formula Method outlined in The Guide for Plant Appraisal by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers, as may be amended from time to time, or other tree replacement analysis provided by similar publication.
(3) The Commissioner of Park Maintenance and Properties ("Commissioner") or designee shall have the authority to charge the civil fines set forth in division (d) of this section. All civil fines collected pursuant to this division (d) shall be deposited in the Tree Preservation Fund.
(f) In addition to civil liability for the cost of any work performed by the Commissioner or designee, any person who fails to comply with an order of the Commissioner to trim, preserve or remove any dead or diseased tree, or branch or limb of the dead or diseased tree, dangerous to person or property or to prevent the spread of disease to trees upon public property or streets within the time specified in the order shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned for not more than thirty (30) days, or both.
(g) A person, firm or corporation that receives a civil fine under division (d) of this section may appeal to the Commissioner within ten (10) business days of the date of the notice of the civil fine. The Commissioner shall have jurisdiction to affirm, reverse, or modify the decision and shall do so within ten (10) days of the date of the appeal. A person aggrieved by a final decision of the Commissioner may further appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals within thirty (30) days after the Commissioner's decision.
(Ord. No. 1121-18. Passed 12-3-18, eff. 12-5-18)