(a) City Responsibility. The City of Defiance shall make all decisions regarding all trees growing on public lands and rights-of-way. Whenever it is necessary for the City to remove a tree from a City right of way, the City shall remove such trees and replace them or plant on another public property an equal number of trees to the satisfaction of the City Administrator.
(b) Abuse or Mutilation/placing Materials on Public Property.
(1) No person shall intentionally damage, cut, carve, top, transplant, place soil or mulch against the trunk/root collar, or remove any tree on public lands or remove bark. limbs or leaves: attach any rope, wire, nails, advertising posters, squirrel feeder, or other contrivance to any tree or shrub; allow any gaseous, liquid, or solid substance to come in contact with them; set fire or permit fire to burn when the fire or heat thereof shall injure any portion of any tree or shrub.
(2) No person shall excavate any ditches, tunnels, trenches, or alley or drive within a radius of ten (10) feet of any public tree or shrub between one-half to ten (0.5 - 10) inches DBH or twenty (20) feet from any public tree greater than ten (10) inches DBH from any public tree or shrub without obtaining written consent from the City Administrator.
(3) No person shall deposit, place, store, or maintain upon any public place of the City. any soil. mulch. organic matter, stone, brick, sand, concrete, or other materials which may impede the free passage of water or air to the roots of any tree growing therein. except by written consent of the City Administrator.
(4) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree as described in Section 541.06.
(c) Tree Protection from Construction Activity.
(1) Person in charge of or responsible for the erection, alteration or removal of any building or structure in the City shall provide approved guard or protection to prevent injury, damage. or defacement to such tree arising out of. in connection with, or by reason of such operation. The quality of the guard or protection shall be determined by the City Administrator per City of Defiance Engineering Handbook.
(2) Failure to comply with the tree preservation measures outlined above will result in remediation or replacement of equivalent inches (DBH) to the satisfaction of the City Administrator.
(d) Tree Species to be Planted. All planting of public trees shall conform to the City of Defiance Tree Planting Specifications and with the Shade Tree Commission List of Street Trees.
(e) Trees in New Development. In any new development, the City Administrator shall review landscape plans and will require street trees to be planted in any of the streets, parking lots, parks and other public places abutting lands henceforth developed and/or subdivided in accordance with the Master Tree Planting Design. See Landscaping and Buffer Standards (Chapter 1177) and Street Trees for new development. (Section 1167.12).
(f) Master Tree Planting Design. The Shade Tree Commission shall have the authority to formulate a Master Tree Planting Design after receiving the advice of the City Administrator. The Master Tree Planting Design shall specify the species of trees to be planted on the street tree lawns and public places within the City. From and after the adoption and approval of such design the City Administrator, or any amendment thereof, all planting shall conform thereto. Such Design shall take into consideration all existing and future utility, site quality, and environmental factors in determining the species of trees for the various locations, and such design maay be amended by the City Administrator, with the advice of the Shade Tree Commission as circumstances require.
(g) Tree Spacing. The spacing of public trees will be in accordance with the three (3) species size classes referred to in the Shade Tree Commission List of Street Trees and no trees may be planted closer together than the following:
Size of Trees | Average Mature Height | Spacing btw. Plantings |
Small | < 25' | 15' |
Medium | 25' - 40' | 30' |
Large | > 40' | 35' |
*** Except in Special Plantings Designed or Approved by the City Administrator.
(h) Distance from Curb and Sidewalk. The distance public trees may be planted from curbs or curb lines and sidewalks will be in accordance with the three species size classes in the Shade Tree Commission List of Street Trees and no trees may be planted closer to the curb or sidewalk than the following:
Minimum Size of Tree Lawn | Size of Tree | Minimum Distance from Sidewalk*** |
< 4'** | n/a | n/a |
4-6' | Small | 2' |
6-8' | Medium | 3' |
8' + | Large | 4' |
** Tree lawns < four feet (4') will require planting elsewhere in City to the approval of the City Administrator.
*** Except in Special Plantings Designed or Approved by the City Administrator.
(i) Distance from Fire Hydrants, Street Corners, Streets and Sidewalks. No public tree shall be planted closer than thirty-five (35) feet from any street corner, measured from the outermost point of the curb radius. No public tree shall be planted closer than ten (10) feet to any fire hydrant. There shall be an overhead clearance of fourteen feet (14') above the surface of any street, alley, or driveway and eight feet (8') above the surface of any sidewalk. All truck routes shall have overhead clearance of eighteen feet (18').
(j) Distance from Alleys, Driveways and Buildings. No public tree shall be planted closer than twenty (20) feet from any building. No public tree shall be planted closer than ten (10) feet from any alley or driveway.
(k) Utilities. No public trees other than those species referred to as Small Trees in the Shade Tree Commission List of Street Trees may be planted under any overhead primary electric line. Medium Trees may be planted within forty (40) lateral feet and Small Trees may be planted within twenty-five (25) lateral feet of any overhead primary electric line. No public trees may be planted over or within five (5) lateral feet of any underground water line, sewer line, distribution line, or other public utility.
(l) Adption of Rules. The City Administrator, with the approval of City Council, may adopt rules consisting with this chapter which shall provide detailed guidelines for the administration of this chapter. (Ord. 8178. Passed 11-26-19.)