553.01 Trees, etc., overhanging public property.
553.02 Removal of weeds by owner or occupant; five days notice.
553.03 Removal of trees, weeds, grasses by Municipality.
553.04 Assessment of costs by Municipality.
553.05 Tree and shrub permits required.
553.06 Protection of trees, shrubs and plants; determination of hazardous or inappropriate species of trees.
553.07 Arboricultural standards.
553.08 Tree lawn planting.
553.09 Tree Board; appeals.
553.10 Permitted trees for smaller size areas.
553.11 Permitted trees for medium size areas.
553.12 Permitted trees for larger size areas.
553.13 Tree lawn defined.
553.99 Penalty.
CROSS REFERENCES
Injury or destruction of trees and growing products - see GEN. OFF. 541.06
(a) The Safety Service Director, through the City Urban Forester, shall have the responsibility of implementing the tree ordinances, any Comprehensive Tree Plan and related policies.
(b) Any owner or occupant, having the charge or management of any lot or parcel of real property situated within the City, whether said real property is improved, unimproved, vacant or occupied, upon which a tree, plant or shrub stands, or on the contiguous tree lawn, with any part thereof upon or overhanging a public street or sidewalk shall conform to the regulations herein provided; otherwise, the Municipality shall cause such to be trimmed or removed in accordance with such regulations and assess the costs, as set forth below, against the owner of such lot or parcel of land.
(1) Any tree overhanging any street or right-of-way within the City shall be pruned so that its branches do 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 twelve feet above the surface of the street or sidewalk.
(2) Every dead, decayed or broken tree, plant or shrub, or part thereof, shall be trimmed or removed, as the case may require, so that the same shall not fall to the street or sidewalk.
(3) Removal and/or trimming as required in division (a) or (b) of this section shall be done at the expense of said parcel owner and within 30 days after the City Urban Forester serves notice requirement of same, by regular U.S. mail to the last known tax mailing address of the parcel owner. If said owner fails to comply with such provisions, the City shall have the authority to have the necessary work completed and to charge the cost of such work to the property owner.
(4) The City shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead, diseased or insect-infested tree or tree limbs which constitute a hazard to life or property. The City shall have the right to prune any tree, plant or shrub on private property when it interferes with the proper spread of light along the street from a street light or interferes with the visibility of any traffic control device or sign or otherwise impedes the safe flow of traffic.
(Ord. 2016-117. Passed 9-19-16.)
It is hereby determined that weeds, grasses, vines or any other ground cover growing to a height of eight inches or more is a nuisance. No person, whether owner or occupant, having the charge or management of any lot or parcel of real property situated within the City, whether said real property is improved, unimproved, vacant or occupied, shall allow or permit weeds, grasses, vines or any other ground cover to grow to a height of eight inches or more on said lot or parcel, or on the contiguous tree lawn.
(a) Two weeks prior to April 15 of each year, the Safety-Service Director or his or her designee shall publish, in any newspaper of general circulation within the City, a notice that all real property owners or occupants shall regularly cut the weeds, grasses, vines or other ground cover growing upon their real estate during the ensuing months of the year.
(b) If any weeds, grasses, vines or other ground cover has grown to a height of eight inches or more on any lot or parcel of real property within the City after said publication of written newspaper notice has been completed, the Safety-Service Director shall then send one notice, by ordinary mail, to the last known mailing address of the owner of any such parcel of real property then shown upon the Lorain County Treasurer Tax Duplicate. If said real property has been returned to an unimproved state through demolition of structure(s) on said property, such that the last known mailing address of the owner is no longer an address serviceable by the U.S. Postal Service, the Safety-Service Director shall issue notice upon the owner via publication in any newspaper of general circulation within the City. Said notice shall include the name of the owner(s) and the corresponding permanent parcel number for said real property. As an alternative to either the ordinary mail notice or notice by publication, the Safety-Service Director may cause notice to be posted at the property, which notice shall contain all information otherwise required herein. Said notice, whether by ordinary mail, publication, or posting, shall act as a continuing notice to the parcel owner for the remainder of the calendar year.
(c) If any person fails to cut or destroy, or cause to be cut or destroyed, such weeds, grasses, vines or other ground cover within five days of the service of any such notice, the Safety-Service Director shall be empowered by Section 553.03 to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 2016-117. Passed 9-19-16.)
In the event the owner does not trim or remove any tree, plant or shrubbery, or any part thereof, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, then the Director of Safety-Service is authorized and it is declared to be his or her duty to have enforced the provisions of this chapter, and to cause to be trimmed or removed such tree, plant or shrubbery, or part thereof, and cut and removed all grass and weeds.
(Ord. 2016-117. Passed 9-19-16.)
Except as otherwise set forth in this chapter, whenever any tree, plant or shrubbery, or part thereof, or weeds and grass are growing on private or commercial property contiguous to a street or sidewalk or public place, or on a tree lawn contiguous to private or commercial property, and is trimmed or removed by the City, then, after the work is done, the City shall give five days' notice, by regular U.S. mail, to the owner of such lot or parcel of land, at his or her last known tax mailing address, to pay the cost of such trimming or removal of trees, plants, shrubbery, grass or weeds, or parts thereof, which notice shall be accompanied by a statement of the amount of cost incurred, and in the event the same is not paid within 30 days after the mailing of such notice, then such amount shall be certified to the County Auditor for collection the same as other taxes and assessments are collected.
(Ord. 2016-117. Passed 9-19-16.)
(a) Planting, Cutting, Trimming or Treating. Except as otherwise set forth in this chapter, no person shall plant, cut, trim or treat any tree or shrub upon any public way, tree lawn, street, alley or City property without first obtaining a permit therefor from the City Urban Forester. The permit for planting shall specify the size, type, species and location of the tree or shrub to be planted. There shall be no fee charged for said permit.
(b) Excavation and Construction Around Trees. No person shall make any excavation, place any fill, compact soil or construct any building, structure, street, sidewalk, driveway, pavement or public utility within the dripline of any tree located in the public way, tree lawn, street, alley or City property without first obtaining a permit therefor from the City Urban Forester. There shall be no fee charged for said permit.
(Ord. 2016-117. Passed 9-19-16.)
(a) All trees on any tree lawn or public place near the excavation and/or construction of any building, structure or street work, shall be guarded with a protective device, such as a substantial fence, frame or box not less than four feet high and six feet square or at a distance in feet from the tree equal to the diameter of the trunk in inches, measured at a trunk height of approximately four and one-half feet from the ground. All building material, dirt or other debris shall be kept outside the barrier. The protective device must be structurally sound and capable of protecting the trees from all expected encroachment by debris and machinery associated with said excavation and/or construction.
(b) Except as otherwise set forth in this chapter, no person shall destroy or mutilate any tree, shrub or other plant in a tree lawn or public place, or attach or place any rope or wire (other than one used to support a young or weak tree), sign, poster or other thing on any tree growing in a tree lawn or public place, or allow any gaseous, liquid or solid substance harmful to such tree to come in contact with any part of the tree.
(c) Any property owner may request, from the City Urban Forester, a permit to remove a healthy tree from the tree lawn. If such permit is granted, the owner of such property shall be responsible for the entire cost of removing said tree, including the stump, together with the cost of replanting a new tree, pursuant to Section 553.05(a). If mandated by the City Urban Forester, the property owner shall cause the removal of said tree by a tree maintenance contractor who is registered with the City at the time the tree is to be removed. The cost of repair or restoration of any lateral line or sidewalks shall be borne by the property owner. If, through the repair of the lateral, it is determined that the "root flair" of said tree impinges upon the lateral, the City Urban Forester, in conjunction with the Engineering Department, may order the tree removed.
(d) The City Urban Forester shall order, at the City's expense, the removal of any tree, shrub or plant from the tree lawn, which he or she determines to be:
(1) An inappropriate species for the location; or
(2) Hazardous to life or property.
(Ord. 2016-117. Passed 9-19-16.)
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