(A) Permission for removal, relocation or replacement of trees shall be requested by written application to the city, in the form provided by the city, and accompanied by the required fee as set forth by resolution of the City Commission.
(1) Tree removal fees. Permits for the removal, relocation or replacement of trees covered herein shall be obtained by submitting an application on a form prescribed by the city. The permit fee shall be as provided by resolution of the City Commission.
(a) No fee shall be charged for trees which are relocated or lie within a utility easement and are required to be removed in order to provide utility service to the property. Governmental agencies and applications for tree removals in areas dedicated to public use shall be exempted from permit fees but shall be subject to all other provisions of this chapter.
(b) After-the-fact tree permit. In cases where tree removal is carried out without the necessary permit under the requirements of this section the property owner shall be required to submit an application for an after-the-fact tree permit. The application fee shall be triple the regular application fee. The City Manager or his or her designee may grant an after-the-fact tree permit only if he or she finds that the same application would have rightfully been approved prior to the removal of the tree(s) and that each tree destroyed is to be replaced by trees of equal or greater equivalent replacement value. Such replacement trees shall be located on the subject site wherever practical, or they may be required to be located on off-site private or public property. Such replacement shall require a cash bond.
(c) Recognizing that the production of food is essential for the existence and health of the population, and that agricultural use of land is continuous and can provide employment and income for the population indefinitely, and whereas South Florida's agriculture plays a major role in the city's economy and provides a substantial portion of our nation's winter food crops, and also taking note of the large number of tree removals which agricultural use by its nature necessitates, the fee to be charged applicants who seek to destroy trees in conjunction with an agricultural purpose shall be charged as provided by resolution of the City Commission. This reduced fee, however, is to be charged only upon the applicant's submitting to the city a covenant running with the land for a term of not less than five years, indicating that the land noted therein shall not be utilized by the owner for any purpose other than an agricultural purpose. Said covenant shall be promptly filed with the appropriate office for recording in the same manner as any other instrument affecting the title to real property and may only be released prior to its termination by a written instrument of the City Commission releasing the owner from the terms of the covenant and which instrument must be promptly recorded in the same manner as any other instrument affecting the title to real property. The release shall only be made to the owner, however, upon payment to the city of the permit fees that would have been charged for a nonagricultural tree removal permit at current charges, less the amounts actually paid for the permit at the time of application.
(B) Application for said permit may also be required to contain a legible plot or site plan, in as many copies as required by the city for review and processing, drawn to the largest practical scale showing the following:
(1) Location of all existing or proposed buildings, structures, improvements and site uses, properly dimensioned and referenced as to property lines, yard setback areas and spatial relationships.
(2) Location of existing or proposed utility services.
(3) Location of all existing trees, designating those to be removed, relocated, or replaced. Groups of trees in close proximity may be designated as “clusters” with the estimated total number noted. The name, common or botanical, height and caliper size of those trees to be removed relocated, or replaced shall be shown on the site plan.
(4) Information required in (B)(3) above for trees proposed to be removed, relocated or replaced, shall be summarized in tabular form on the plan, and shall include a statement of reasons for such removal, relocation or replacement.
(C) Any person conducting tree relocation shall:
(1) Not damage any other tree or trees remaining on site;
(2) Relocate a tree so that it will not interfere with existing or proposed utilities, either above or below ground;
(3) Relocate a tree to an area with adequate space for root and canopy development;
(4) Relocate a tree within the municipality from which the tree was removed; and
(5) Ensure successful relocation and transplanting of trees by adhering to the guidelines for transplanting a tree as listed in the City of Hollywood's Landscape Manual, as amended from time to time.
(D) Unless otherwise exempt by this chapter, any person conducting tree relocation activities involving specimen trees/palms, as defined in § 106.25, must post a cash payment/performance surety bond issued by a Florida licensed surety company or an irrevocable letter of credit to insure the survival of a specimen(s) designated for preservation.
(1) Said bond or letter of credit shall meet the approval of the City Attorney and may be in the following forms: an irrevocable letter of credit drawn upon a bank or savings and loan institutions authorized to do business in the State of Florida, a cash payment/performance bond issued by a surety company authorized to do business in Florida. This bond or letter of credit shall be in addition to any other bond that may be required by any other governmental entity.
(2) Determination of the amount of the letter of credit/bond shall be computed by the City Landscape Inspector and shall be based upon the most current version of the Guide for Plant Appraisal, published by the International Society of Arboriculture.
(3) City departments are exempt from the bond and letter of credit requirements, however, contractors and sub-contractors of city departments are not exempt.
(4) Drawing on bonds or letters of credit will be done in accordance with this subsection. If a tree is determined by the City Landscape Inspector to be effectively destroyed within one year from the date of relocation, the bond or letter of credit, as applicable, shall be called an drawn upon, and funds deposited into the City's Tree Preservation Trust Fund.
(5) If it is determined by the Landscape Inspector that the health of a relocated tree has been maintained for a period of one year from the date of planting and that the tree is not effectively destroyed, the bond or letter of credit shall be released by the city. If this one year period has not expired and a tree relocation permit is transferred, the city may condition the release of the bond/letter of credit upon the posting of a new bond or letter of credit by the subsequent permittee.
(‘72 Code, § 22½-3) (Ord. O-73-31, passed 5-16-73; Am. Ord. O-76-100, passed 12-15-76; Am. Ord. O-81-61, passed 10-9-81; Am. Ord. 0-99-35, passed 10-20-99; Am. Ord. O-2003-42, passed 12-17-03)