(a) No person shall maintain or suffer to remain on private property, any tree which is either deemed dead and/or diagnosed with a disease or insect infestation that is quarantined and/or regulated by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) and/or the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), and within striking distance of the public right-of-way. Any tree determined by the Manager to be in the condition and circumstances set forth above may be a public nuisance.
(b) The Manager, with the consent of the owner or occupier of any private grounds, or with a search warrant, shall have authority to enter upon any private grounds to inspect for such trees which are dead or infected or infested by such insects or disease.
(c) If, upon inspection, the Manager finds it necessary to remove or destroy any such tree, the Manager shall serve notice personally or by registered mail or certified mail on the owner of such land requiring such owner to remove and destroy such tree by fire within 60 days of the receipt of such notice. No person shall fail to comply with such notice within such period of time.
(d) If, upon notice, the owner of such land does not remove or destroy such tree, then, in addition to the penalty provided in division (g) of this section, the Manager shall cause the same to be removed and destroyed and the cost thereof shall be a charge against such property and upon the owner thereof and shall be certified by the Manager to the Finance Director for collection as other debts by the Municipality. The term “cost” as used in this division shall include the actual costs for removal and destroying a tree and the Municipality's administrative and legal costs, if any.
(Ord 65-46. Passed 8-2-65.)
(e) Upon the untimely payment of the costs certified in division (d) of this section as determined by the Finance Director, the Finance Director may certify said costs to the Council, and upon the receipt of the statement of certified costs, Council shall make written return to the Fiscal Officer of Summit County of Municipal action under the preceding divisions of this section with a statement of the certified costs and a proper description of the premises for the purpose of making same a lien upon the lands and to be collected as other taxes and returned to the Municipality.
(f) The term “Manager” as used in this section refers to the City Manager of the Municipality or the City Manager's designee.
(g) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
(Ord. 08-23. Passed 3-5-08; Ord. 22-165. Passed 1-17-23.)