(A) The village shall have the right to cause the removal of any tree on private property within the village when such tree is dead or dying, constitutes a hazard to life and property, or when such tree may harbor insects or disease that constitutes a potential threat to other trees within the village.
(B) Nuisance declared. Any tree found to be dead or dying, to constitute a hazard to life or property, or to constitute a potential threat to other trees within the village, located on any premises in the village, shall hereby be declared to be a public nuisance. Any such tree shall be removed following a notice provided pursuant to division (E) below and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. It shall be unlawful for any person that owns any premises on which such a tree is located to allow such tree to remain on any such premises in violation of this chapter.
(C) Breeding places, nuisance. Parts of trees in a dead or dying condition, including stumps and wood in wood piles, that are found to constitute a hazard to life or property, or to constitute a potential threat to other trees within the village, are hereby declared to be public nuisances. Any such part of a tree shall be removed following a notice provided pursuant to division (E) below and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. It shall be unlawful for any person that owns premises on which any such tree parts, stumps or wood piles are located to permit the same to remain on any such premises in violation of this chapter. It shall also be unlawful for any person or company to sell or otherwise dispose of elm logs, or any other logs that constitute a potential threat to trees within the village, within the corporate limits of the village. In the event of such violation, that person or company shall be required to remove and properly dispose of the logs at his, her or their own expense within 30 days after service of a notice to remove the same.
(D) Enforcement and inspection. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee. The Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized, after giving notice of the intent and purpose, to enter in or upon any premises in the village, at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of inspecting such premises at which there exists a reasonable cause to believe there may contain dead, dying or diseased trees or breeding places of threatening insects. The Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, may remove from such trees such samples, borings or specimens as are required for the purpose of making a laboratory analysis to determine whether any tree located thereon is infected with a disease or insect that constitutes a potential threat to trees within the village. It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, from entering upon such premises for the purpose of carrying out the duties specified hereunder or to interfere with the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, in the performance of the lawful duties authorized under the provisions of this section.
(E) Notice. If any tree growing on any premises in the village is found to be dead or dying, to constitute a hazard to life or property, or to constitute a potential threat to other trees within the village, the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, shall serve a notice upon the owner or occupant of the premises on which the said tree is growing to remove the said tree. Such notice shall contain the following information:
(1) The identity of the property by common description;
(2) The tree affected;
(3) A notice that it is unlawful to permit such tree to remain on the property;
(4) A request for the removal of the tree;
(5) A notice to contact the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, within ten days of receiving the notice, in accordance with division (F);
(6) A notice that if the tree is not properly removed in accordance with division (F) the village will make necessary arrangements to remove the same and charge the cost thereof to the owner or occupant of the premises; and
(7) A notice that if the cost and expense incurred in the removal of any tree is not paid, then within 90 days after an invoice for such cost and expense has been mailed to the property owner, a notice of lien on the real estate affected will be filed in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of DuPage County, Illinois.
(F) Abatement. Any person served with a notice to remove a dead, diseased or potentially hazardous tree shall contact the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, within ten days of receiving the notice. The Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, and the property owner, shall then formulate a plan to remove the tree. Any such tree shall be removed within 90 days of contacting the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee. Any person served with a notice who fails to contact the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, within ten days, shall remove the tree within 30 days of the date that such notice is served. If any person refuses or neglects to remove a tree in accordance with the provisions herein, then the Director of Public Works, or his or her designee, may enter in or upon the premises where the tree is located and remove the tree. The cost and expense of such removal shall be charged to and paid by the owner or occupant of the lot or premises.
(G) Liens. If a diseased or potentially hazardous tree is removed by the village, or by someone directed to remove the said tree on behalf of the village, a notice of lien containing the cost and expense of removal incurred by the village may be recorded in the following manner: the village or the person or firm authorized by the village to remove such tree in his or its own name, shall file a notice of lien in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of DuPage County, Illinois. The lien notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out:
(1) A description of the real estate sufficient for identification;
(2) The amount of the cost and expense incurred or payable for the service; and
(3) The date or dates when such cost or expense was incurred by the village. Such notice shall be filed within 90 days, but not less than 30 days, after an invoice for such cost and expense has been mailed to the property owner.
(H) Release of lien. Upon payment of the cost and expense by the owner or persons interested in the real estate affected, after notice of lien has been filed, the lien shall be released by the village or person in whose name the lien has been filed and the release may be filed of record in the same manner herein provided for the filing of a notice of lien.
(I) Penalty. Any person violating any provision of this section shall be fined an amount of not less than $25 or not greater than $750 for each offense, and a separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed on each week during or on which a diseased tree is permitted to remain in violation of division (F) above.
(Ord. 604-85, passed 12-3-85; Am. Ord. 1327-06, passed 7-18-06; Am. Ord. 1667-13, passed 8-20-13)