The following procedures shall be followed and shall govern the granting of all arbor permits pursuant to this section.
(A) Filing application and payment of fees. An application for tree removal shall be filed on official forms provided by the city. The applicant shall be required to pay a fee as shall be established by resolution of the City Commission, except that no fee shall be required for the removal of trees that are dead, diseased, suffer from severe structural defects, pose a clear and obvious safety hazard to structures and people or removed for a public project sponsored and paid for by the city. If the applicant is not the property owner, then the applicant shall attach the written permission of the property owner to the application. Completed applications shall be returned to the Community Development Department for processing, along with the following:
(1) A survey of the property indicating:
(a) Property boundaries;
(b) The location of individual trees to be removed, including the tree’s common or scientific name, caliper of trees, and distance of trees from nearby structures.
(c) The location of any existing structures on site, to include accessory structures such as pools, pool decks, drives, parking areas, etc.
(d) A replacement plan indicating the means of compensating for the trees to be removed including the species and size of any replacement tree(s), if required.
(e) Location of trees preserved either for replacement credit, or to show how the site continues to meet the minimum trees required on site.
(f) Valid reasons for the removal of trees.
(g) The appropriate permit fees.
(2) All new subdivisions, and commercial and industrial site plans, will have their tree removal permitting done at the time of the Site Construction Permit. Due consideration will be given to protection of trees during the Development Review Committee process.
(3) All new one- and two-family dwelling units shall be required to submit an application for an arbor permit at the time of application for a building permit; the tree inventory shall be shown on the building plot plan.
(B) Application review. Upon receipt of proper application, and except for those associated with subdivision and site plan review, the City Manager or his designee shall review that application, which shall include a field check of the site and referral of the application for recommendations to other appropriate administrative departments or agencies.
(C) Fees. A permit fee as established by resolution and codified in Chapter 163 shall be charged for all approved arbor permits applicable to existing, developed residential lots. A permit fee for arbor permits applicable to new residential development, new non-residential development and/or existing non-residential development shall be imposed by resolution of the City Commission. Payment of this fee shall be remitted prior to issuance of the arbor permit. No fee shall be required for the removal of trees that are dead, diseased, suffer from severe structural defects, pose a clear and obvious safety hazard to structures and people or removed for a public project sponsored by the city. If the applicant is not the owner, then the applicant shall attach written permission of the property owner to the application.
(D) Exempting portion of the tree survey. Upon request, the city may permit an applicant to omit certain portions of the tree inventory where compliance with the requirements set forth herein would be unnecessarily burdensome and the exempted portions are not needed for the city to evaluate the application.
(Ord. 1601, passed 12-20-18)