(A) Any person desiring to cut or remove trees or branches thereof in close proximity to the lines of the city’s electrical system shall, before doing the said work, give reasonable written notice to the Utilities Superintendent and shall follow any and all rules and regulations which he or she may prescribe for doing such work. It shall be unlawful for any person felling or removing such trees or branches to disrupt or damage the lines without first giving proper notice and receiving permission in writing to do so. Any person felling or removing trees or branches which damage any property of the city, including the electrical lines, will be responsible for said damages.
(B) Whenever it becomes necessary to protect the lines or property of the city’s electrical system, the City Board shall have the power to order the cutting and removal of any overhanging branches or limbs of trees so that the lines will be free and safe with the following exceptions.
(1) Trees interfering with service wires (wires from city poles to the customer’s house or building) will not be trimmed or removed. Arrangements can be made to have the service wire temporarily removed to permit the property owner or contractor to trim or remove the tree. If any person wants their electric service temporarily disconnected to trim or remove a tree, the Utilities Superintendent must be contacted in advance to ensure the availability of city crew at the desired time. The service is not available on Sundays or holidays, and may be delayed due to emergency work.
(2) Trees near street light and yard light wires will not be trimmed by the city under normal circumstances. The city will not trim trees near street lights or yard lights to improve illumination.
(C) If the city requests that a tree be trimmed or removed, all wood cut from the tree will be removed from the property by the city. The city will not remove stumps. The property owner may keep any portion of the wood desired; however, city crews will not cut wood to uniform length or stack the wood.
(D) Wood from fallen trees or wood that has fallen from standing trees is also the responsibility of the property owner. The city will remove broken branches still attached to the tree that are interfering with the wires. The city will not haul away the branches. The wood will be cut only as required to make repairs to the power lines.
(E) Wood that is not wanted by property owners will be made available to the public on the following terms.
(1) Persons who want wood on private property must make arrangements with the property owner.
(2) Tree crews cannot cut wood to uniform size or any smaller than necessary for normal handling.
(3) Tree crews cannot load wood into private vehicles or trailers.
(4) Crews will not stack or separate wood.
(5) Wood and wood chips may be dumped on private or public property with approval of the property owner, only when a savings in crew man hours and equipment hours is evident.
(F) The city will assist property owners and/or their commercial contractors, at their request, with the trimming and removal of trees that are near city electric wires. When a tree trimming request is received, a city representative will make an inspection and explain to the property owner or contractor what the city can do to assist them. City assistance will include:
(1) The temporary rerouting, de-energizing, or removing of electric wires that may be hazardous to workers or that may be damaged by falling tree wood. The city will coordinate with the property owner or contractor the time that the work can be done; and/or
(2) Trimming the tree so that it can be safely removed or trimmed by the property owner or contractor without falling onto the electric wires. All wood cut from the tree will be left on the property owner’s premises. The city is not responsible for cutting wood to size or piling brush. The customer or contractor will be responsible for removing brush that is blocking sidewalks and driveways.
(Prior Code, § 8-428) Penalty, see § 10.99