Every owner or occupant, having the charge or management of any lot or parcel of real property situated within the City, whether said real property is improved, unimproved, vacant or occupied, upon which a tree, plant or shrub stands, or on the contiguous tree lawn or on the contiguous road right-of-way, with any part thereof upon or overhanging a public street or sidewalk or the contiguous tree lawn or contiguous right-of-way shall conform to the regulations set forth in this section; otherwise, the Municipality shall cause such to be trimmed or removed in accordance with such regulations and assess the costs, as set forth below, against the owner of such lot or parcel of land.
(a) Any tree overhanging any street or road right-of-way within the City shall be pruned so that its branches do not obstruct the light from any street lamp or obstruct the view of any street intersection and so that there shall be a clear space of eight feet above the surface of the sidewalk or fourteen feet above the roadway.
(b) Every dead, decayed or broken tree, plant or shrub, or part thereof, shall be trimmed or removed, as the case may require, so that the same shall not fall to the street or sidewalk or onto the contiguous tree lawn or contiguous road right-of-way.
(c) All trees located within the contiguous tree lawn area or the contiguous road right- of-way area shall be maintained by every owner or occupant so as not to create a hazard to persons or property and such trees shall be maintained in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(d) Removal and/or trimming as required in divisions (a), (b) or (c) of this section shall be done at the expense of said parcel owner and within thirty days after the City Service Director serves notice requirement of same, by regular U.S. mail to the last known tax mailing address of the parcel owner. If said owner fails to comply with such provisions, the City shall have the authority to have the necessary work completed and to charge the cost of such work to the property owner.
(e) The City shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead, diseased or insect-infested tree or tree limbs which constitute a hazard to life or property that is located in any location described in division (a), (b) and (c) above. The City shall have the right to prune any tree, plant or shrub on private property or on the contiguous tree lawn or contiguous road right-of-way when it interferes with the proper spread of light along the street from a street light or interferes with the visibility of any traffic control device or sign or otherwise impedes the safe flow of traffic.
(Ord. 70-38. Passed 7-28-70; Ord. 2018-O-14. Passed 4-10-18.)