911.08 CONTROL OF STREET TREES.
   (a)   Definitions.
      (1)    "Person" means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind.
      (2)   "Street or Highway" means the entire width of every public way, easement of right-of way when any part thereof is open to the public, as a matter of right, for the purpose of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and shall include alleys.
      (3)    "Public Places" shall include all other grounds owned by the City of Milford.
      (4)    "Property Line" means the outer edge of a street or highway.
      (5)    "Treelawn" means that part of a street or highway, lying between the property line and that portion of the street or highway usually used for vehicular traffic.
      (6)    "Property Owner" means the person owning such property as shown by the County Auditor's Plat of the City of Milford, Clermont and Hamilton Counties, Ohio, including the executor, administrator, or beneficiary of the estate of a deceased owner.
      (7)   "Tree" means a tall growing woody plant with one or more perennial main stems or trunk which develops branches from the aerial section of the stem rather than from the base; capable of being pruned to at least six feet of clear branchless trunk below the crown within five years of planting.
      (8)    "Shrub" means a low growing woody plant with one or several perennial main stems producing branches, shoots, or multiple stems from or near the base of the plant and incapable of being pruned to provide at least six feet of clear branchless trunk within five years of planting.
      (9)    "Public Trees" shall include all shade and ornamental trees now or hereafter growing on any public places.
      (10)   "Right-of-Way" means any portion of the public way, street, alley, or sidewalk.
      (11)   "Tree Topping" means the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs of three (3) inches or more in diameter within the tree's crown to such a degree as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.
   (b)   Duty of Private Property Owner.  
      (1)   It shall be the duty of any property owner owning or occupying property abutting, bordering on, or adjacent to right of way upon which property or right of way there may be trees or shrubs, to prune or cause to be pruned such tree or shrub on said property and/or in said right of way, as may be necessary to abate any nuisance necessary for the protection of life, limb, or property of persons using the street or sidewalk, or as may be necessary to provide a clear and unobstructed view of traffic from all directions and in a manner that will not shade or obstruct street lights, street signs or obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic on streets or sidewalks.
      (2)   It shall be the duty of any property owner owning or occupying property abutting, bordering on, or adjacent to right of way upon which property or right of way there are trees or shrubs which have been designated by the Tree Commission as dead, dying, diseased, or hazardous, or deemed a menace to the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Milford, to remove, or cause to be removed, at the property owner’s expense, said tree(s) and/or shrub(s) on said property and/or in said right of way.
      (3)    In either of the above situations, the City Manager shall send a written notice to the property owner indicating the required action (pruning or removal) to be taken. A period of thirty days from receipt of this letter shall be permitted for the property owner to affect the indicated action. Should the property owner fail to comply, it shall be lawful for the City Manager to cause such action. Upon completion of the required action by the City, the owner of the abutting property shall be billed for the costs and expense of the work. Such bill shall include:
         A.   All construction costs; and
         B.   A charge for administrative costs of ten percent ( 10%) of the construction costs.
   (c)   City May Remove.  
      (1)   The City Manager may remove or cause or order to be removed, any trees or parts thereof which by reason of its nature is injurious to existing sewers, electric power lines, gas lines, water lines, or other public improvements.
      (2)    The City Manager shall examine or cause to be examined every tree within 10 feet of any sanitary or storm sewer, drain, manhole, or other public utility line above or below the surface of the ground, which has been reported as dangerous to or causing interference with said sewer, drain, manhole or public utility line, and if found dangerous or causing damage or obstruction of such sewer, drain, manhole or public utility line, he shall give to the property owner written notice of their findings and an order that such person remove said tree or injurious part thereof within forty five (45) days. Service of such notice shall be as described in subsection (b)(3) hereof.
   (d)   City Responsibility. Whenever it is necessary for the City to remove a tree from City right-of-way, the City shall remove such trees and replace them or plant, on another right-of- way area or on any other City owned property, an equal number of trees.
   (e)    Trees Prohibited on Public Property. The following shall not be planted on public property without specific consent of the Parks and Recreation Commission:
   Acer saccharinum (Silver Maple)
   Acer negundo (Boxelder)
   Aesculus Species (Horsechestnut, Buckeye)
   Ailanthus altissima (Tree of Heaven)
   Catalpa Species (Catalpa)
   Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian Olive)
   Fruit tree cultivars bred for fruit production
   Gingko biloba (Female) (Female Ginkgo)
   Populus Species (Cottonwood, Poplar)
   Pyrus calleryana "Bradford" (Bradford Callery Pear)
   Robinia pseudoacacia (Black Locust)
   Salix Species (Willow)
   Sorbus aucuparia (European Mountain Ash)
   Shrubs
   Ulmus pumila (Siberian Elm)
   Ulmus rubra (Red Elm)
   Whenever any tree or shrub shall be planted or set out in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance, the City Manager may cause removal of the same without obligating the City to replace the illegally planted tree(s).
   (f)    Abuse or Mutilation of Public Trees.
      (1)    Unless specifically authorized by the Parks and Recreation Commission, no person shall intentionally damage, cut, carve, top, transplant, or remove any public tree; attach any rope, wire, nails, advertising posters, squirrel feeder, or other contrivance to any tree or shrub; allow any gaseous, liquid, or solid substance to come in contact with them; set fire or permit fire to burn when the fire or heat thereof shall injure any portion of any tree or shrub.
      (2)    No person shall excavate any ditches, tunnels, trenches, or alley or drive within a radius of ten feet from any public tree or shrub without obtaining approval from the City Manager.
   (g)    Placing Materials on Public Property. No person shall deposit, place, store, or maintain upon any public place of the City, any stone, brick, sand, concrete, or other materials which may impede the free passage of water, air, or fertilizer to the roots of any tree growing therein, except by written consent of the Parks and Recreation Commission.
   (h)    Planting and Maintenance of Treelawns.
      (1)    No person shall plant, prune, brace, cable, spray, or otherwise perform work on a tree in a treelawn or other public place without first obtaining the prior approval of the Parks and Recreation Commission. The City shall require the property owner to obtain a permit from the City Manager. The person obtaining the permit shall abide by the standards as set forth in this section.
      (2)    Pruning objectives for utility companies are to remove branches in order to prevent the loss of service, prevent damage to equipment, avoid impairment, and uphold the intended usage of the facility/utility space.
      (3)    All pruning shall conform to the latest revision of the ANSI A300, Tree, Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance.
         A.   All pruning cuts shall be made at nodes or crotches, preserving the branch collar and leaving no stubs.
         B.   Tree topping is prohibited.
   (i)    Trees in New Subdivisions. The Parks and Recreation Commission shall approve the tree plan for any newly developed City treelawns.
 
   (j)    Tree Spacing. The spacing of public trees will be in accordance with the three (3) species size classes referred to in the Milford Parks and Recreation Commission's list of Street Trees and no trees may be planted closer together than the following:
 
Small Trees
thirty (30) feet
Medium Trees
forty (40) feet
Large Trees
fifty (50) feet
except in special plantings designed or approved by the Milford Parks and Recreation Commission.
   (k)    Distance from Curb and Sidewalk. The distance public trees may be planted from curbs or curblines and sidewalks will be in accordance with the three species size classes in the Milford Parks and Recreation Commission's list of Street Trees and no trees may be planted closer to the curb or sidewalk that the following:
 
Small trees:
two (2) feet
(minimum of a four foot wide treelawn)
Medium trees:
three (3) feet
(minimum of a six foot wide tree lawn)
Large trees:
four (4) feet
(minimum of an eight foot wide treelawn)
    
   Except in special plantings designed or approved by the Milford Parks and Recreation Commission.
   (1)    Distance From the Street Corners and Fire Plugs. No public tree shall be planted closer than thirty-five (35) feet from any street corner, measured from the point nearest the intersecting curbs or curb lines. No public tree shall be planted closer than ten (10) feet to any fire hydrant.
   (m)   Utilities. No public trees other than those species referred to as Small Trees in Milford Parks and Recreation Commission's list of Street Trees may be planted under or within twenty five (25) lateral feet of electric wires.
   (n)    Adoption of Rules. The Parks and Recreation Commission, with the approval of City Council, may adopt rules consistent with this section, which shall provide detailed guidelines for the administration of this section.
(Ord. 15-1142. Passed 1-20-15.)