A. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or any regulation, administrative order, notice or order promulgated under the authority of said chapter, shall be deemed guilty of a class B misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as set forth in title 1, chapter 4, article A of this code.
B. Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter by removing a street tree or park tree or defacing or injuring a street tree or park tree by wilfully cutting and injuring or by poor arboricultural practice either without a permit or in a manner that was not authorized by a permit:
1. Is subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each street tree or park tree removed, defaced or injured; and
2. May be required, in addition to any criminal or civil penalty, to pay restitution to the city for the market value of the removed, defaced or damaged tree in an amount established through a tree appraisal conducted by the urban forester. The appraisal shall take into account the size, species, condition and location of the tree immediately before the time it was removed, defaced or damaged.
C. Failure to correct a violation of this chapter after notice of violation and expiration of any applicable warning period may be enforced by imposition of the following civil penalties pursuant to title 1, chapter 4, article B of this code:
1. The first civil citation issued after expiration of the warning period shall subject the responsible party to the initial penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
2. The second civil citation issued after expiration of the warning period and the prior imposition of the initial penalty shall subject the responsible party to the intermediate penalty of five hundred dollars ($500.00).
3. Any subsequent civil citation issued after expiration of the warning period and the prior imposition of the intermediate penalty, or any reoccurring violation under section 1-4B-6 of this code, shall subject the responsible party to the maximum penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
(Ord. 2016-13, 3-1-2016)