(A) Right to remove and declaration of nuisance. The city shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased tree on all property within the city limits, when trees constitute a hazard to life and property, harbor insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees within the city. Such trees are a threat to the public health and general welfare of the public as they can lead to accidents, the transmission of epidemic diseases, and the destruction of the city’s tree stock, and are thus declared a public nuisance. The City Forester shall make such determinations and will notify in writing the owners of these trees. Removal shall be done by the owners at their own expense within 30 days after the date of notice. In the event of failure to comply with these provisions, the city shall have the authority to remove these trees and assess the cost of removal on the owner's property tax notice. In the event the tree is deemed public, refer to § 93.13.
(B) Entry on private property. The City Forester or the City Council’s duly authorized agents may enter upon private premises at any reasonable time for the purpose of carrying out any of the duties assigned under this section, following proper diagnosis of such disease.
(C) Procedures for removal of diseased trees.
(1) Action by the designated officer. Whenever the City Forester or City Council designated officer suspects a diseased tree on private property, the designated officer shall notify the property owner in writing within 7 days of the existence of the tree and the intent of the city to test for or otherwise diagnose the tree with infectious diseases.
(2) Tree disease assessment and testing. The City Forester, or City Council designated officer, shall upon finding conditions indicating disease infestation, immediately send appropriate samples to the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, University of Minnesota Extension Services, or an approved testing laboratory for analysis or take such other steps for diagnosis as recommended by the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources or the University of Minnesota Extension Services.
(3) Results and notice of need to remove. If the City Forester, or City Council designated officer, finds with reasonable technical certainty through test results or other positive diagnostic observations that a tree has an infectious disease and that immediate action is required to prevent the spread of the disease, the property owner shall be notified in writing of the need to remove the diseased tree(s). The notice shall state the owner has 60 days to remove the diseased tree(s) from the date of the notice, but must also respond to the City Forester, within 14 days of the date of the notice, with a plan for removal of the diseased tree(s) stating the contractor’s name performing the work and the date within the required 60-day period when the diseased tree(s) will be removed The diseased tree(s) once removed shall be properly disposed of in accordance with applicable law.
(4) Removal of tree by city. If the property owner does not respond within the 14 days provided in division (C)(3) above, the City Forester, or City Council designated officer, contractor or agent, may enter the property to remove and dispose of the tree(s) upon 24-hour posted or hand delivered notice to the property owner of the intent to remove the diseased tree(s) at the property owner’s expense. Additionally, if the property owner does not remove the diseased tree(s) within the 60-day period provided in division (C)(3) above, the City Forester, or City Council designated officer, contractor or agent shall follow the same procedure to remove and dispose of the diseased tree(s) at the owner’s expense as provided in this division (C)(4) for failure to respond with a removal plan.
(5) Record. The City Forester, or City Council designated officer, contractor or agent shall keep a record of the costs of removal and disposal of diseased tree(s) under this section and shall report to the City Forester and the City Administrator all work done for which assessments are to be made upon the subject property, stating and certifying the description of the land, lots, parcels involved, and the amount chargeable to each.
(6) Assessment. On or before December 1 of each year, the City Administrator shall list the total unpaid charges for each abatement against each separate lot or parcel to which they are attributable under this section, which have been unpaid. The City Council may then assess the charges or any portion thereof against the subject property as a special assessment under M.S. § 429.101, as it may be amended from time to time, and other pertinent statutes for certification to the County Auditor and collection the following year in like manner as property taxes upon the subject property
(Prior Code, § 22-39) (Ord. 381, passed 4-22-2003; Am. Ord. 441, passed 7-12-2005; Am. Ord. 604, passed 7-14-2020) Penalty, see §
93.99