(a) Trees shall be provided by the subdivider in all approved subdivisions or sections of subdivisions where curbs, gutters and sidewalks are required in accordance with standards and specifications of these Codified Ordinances. The trees shall be species which are resistant to damage and disease and which do not cause interference with underground utilities, street lighting or visibility at street intersections. Such trees shall have a minimum two and one-half inch caliper and shall be planted at each forty-foot interval of street frontage in new subdivisions, and shall be located between the curb and sidewalk or at other suitable locations as approved by the Engineer. The area between the curb and sidewalk shall be large enough to maximize the survivability of streets trees, to the satisfaction of the Engineer. To this end, trees shall be planted in such a way to encourage the downward growth of the root system in suitable soil. Existing trees should be retained in new subdivisions wherever possible. (See Chapter 1026 of these Codified Ordinances.)
(b) Upon application for a building permit for construction of a new building or structure on any lot in any single-family residential zoning classification, the subdivider, owner or builder of such building or structure shall pay an urban forestry fee to the City's Urban Forestry Fund in the amount of four hundred dollars ($400.00) per lot. Subdivisions or sections of subdivisions approved prior to January 1, 2001, and subject to subsection (a) hereof, shall be subject to the fee in this subsection (b) if they have not planted the necessary trees required by subsection (a) hereof by January 1, 2003. Upon payment of the fee, the Parks and Recreation Director or the City Arborist shall thereafter cause all required street trees to be purchased and planted and the City shall assume full responsibility for the care, maintenance or replacement of such trees. The urban forestry fee shall increase by three percent annually on the first day of January.
(c) All subdividers or developers of any other zoning classification, except single-family residential, shall plant street trees and landscaping as otherwise required by these Codified Ordinances.
(d) There is hereby created an Urban Forestry Fund to receive the urban forestry fee provided for in this section. Such Fund shall be used to plant street trees as provided in this section.
(e) Also see Chapter 1266 Preservation of Trees and Wooded Areas.
(Ord. 2014-27. Passed 8-5-14.)