(a) All protected trees shall be preserved unless exempted, as follows: the City Manager, or his or her designee, may approve the cutting down, removal, or destruction of a protected tree when the tree interferes with the proper development of a lot, provided that the lot is the subject of application for approval of a zoning certificate, a site plan, a development plan, a variance, or a conditioned use permit and one of the following applies:
(1) Trees are located within a public right-of-way or easement.
(2) Trees are located within the area to be covered by proposed structures or within fifteen feet from the perimeter of structures, and the proposed structures cannot be located in a manner to avoid removal of trees at the same time permitting desirable and logical development of the lot.
(3) Trees are located within the driveway access to parking or service areas or proposed driveway designed to service a single-family house.
(4) Trees are within proposed parking lots. Efforts shall be taken to locate and protect said trees in planting areas and islands.
(5) Trees that in the judgment of the City Manager, or his or her designee, are damaged, diseased, over-mature, which interfere with utility lines, or are an inappropriate or undesirable species for that specific location.
(b) When preparing and reviewing subdivision plans and landscape plans, good-faith effort shall be made to preserve natural vegetation areas. Streets, lots, structures, and parking areas shall be laid out to avoid the unnecessary destruction of heavily wooded areas or outstanding tree specimens. Developers of land are encouraged to designate heavily wooded areas as park reserves.
(c) All preliminary and/or final development plans, when submitted, shall show all existing individual trees having a trunk diameter of six inches or greater as measured twenty-four inches above ground level with all proposed streets, lots, structures, utilities, and parking areas. Prior to the removal of any trees, a site inspection by the City Manager, or his or her designee, shall be performed. This inspection shall mark those trees permitted for removal, the delineation of areas to be preserved and any other construction restrictions. The removal of any trees and/or shrubs is prohibited until said site inspection is completed.
(d) The owner shall be responsible for the construction, erection, and maintenance of temporary fencing or other physical barrier around the tree preservation areas so that all protected trees shall be preserved. All required protective fencing or other physical barrier must be in place around the tree preservation area and approved by the City prior to the beginning of construction, including site clearing and grading. The fencing or other protective barrier must be located, at a minimum, outside the critical root zone, or the drip line, or fifteen feet, whichever is greater, unless otherwise approved by the City Manager, or his or her designee. The fencing or other physical barrier must remain in place and be secured in an upright position during the entire construction period to prevent impingement of construction vehicles, materials, spoils, and equipment into or upon the tree preservation area. Tree protection signs, available from the Planning and Zoning Department, shall be secured to the fencing every fifty feet. Any change in the protective fencing must be approved by the City Manager, or his or her designee.
(Ord. 2014-27. Passed 8-5-14.)