Wherever the following words or terms are used in this chapter, they shall be construed to have the following meanings:
(a) “Person” means person, firm, association, or corporation.
(b) “City” means the City of Portsmouth, Ohio.
(c) “Public areas” includes all public parks and other lands owned, controlled, or leased by the City, to include the rights of way.
(d) “Public trees and shrubs” means all trees and shrubs located or to be located in or upon public areas and or rights of way.
(e) “Public nuisance” means any tree or shrub or part thereof which by reason of its condition interferes with the use of any public area; is infected with a plant disease; is infested with injurious insects or pests; is injurious to public improvements or endangers the life, health, safety or welfare of persons or property.
(f) “Boulevard areas” means land between the normal location of the street curbing and sidewalk. Where there is no sidewalk, the area four feet from the curbline shall be deemed to be a boulevard for the purpose of this chapter. Boulevard areas also refer to the center boulevard on center island streets.
(g) “Clear sight triangle” means a triangle formed by the curb lines of two intersecting rights of way and a third line connecting a full view zone 20 feet from intersecting corners of the street. On streets with no curb and gutter, the same triangle will be used and measurements made from where the curb should be.
(h) “Major alterations” means trimming a tree beyond necessary to comply with this chapter.
(i) “Shrubs” means any woody vegetation or woody plant having multiple stems and bearing foliage from the ground up.
(j) “Tree” means any woody plant, normally having one stem or stem or trunk bearing its foliage or crown well above ground level to heights of sixteen feet or more.
(k) “Topping” means the practice of cutting back large diameter branches of a mature tree to stubs. It is particularly destructive pruning practice. It is stressful to mature trees and may result in reduced vigor, decline or even death of the tree. In addition, new branches that form below the cuts are only weakly attached to the tree, and are in danger of splitting out. Topped trees require constant maintenance to prevent this from happening, and it is often impossible to restore the structure of the tree crown after topping.
(l) “Trimming” (pruning) shall be accomplished according to current technical specifications of the National Arbor Association and current safety specifications of the American National Standards for Tree Care Operation, ANSI Z133.1. All specifications and procedures are available from the Public Service Department.
(Ord. 1-1998. Passed 1-12-98.)