A. It is unlawful for any person to cut, trim, or otherwise mutilate any shade or ornamental tree on any street, parking, or other public place in the City for the purpose of stringing wires or cables along or across the street, parking, or other public place without first obtaining a permit from the City Clerk, which shall be approved by the City Manager or his designee. The trimming shall be under the control and supervision of the City Manager or his designee.
B. Any employee of a telephone, telegraph, or other telecommunications company or electric company operating in this City and using any of the streets and alleys of this City for the erection and maintenance of their lines, poles, and wires who shall willfully, negligently, unnecessarily, or without due regard to the rights of owners of abutting property injure, destroy, maim, cut the branches from, climb with climbing irons or otherwise, or in any manner disfigure or debark any shade or ornamental tree growing upon or along any of the streets or alleys of this City shall be deemed guilty of an offense.
C. Any manager, owner, supervisor, or other person having the control or management of any such telephone, telegraph, telecommunications company, or electric company who shall order, advise, or counsel any person in the employ or under the control and authority of such company to violate any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of an offense.
D. It shall be a sufficient defense, in any prosecution under this section, for the person accused to prove that it was necessary to climb, cut branches from, or otherwise injure such tree in order to prevent great injury to the tree, to disentangle wire, or to perform any other imperative duty, and that he did only so much as was necessary, in as careful a manner and causing as little injury as was possible under the circumstances; provided, however, that such necessity arose by reason of the presence of the trees. It shall be no defense to show that the trees were used as a matter of convenience or expediency, where, were the trees not present, other methods would have to be provided to attain the same end.
(Code 1991, § 14-116)