(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any public service corporation serving the City or its inhabitants, which desires, in connection with its business, to cut, trim, prune, fasten attachments to or otherwise use or make any changes in trees on the public grounds of the City shall, before proceeding to do so, endeavor to obtain the written consent of all abutting property owners. To the extent that such consents are obtained, the consent of the City to the proposed alterations shall not be required. If, after diligent effort by such corporation, the owner of an abutting property cannot be found in the City, and if, in any case, the consent of the property owner to the proposed alterations is withheld, then application for consent to the proposed alterations shall, before proceeding with the same, be made to the City, which shall make a final determination as to whether or not, to what extent and in what manner the alterations desired may be made. If the owner of any abutting property is not found within the City, but an agent for the owner in charge of the property is found within the City, application must be made by the corporation to such agent for the consent required by this section, and the consent of the agent shall be equivalent to the consent of the owner. All acts authorized in this chapter shall be performed by competent persons with due care so as to do as little damage to trees and other property of the City and abutting owners as is reasonably possible, and all such work in front of each abutting property shall be completed and all debris caused thereby shall be removed within forty-eight hours of the time of commencement of the work. All such work shall be at the expense of the corporation desiring the work done, and any damage to the street or abutting property and any damage to trees due to unskillful work shall be paid for by the corporation to the City or other person entitled thereto.
(b) Contractors performing work within the City's Right of Way (ROW) are required to submit a set of plans to the City's Building Department or Planning Commission, that include the plan for refurbishment of City's Tree Lawn, including landscaping. The plans will require contractors to replant any tree(s) that were removed for as part of their work in accordance with the City's Shade Tree Management Plan and in conjunction with the City's Arborist
(Ord. 2016-016. Passed 2-1-16.)