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(A) Annual inspection. The forester and/or tree inspector shall inspect, as often as necessary, all public and private places within the city to determine whether any of the conditions described in § 94.03 exists thereon. The forester and/or tree inspector shall investigate all reported incidents of infection or infestation by oak wilt fungus or any other epidemic disease of shade trees. The term PRIVATE PLACE means every place except private homes and buildings.
(B) Right of entry. The forester and/or tree inspector or the City Board’s duly authorized agents may enter upon all public and private places at any reasonable time for the purpose of carrying out any of the duties assigned herein. Before making any inspection on private property within the city, the forester and/or tree inspector shall give five days’ written notice of the inspection to all affected residents and property owners.
(C) Disease determination. Whenever possible, diagnosis shall be based upon accepted field symptoms. The forester and/or tree inspector may, upon finding indications of oak wilt, take such other steps as may be appropriate to confirm the diagnosis. These steps may include analysis of twig and stem samples from oak trees, or parts thereof, suspected of being infected, laboratory isolation, and confirmation of the presence of the fungi shall be done by the Department of Agriculture disease diagnosis laboratory or other laboratories capable of performing the services approved by the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture.
(Ord. 52, passed 7-18-1995)
It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent, delay, or interfere with the forester and/or tree inspector while engaged in the performance of duties set forth in this subchapter.
(Ord. 52, passed 7-18-1995) Penalty, see § 94.99
(A) If the forester and/or tree inspector finds with reasonable certainty that the infestation defined as a public nuisance herein exists in any tree or wood in any public or private place in the city, and that the danger of infestation of other oak trees is imminent, the forester and/or tree inspector shall notify the owner of the property on which such tree or wood is located by certified mail that the nuisance shall be abated within a specified time, not less than ten days from the date of mailing of the notice. The forester and/or tree inspector shall immediately report the action to the City Board. It shall be the obligation of the property owner to carry out the abatement procedures, within the time frames established by the forester and/or tree inspector, determined by the scope of the problem, physical limitations, and the like. After the expiration of the time set forth in the notice, the forester and/or tree inspector may abate the nuisance unless a request for a hearing has been filed as provided in division (B) below. The cost of the abatement, plus an administrative fee of $50, shall be assessed against the owner of the property involved or against the property itself.
(B) Any property owner who feels aggrieved by an order of the forester and/or tree inspector issued pursuant to division (A) above may request a hearing before the City Board. The request shall be filed with the City Clerk, in writing, within ten days after the date of the mailing of the notice by the forester and/or tree inspector. Upon receipt of the request, the matter shall be placed before the City Board at its next meeting. The City Clerk shall notify the property owner of the date, time, and place of the meeting. All actions by the forester and/or tree inspector shall be suspended until the hearing. The property owner may appear with counsel, if he or she so chooses, and present evidence in apposition to the order of the forester and/or tree inspector. Following the hearing, the City Board shall make a determination of the facts and shall, based upon the determination affirm, repeal, or modify the order of the forester and/or tree inspector. The City Board shall also establish a date for compliance of the order as affirmed or modified, which date shall be not less than five days thereafter. Upon expiration of the time limit, the forester and/or tree inspector may abate the nuisance.
(C) (1) To reduce the incidents of overland or long range spread of oak wilt fungus and to prevent oak wilt fungus from producing spores during the hazardous spring period, bark intact diseased material resulting from any tree that wilted from oak wilt in July or August of one year may be declared a nuisance, as defined in § 94.03, for the spring of the following year as determined by the forester and/or tree inspector. The hazardous spring period for overland or long range spread of oak wilt fungus shall be defined as April 15 to July 1.
(2) Any owner who has been notified by certified mail of any oak wood or tree material declared to be a public nuisance located on the person’s property may abate the diseased trees as described. The diseased tree may be used as fuel wood or be salvaged for other purposes. The wood must be debarked, dried, or else completely covered by heavy plastic, four mil or greater, from April 15 until July 1 of the year following the appearance of the oak wilt symptoms. After this time the wood or tree material will no longer be a public nuisance. Any branch greater than two inches in diameter of the red oak group determined to be hazardous and not to be salvaged shall be disposed of by burning, chipping, or removal to an authorized dump site prior to April 15 of the year following the appearance of the symptoms.
(3) Dead standing wood or tree material of the red oak group that has advanced beyond the potential for spore production need not be removed except where it constitutes a hazard to life and/or property. The forester and/or tree inspector shall determine this status in response to a resident’s complaint.
(4) Stumps of trees of the red oak group removed due to oak wilt shall be completely covered with a minimum of two inches of compacted soil, removed, or debarked to the ground line to eliminate all possibilities of spore formation and overland disease spread.
(5) The pruning of oaks shall be avoided during the most susceptible period of infection, April 15 to July l. If wounding is unavoidable during this period, as in the aftermath of a storm or when the tree interferes with utility lines, a tree wound dressing shall be applied immediately.
(D) If the forester and/or tree inspector finds a nuisance which has the potential of infestation via common root networks to abutting property, the property owner of the abutting property shall be notified of the existing nuisance and proper abatement procedures shall be conducted based on current technology and plans as may be designated by the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture.
(Ord. 52, passed 7-18-1995)
It shall be unlawful for any person to transport within the city any wood from the red oak group that is determined to be hazardous to the spread of oak wilt fungus, without having obtained a permit from the city forester and/or tree inspector. The forester and/or tree inspector shall grant a permit only when it does not interfere with the provisions of this subchapter.
(Ord. 52, passed 7-18-1995) Penalty, see § 94.99
FERTILIZER AND PESTICIDE APPLICATION
(A) No person, firm, corporation, or franchise shall engage in the business of commercial lawn fertilizer application within the city unless a license has been obtained from the City Administrator. A license fee shall be paid by the commercial lawn fertilizer applicator and a performance bond shall be submitted to the City Clerk.
(B) The commercial lawn fertilizer applicators shall permit the city to sample any commercial lawn fertilizer application to be applied within the city at any time after issuance of the initial license. The license shall be in the possession of the applicator or any employee thereof when making lawn fertilizer applications within the city. The licensee shall comply with the provisions of M.S. § 17.710, as it may be amended from time to time.
(C) Upon the city’s request, the property owner shall provide the city with samples of lawn fertilizer to be applied by the owner.
(D) Lawn fertilizer shall not be applied when the ground is frozen or between November 15 and April 15 of each year.
(E) No person, firm, corporation, or franchise shall apply liquid lawn fertilizer with excessive amounts of phosphate as described in the this section.
(F) All commercial or noncommercial applicators of pesticides shall post or affix warning signs to the property where the pesticides are applied of the kind and in the manner described in this section.
(Ord. 32, passed 2-20-1990)
No person, firm, corporation, or franchise shall apply liquid fertilizer within the city which contains more than 0.5% by weight of phosphate, expressed as P2
O
5, or granular fertilizer which contains more than 3% by weight of phosphate, expressed as P2
O
5, unless a single application is less than or equal to 0.05 pounds of phosphate, expressed as P2
O
5, per 1,000 square feet. Annual application amounts shall not exceed 0.10 pounds of phosphate, expressed as P2
O
5, per 1,000 square feet of lawn area.
(Ord. 33, passed 4-17-1990)
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