(a) Permit and Compliance Required.
(1) Where a lot of five (5) acres or more is to be cleared of trees for development, authorization to proceed through zoning compliance review shall be required prior to clearance.
(2) Such authorization shall be based on a demonstration of compliance with this section.
(3) Any permit issued hereunder shall be in effect for a period of one year from the date of issuance and may be extended, at the sole discretion of the Village Administrator, for an additional six (6) months upon written request by the applicant.
(b) Access. All logging roads created or utilized on the subject property and/or in connection with a commercial logging operation for the purpose of providing access to Village-maintained roads shall be subject to the approval of the Village Administrator and shall:
(1) Be designed to minimize damage to Village road surfaces and shoulders;
(2) Be designed to minimize damage and prevent blockage of any existing drainage systems; and
(3) Be designed to minimize the erosion of soils from the commercial logging operation site and roads, whether public or private, and existing drainage systems.
(c) Logging Routes. The Village Administrator shall have the authority to modify the truck route within the Village of any vehicles used in connection with a commercial logging operation if, in the sole reasonable discretion of the Village Administrator, the proposed truck route may create risks or hazards to the health, safety or welfare of the Village and its residents, or if the proposed route will create undue noise issues. Factors to be considered by the Village Administrator under this section include but are not limited to, the character of the roads, the zoning classification of the areas within the Village on the proposed route, and the proximity to residential neighborhoods or schools of the proposed route.
(d) Property Lines and Notification.
(1) The applicant shall be obligated to place temporary signs along each lot line where the clearing activities will take place. Such signs shall have a minimum sign area of six (6) square feet and a maximum sign area of eight square feet and shall state that the site is being cleared in accordance with the approved permit number.
(2) Such signs shall be posted every 400 feet, or a portion thereof, along the established lot lines. A minimum of one (1) sign must be posted along each lot line.
(3) The applicant shall be required to post the temporary signs not less than fourteen (14) days prior to the commencement of any clearing activities and may be removed after all clearing is completed.
(e) Post-Clearing Requirements.
(1) Where trees have been removed, all stumps shall be required to be removed and the site graded following the clearing activities.
(2) If development or construction activities do not commence within sixty (60) days of the completion of clearing the site, the site shall be seeded with grass seeds.
(f) Bond and Indemnity.
(1) Prior to the issuance of a permit hereunder, any contractor performing work within the Village in connection with a commercial logging operation must file with the Village Clerk/Treasurer a cash or surety bond in a form approved by the Solicitor of the Village in favor of the Village in the amount specified below based on the total acreage to be subject to the commercial logging operation:
A. Up to ten (10) acres: A bond for twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00).
B. Over ten (10) acres: A bond for twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) plus 2,000 additional dollars for each additional acre, or majority fraction of each additional acre, over the first ten (10) acres.
(2) Any contractor performing work within the Village in connection with a commercial logging operation shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Village from any and all damages resulting from such commercial logging operation, including but not limited to any damage resulting to any road, right-of-way, ditch, bridge, stormwater management system, or other infrastructure or property within the Village.
(3) Within thirty (30) days following the completion of the commercial logging operation, contractor(s) shall remove and properly dispose of stumps, roots, treetops, sawdust, and other refuse, debris, or material created as a result of the commercial logging operation and shall restore any right-of-way utilized in the commercial logging operation to its original condition.
(4) The bond may be released by the Village provided that all corrections, clean-up, repairs, improvements, and damages have been made and/or addressed to completion within the time limits stated herein.
(5) In the event that such contractor fails to clean up, repair, improve or correct any damages within thirty (30) days after completion of the commercial logging operation or within thirty (30) days from receipt of written notice from the Village to do so, whichever first occurs, the Village may correct such damage or conduct such repair, improvement, clean-up, and disposal.
(6) All costs and damages to the Village for the corrective work, clean-up work, repair work, improvement work, or disposal work shall be the responsibility of the contractor and/or the owner, and the contractor and/or owner shall reimburse the Village within thirty (30) days of receipt of a bill from the Village for such corrective work, clean-up work, repair work, improvement work or disposal work.
(7) The Village shall have the right to use the bond as an offset to the costs of the corrective work, clean-up work, repair work, improvement work, or disposal work, and if the costs exceed the value of the bond, the applicant/owner and/or contractor shall be responsible for the deficient balance, which shall be immediately due and owing.
(g) Display of Permit. It shall be the duty and obligation of the landowner to display the permit issued hereunder in a conspicuous location at the site of the driveway to the subject property.
(h) Warning Signs. Any firm, contractor, corporation, partnership, business entity, or individual operating within the right-of-way in connection with any commercial logging operation shall be required to post warning signs at least 500 feet in all appropriate directions to adequately warn and notify any oncoming vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
(i) Removal or Logging by or on behalf of Public Utilities. Even though a public utility shall not be required to obtain a permit hereunder, any public utility shall nevertheless have the following obligations with respect to any removal of trees or branches and/or logging performed by or on behalf of any such public utility:
(1) In connection with any removal or logging by or on behalf of a public utility, all ruts and depressions caused by any work must be eliminated, and no standing water shall be permitted as a result of any clearing, removal, or logging. All disturbed areas shall be re-seeded within one year of the completion of any removal or clearing or logging, and/or any work regulated by this section.
(2) In connection with any removal, clearing, or logging by or on behalf of a public utility, all temporary drives and temporary drive pipes must be removed after completion of any such removal, clearing, or logging and/or any work regulated by this section.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)