For the purpose of this chapter, the words and phrases defined herein shall have the meanings therein respectively ascribed to them unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context.
(a) "Basal area" means the cross-sectional area of a tree stem in square feet inclusive of bark. It is measured at breast height (4.5 feet). The basal area of a forest stand is the sum of the basal areas of individual trees. It is usually expressed as basal area per acre.
(b) "Building Inspector" includes authorized employees appointed to perform specific duties of the Division of Engineering and Building Inspection, in the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
(c) "Canopy" means the upper level of a forest, consisting of branches and leaves of taller trees. A canopy is complete (or has one hundred percent (100%) cover) when the ground is hidden from above.
(d) "City Engineer" means a professional engineer employed by the City or any consultant designated by the City to perform the duties of the City Engineer.
(e) "Clear cutting" means felling substantially all trees in a stand or portion thereof.
(f) "Commercial timber production" means the cultivation, cutting, and removal of trees for sale or for processing into wood products such as lumber, veneer, paper and wafer board.
(g) "Diameter at breast height (DBH)" means tree diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground as measured from the uphill side of the tree.
(h) "Felling" means the act of cutting a standing tree so that it falls to the ground.
(i) "Forestry" means managing and using for human benefit forest lands and natural resources that occur on and in association with forest lands, including trees, other plants, animals, soil and water. It includes, but is not limited to, the planting, cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and selling of trees for commercial purposes.
(j) "Forest practice" means any activity conducted on or directly pertaining to forest land that is related to planting, growing, cultivating, harvesting, or processing timber, including but not limited to:
(1) Road and skid trail construction;
(2) Harvesting, both intermediate and final;
(3) Precommercial timber stand improvement;
(4) Regeneration, both natural and artificial;
(5) Prevention and suppression of diseases and insects;
(6) Salvage of trees; and
(7) Control of competing vegetation.
(k) "Forest technician" means a person who has an associate degree in forestry from a school of forestry accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
(l) "Intermittent stream" means a stream having a continuous bed and banks in which water flow normally occurs in the wetter parts of the year (October through April) or following major storm events.
(m) "Land use change" means the conversion of forest land from forestry uses to residential, commercial, industrial, or other uses that are inconsistent with long-term management of the land for commercial timber production.
(n) "Landing" means a place where logs, pulpwood, or firewood is assembled for transportation to processing facilities.
(o) "Litter" means discarded items not naturally occurring on the site such as tires, oil cans, equipment parts, and other rubbish.
(p) "Lop" means to cut tops and slash into smaller pieces to allow the material to settle close to the ground.
(q) "Operator" means an individual, partnership, company, firm, association, or corporation engaged in timber harvesting, including the agents, subcontractors, and employees thereof.
(r) "Landowner" means an individual, partnership, company, firm, association, or corporation that is in actual control of forest land, whether such control is based on legal or equitable title, or on any other interest entitling the holder to sell or otherwise dispose of any or all of the timber on such land in any manner, and any agents thereof acting on their behalf, such as forestry consultants, who set up and administer timber harvesting.
(s) "Permanent stream" means a stream having a continuous bed and banks in which water flow normally occurs year-round.
(t) "Precommercial timber stand improvement" means a forest practice, such as thinning or pruning, which results in better growth, structure, species composition, or health for the residual stand but which does not yield a net income to the landowner, usually because any trees cut are of poor quality, too small or otherwise of limited marketability or value.
(u) "Professional forester" means a person who has a Bachelor of Science or higher degree from a school of forestry accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
(v) "Site" means any lot or parcel of land or contiguous combination thereof.
(w) "Skidding" means dragging trees on the ground from the stump to the landing by any means.
(x) "Slash" means woody debris left in the woods after logging, including logs, chunks, bark, branches, uprooted stumps, and broken or uprooted trees or shrubs.
(y) "Stand" means any area of forest vegetation whose site conditions, past history, and current species composition are sufficiently uniform to be managed as a unit.
(z) "Stand prescription" means a description of the forest management treatments to be applied to a stand to achieve stated management objectives, how they will be applied, and the desired residual stand.
(aa) "Stewardship" means the wise management and use of forest resources to ensure their health and productivity for future generations.
(bb) "Stream" means a body of water running or flowing on the earth's surface, or channel in which such flow occurs. Flow may be permanent or intermittent.
(cc) "Timber harvesting, tree harvesting, or logging" means the process of cutting down trees and removing logs from the forest for the primary purpose of sale or commercial processing into wood products.
(dd) "Top" means the upper portion of a felled tree that is unmerchantable because of small size, taper, or defect.
(ee) "Wetland" means marsh, swamp, bog or other lands containing high levels of soil moisture and related species of plant or animal life.
(Ord. 1997-32. Passed 6-17-97.)