(a) “Authorized agent” means the Community Development Director.
(b) “Clearance pruning” means removing live branches that interfere with an existing structure, walkway or driveway, or approved parking space.
(c) “Community Development Director” means the Community Development Director or his or her designee.
(d) “Cutting” means the detaching or separating, from a protected tree, any limb, branch or root. Cutting shall include pruning.
(e) “Damage” means any action undertaken which causes injury, death, or disfigurement to a tree. This includes, but is not limited to, cutting, poisoning, overwatering, relocation or transplanting a protected tree, or trenching, excavating or paving within the protected zone of a tree.
(f) “Deadwood” means limbs, branches or a portion of a tree that contains no green leaves during a period of the year when they should be present.
(g) “Deadwooding” means removing all deadwood from a tree.
(h) “Dead tree” is a tree that exhibits no signs of life whatsoever (e.g. green leaves or live limbs) during a period of the year when they should be present and has been determined dead by an authorized agent of the City.
(i) “Dripline” shall mean the outermost edge of the tree's canopy. When depicted on a map, the dripline will appear as an irregular shaped circle that follows the contour of the tree's branches as seen from overhead.
(j) “Encroachment” means any intrusion or human activity within the protected zone of an oak tree including, but not limited to, pruning, grading, excavating, trenching, parking of vehicles, storage of materials or equipment, or the construction of structures or other improvements.
(k) “Ground plane improvements” are low profile improvements, such as paving stones, benches, and statuaries, that do not require attachments to an oak tree, the removal of live tissue, or any grading activity.
(l) “Hazardous oak tree” shall mean any oak tree determined to be dangerous to life or property as determined by an authorized agent of the City.
(m) “Multiple trunks” refers to trees that have more than one trunk growing from one root system. The aggregate total of the trunks shall equal one tree for purposes of this chapter.
(n) “Oak tree” shall mean any oak tree of the Genus Quercus including, but not limited to, Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) and Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia), regardless of size.
(o) “Oak tree permit” is an entitlement issued by the City authorizing specific work within the protected zone of an oak tree.
(p) “Oak Tree Preservation and Protection Guidelines” or “Guidelines” means the policy established by the City Council and the administrative procedures and rules established by the Community Development Director for implementing this chapter.
(q) “Person” means any person, partnership, firm, corporation, governmental agency or other legal entity.
(r) “Protected zone” shall mean a specifically defined area totally encompassing an oak tree within which work activities are strictly controlled. When depicted on a map, the outermost edge of the protected zone will appear as an irregular shaped circle that follows the contour of the dripline of the tree. Using the dripline as a point of reference, the protected zone shall commence at a point five (5') feet outside of the dripline and extend inward to the trunk of the tree. In no case shall the protected zone be less than fifteen (15') feet from the trunk of an oak tree.
(s) “Pruning” is any cutting performed upon any portion of an oak tree.
(t) “Removal” means the physical removal of a tree or causing the death of a tree through damaging, poisoning, or other direct or indirect action.
(u) “Routine maintenance” means actions needed for the continued good health of an oak tree, including, but not limited to, removal of deadwood, insect control spraying, watering, and clearance pruning as defined above.
(§ 1, Ord. 937-NS, eff. November 14, 1986, as amended by § 1, Ord. 1394-NS, eff. June 21, 2002, § 3, Ord. 1534-NS, eff. April 9, 2010, and Parts 3 and 5, Ord. 1610-NS, eff. January 15, 2016)