Chapter 12.16
TREES
Sections:
12.16.040 Plan administration.
12.16.050 Authority of director of public works.
12.16.080 Abusing or mutilating trees prohibited.
12.16.090 Open ground maintenance.
12.16.100 Interference with director of public works prohibited.
12.16.110 Building construction necessitating altering or removing tree—Permit and deposit required.
12.16.120 Private tree maintenance—Failure a nuisance—Notice.
12.16.130 Planting in new subdivisions—Plan and deposit submission.
12.16.140 Public utilities may trim without permit.
12.16.150 Changing the variety of approved trees—Procedure.
12.16.160 Liability of property owner.
12.16.165 Responsibility of property owner or occupant.
12.16.170 Appeal from decision.
12.16.180 Penalty for violations—Civil action.
12.16.010 Title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Street Tree Ordinance of the city of Patterson.” (Ord. 161 § 1, 1959).
12.16.020 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter the following terms, phrases, and words shall have the meaning given herein:
A. “Approved trees” means trees planted and growing in accordance with the street tree plan, both as to variety and location. All other street trees shall be known as “nonconforming trees.”
B. “Permit” means a written or printed authorization issued by the director of public works.
C. “Person” means any person, persons, firm or corporation.
D. “Street trees” means all trees planted or growing within public rights-of-way, public easements, streets, parking strips, roads and ways within the city. The locations herein referred to shall be known as “street tree areas.”
E. “Director” means the director of public works or his/her designee. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 2, 1959).
12.16.030 Street tree plan.
A. It shall be the duty of the city planning commission to prepare and adopt a street tree plan for the city, specifying a list of approved street trees, a uniform method of street tree planning, and designating certain streets or blocks of certain specimens of tree or trees.
B. The plan shall be submitted to the city council and after adoption of the plan, as submitted or modified, in accordance with law it shall become the street tree plan of the city. (Ord. 161 § 3, 1959).
12.16.040 Plan administration.
It shall be the duty of the director to administer, control and regulate the street tree program of the city in accordance with the provisions of the street tree plan and of this chapter. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 4, 1959).
12.16.050 Authority of street superintendent.
The director shall have the authority to prune, trim, clip, spray, maintain and care for the street trees, or private trees to the extent that they overhang or project within public rights-of-way, or public roads of the city, as needed, to remove or require the removal by the owner of the adjoining property of diseased or dead trees, and encourage planting of approved trees throughout the city. The Director shall also have the authority to deviate from the designated tree for each block if circumstances warrant Street tree removals shall be done in accordance with the street tree removal policy approved by the city council. Street tree pruning shall be done in accordance with the street tree pruning policy approved by the city council. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 5, 1959).
12.16.060 Planting generally.
No street tree shall hereafter be planted except in accordance with the street tree plan and the provisions of this chapter. Existing, non-conforming street trees will be removed and replaced with an approved tree by the city at the property owner’s request. However, if the request is to keep the tree, it will only be pruned, treated or otherwise maintained by the city with the same frequency as the approved street frees on the same block. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 6, 1959).
12.16.070 Permits required.
A. No person shall plant or remove or prune any street tree without first obtaining a permit from the director. Said permit shall be issued only for work to be done in compliance with the street tree plan and this chapter, and shall be issued with a fee set by city council resolution. All work done pursuant to a permit shall be done under a supervision of the director. Whenever any street tree, whether approved or nonconforming is removed or needs replacing, it must be replaced with a tree approved for that specific street tree area. It shall he the city’s policy that each interior residential lot shall have at least one approved city street tree and that each corner residential lot have at least three approved street trees. The director shall have the authority to approve a greater or fewer number of trees per lot depending on the circumstances. Except as otherwise provided in this section, within the limits of funds provided in the city budget, the city will supply, replace, plant, prune and maintain all street trees.
B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the director shall issue to any person doing business as a public utility, subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission and holding a valid franchise, a permit which shall authorize the cutting or removal of trees necessary for the safety and proper maintenance of said utilities service pursuant to the orders, rules and regulations of said California Public Utilities Commission. Such a permit, unless renewed, shall expire at the end of one year after the date of issuance, or it may be revoked for good cause. Even with a valid permit, utilities are prohibited from topping street trees. Directional pruning or other ISA-approved methods are allowed. The city’s specific pruning guidelines are contained in the city’s pruning policy. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 278 § 1, 1977: Ord. 161 § 7, 1959).
12.16.080 Abusing or mutilating trees prohibited.
No person shall abuse, destroy, mutilate or fail to water any street tree; Topping, severe pruning, or other inappropriate pruning techniques shall be considered mutilation. Directional pruning or other ISA-approved methods are allowed. Notwithstanding the penalty of violations described elsewhere in this section, any person who abuses or mutilates a street tree to the extent that it must be removed and replaced, shall, at their expense, remove and replace the tree to city standards. Failure to replace said tree within a reasonable time after notification by the city shall be considered a refusal. At that time the city shall replace the tree with property owner to be responsible for tree replacement and all associated costs. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 8, 1959).
12.16.090 Open ground maintenance.
No person shall place or maintain any stone, cement, or other substance so that it shall impede the free access of water or air to the roots of any street tree; not less than twelve square feet of open ground shall be left and maintained around every street tree. (Ord. 161 § 9, 1959).
12.16.100 Interference with street superintendent prohibited.
No person shall in any way interfere with the director or other city employees or city contractors while they are lawfully engaged in planting, mulching, pruning, trimming, spraying, treating or removing any street tree, or in removing any stone, cement or other substance from about the trunk of any street tree. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 10, 1959).
12.16.110 Building construction necessitating altering or removing tree—Permit and deposit required.
When the erection, repair, alteration or removal of any building, house or structure necessitates the trimming, pruning, or removal of any street tree, such trimming, pruning or removal shall be done only after written permit issued by the director and at the expense of the applicant. As a condition to granting a permit, under this section, for the removal of a tree, the director shall collect a deposit from the applicant sufficient to defray the cost of replacing the removed tree with an approved tree in conformance with the street tree plan. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 11, 1959).
12.16.120 Private tree maintenance—Failure a nuisance—Notice.
No person shall allow or maintain any tree on private property to become a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic by obstructing vision or impairing necessary clearance, or in any manner endangering the security or usefulness of any public street, sewer, sidewalk, or other public property. Any such private tree allowed or maintained contrary to the provisions of this section is a public nuisance; upon a determination by the director that such private tree constitutes a nuisance, he shall give written notice to the owner of the property upon which said nuisance exists to trim, remove, or otherwise control such tree in such a manner as will abate such nuisance. Failure to comply with such written notice within ten days thereafter, is a violation of this section. Such written notice may be given by a personal service of a copy thereof, or by placing a copy of the notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the owner of the property as shown by the last assessment roll of the city. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 12, 1959).
12.16.130 Planting in new subdivisions—Plan and deposit submission.
A. With or before the filing of any final map of any new subdivision, the subdivider shall either file with the planning commission a proposed plan of street tree planting showing the location and variety of trees proposed to be planted in the subdivision, or shall request the planning commission to designate the type and location of street trees for such subdivision and file same with the city council before approval of the final subdivision map.
B. Subdivides are required to deposit a sum, to be determined by the planning commission, sufficient to cover the cost of the number and variety of trees needed as determined by the planning commission for planting street trees within their subdivisions. Prior to the approval of the final subdivision map, the deposit shall have been either paid or guaranteed by the subdivider’s bond. After planting, and after the expiration of the warranty period provided by the subdivider, the city shall maintain said street trees. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 559 § 1, 1996; Ord. 396, 1986: Ord. 161 § 13, 1959).
12.16.140 Public utilities may trim without permit.
Public utilities providing gas, water, electric, telephone or telegraph service to residents of the city may, in those emergency cases where street trees are interrupting the service, trim or remove branches of the trees only to the extent necessary to restore the service without first securing a permit. However, once the emergency situation has been corrected, the public utility must finish the trimming through the use of directional pruning, v-pruning or other approved methods to leave the tree with a correct structure and a balanced shape. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 14, 1959).
12.16.150 Changing the variety of approved trees—Procedure.
A. In case, in any part of the city any approved trees should at any time become subject to pests or otherwise unsuitable as street trees, the owners of not less than fifty percent of the front footage on any block and not less than fifty percent of the frontage of the block facing the same on the opposite side of the street may apply to the planning commission for change in the variety of approved trees on such block. “Block” means the block fronting on any street between cross streets. The planning commission shall give at least ten days’ notice of hearing such application to the owners of lands on the block to be affected by such proposed change, by mail addressed to them at the address shown on the current assessment roll, and shall publish a notice of the hearing at least once in a newspaper published in the city. At the hearing the planning commission shall hear the evidence presented and shall take into consideration the effect of the change on the general tree planting program of the city.
B. Any person dissatisfied with the decision of the planning commission may appeal the same to the city council within ten days after notice of such decision. The city council shall consider such appeal at its next regular meeting or at such time as it may be continued, and its decision shall be final. In like manner, and upon like notice, and with similar right of appeal, the planning commission may at its own motion consider and make changes in the street tree plan, and shall determine the type and location of street trees to be planted along any new street that may be opened in the city, and in such a case shall give the notice and be subject to appeal as above set forth. (Ord. 161 § 15, 1959).
12.16.160 Liability of property owner.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to impose any liability upon the city, its officers or employees, nor to relieve the owner of any private property from the duty to keep any tree, shrub, or plant upon any street tree area on his property or under his control in such condition as to prevent it from constituting a hazard or an impediment to travel or vision upon any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place within the city. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 18, 1959).
12.16.165 Responsibility of property owner or occupant.
The property owner or occupant, as the case may be, shall be responsible for watering street trees located in rights-of-way or easements abutting the property. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004).
12.16.170 Appeal from decision.
Any person dissatisfied with any order of the director may appeal therefrom to the city council by filing a written notice of appeal with the director not more than five days after the date of such order. The appeal shall be considered at the next regular meeting of the city council and its decision shall be final. The acts of the director or ordinary trimming and maintenance of street trees are not subject to appeal. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 19, 1959).
12.16.180 Penalty for violations—Civil action.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of an infraction punishable by a warning on the first offense, a fine of fifty dollars on the second offense, and a fine of one hundred dollars on the third offense.
Where any work is done or materials purchased by the city in performing any of the acts required by this chapter after failure of the owner or occupant of the abutting property to do so upon demand, the cost thereof may be recovered from such owner or occupant by civil action. The bringing of such action shall not prevent a criminal prosecution for the same act or omission. (Ord. 659 (part), 2004; Ord. 161 § 20, 1959).