Chapter 12.20
TREES WITHIN RIGHTS-OF-WAY
Sections:
12.20.030 Planting or removal of trees and shrubs.
12.20.040 Trees, shrubs to conform.
12.20.060 Authority to remove trees, shrubs.
12.20.070 Trees, shrubs a nuisance.
12.20.010 Title.
This chapter shall hereafter be referred to and cited as the “street tree ordinance” of the City of Monmouth, Oregon. (Ord. 541, § 1. Code 1983 § 33.110.)
12.20.020 Enforcement.
The City Manager or his duly authorized representative shall be charged with the enforcement of this chapter. (Ord. 541, § 2. Code 1983 § 33.120.)
12.20.030 Planting or removal of trees and shrubs.
No trees or shrubs shall hereafter be planted in or removed from any public parking strip or other public place in the City without permission from the City Manager. (Ord. 541, § 3. Code 1983 § 33.130.)
12.20.040 Trees, shrubs to conform.
All trees and shrubs hereafter planted in any public parking strip or other public place in the City shall conform as to species and location to the street tree plan if any may exist or to any future street plan which may be prepared for a specified area. (Ord. 541, § 4. Code 1983 § 33.140.)
12.20.050 Prohibited species.
(1) It shall be unlawful to plant in any public parking strip the following trees: poplar, willow, conifer, native western maple, cottonwood, fruit trees, nut trees and ailanthus.
(2) It shall be unlawful to plant willow, cottonwood, or poplar trees anywhere in the City unless the City Manager approved the site as one where the tree roots will not interfere with a public sewer. (Ord. 541, § 5. Code 1983 § 33.150.)
12.20.060 Authority to remove trees, shrubs.
The City Manager or his duly authorized representative may cause to be trimmed, pruned, or removed any trees, shrubs, plants, or vegetation in any parking strip or other public place, or may require any property owner to trim, prune, or remove any trees, shrubs, plants or vegetation in a parking strip abutting upon said owner’s property, and failure to comply therewith, after 30 days’ notice by the Recorder, shall be deemed a violation of this chapter. (Ord. 541, § 6. Code 1983 § 33.160.)
12.20.070 Trees, shrubs a nuisance.
Any tree or shrub growing in a parking strip or in any public place, or on private property, which is endangering or which in any way may endanger the security or usefulness of any public street, sewer, sidewalk, or electric utility service equipment, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance, and the City may remove or trim such tree or shrub, or may require the property owner to remove or trim any such tree or shrub on private property or in a parking strip abutting upon said owner’s property. Failure of the property owner to remove or trim any such tree or shrub after 30 days’ notice by the Recorder shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and the City Manager may then remove or trim said tree or shrub and assess the costs against the property. (Ord. 541, § 7; amended by Ord. 948, § 1, Aug. 7, 1984. Code 1983 § 33.170.)
12.20.080 Appeal of order.
Appeals from orders made hereunder may be made by filing written notice thereof with the Recorder within 10 days after such order is received, stating in substance that appeal is being made from such order to the City Council. The Recorder shall thereupon call such appeal to the attention of the City Council at the next regular succeeding meeting, at which meeting the appellant and the City Manager may present evidence. Action taken by the City Council after such hearing shall be conclusive. (Ord. 541, § 8. Code 1983 § 33.180.)
12.20.090 Damage prohibited.
It shall be a violation of this chapter to abuse, destroy, or mutilate any tree, shrub, or plant in a public parking strip or any other public place, or to attach or place any rope or wire (other than one used to support a young or broken tree), sign, poster, handbill, or other thing to or on any tree growing in a public place, or to cause or permit any wire charged with electricity to come in contact with any such tree, or to allow any gaseous, liquid, or solid substance which is harmful to such trees to come in contact with their roots or leaves. (Ord. 541, § 9. Code 1983 § 33.190.)
12.20.100 Penalty.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of not to exceed $250.00. (Ord. 541, § 10; amended by Ord. 1046, § 6, Dec. 10, 1991. Code 1983 § 33.195.)