Chapter 12.28
STREET TREES
Sections:
12.28.030 Power and authority.
12.28.040 Urban forestry advisory board – Powers and duties.
12.28.050 Tree planting on public property.
12.28.060 Tree maintenance on public and private property.
12.28.070 Violation – Penalty.
12.28.090 City maintenance responsibility list for street trees, park trees, historical trees.
12.28.010 Intent.
It is the intent of the council to provide for the planting, maintenance, and removal of trees in the public rights-of-way and on city-owned property, including those trees that might affect said property, and to encourage the preservation of trees on private property where new development is planned. The council finds that trees have substantial positive benefits, such as improving the environmental, economic, social, and aesthetic well-being of the community. (Ord. 2703 § 1, 1995).
12.28.020 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following definitions:
A. “Major pruning” means trimming or cutting out of branches two inches in diameter or greater, root pruning, or trimming or cutting out of branches and limbs constituting greater than 10 percent of the tree’s foliage bearing area, and conducted in a manner that retains the natural form of the tree.
B. “Other vegetation” means trees, bushes, shrubs, grasses, or other plant material on or encroaching upon improved rights-of-way.
C. “Planting strip” means that portion of an improved street right-of-way not used for transportation and thus available for the purpose of planting and maintaining trees and other vegetation.
D. “Small tree” means any mature tree which would reach a maximum height no greater than 25 feet and/or maximum spread of 25 feet.
E. “Street tree” means any tree which is located upon property within the right-of-way in the city of Mount Vernon.
F. “Topping” means the cutting back of large limbs to stubs within the crown of the tree. (Ord. 2703 § 2, 1995).
12.28.030 Power and authority.
A. The city shall have the exclusive power and authority over the planting, care, and removal of trees and vegetation within all city rights-of-way, parks, and public properties as necessary to insure public safety or to preserve and enhance the quality and beauty of such areas.
B. The Mount Vernon department of parks and recreation (parks department) shall oversee the planting, care, and removal of trees listed on the city maintenance responsibility list. The parks department may plant trees or promote and support the planting of trees in these and other areas. They shall maintain trees planted by the department and remove, or cause to be removed, any tree, or part thereof, which is in an unsafe condition, or which, by its nature, is disruptive of utilities or public improvements or is infected with any significant disease or insect pest, which may be located on any or near city property and rights-of-way. (Ord. 2703 § 3, 1995).
12.28.040 Urban forestry advisory board – Powers and duties.
There is hereby established an urban forestry advisory board (UFAB) for the city of Mount Vernon, consisting of a minimum of five members, appointed by the mayor, which may include any number of interested citizens, including representatives of the parks commission, planning commission, business community, school district, electric utilities, and neighborhoods. The board shall choose its own officers, make its own rules and regulations consistent with principals of due process and open government, and keep a record of its own proceedings. A majority of its members shall be a quorum for the transaction of business. The UFAB shall have the following responsibilities:
A. To develop a written plan and make recommendations for the care, preservation, planting, removal, and disposition of trees and shrubs in parks, public property, and rights-of-way;
B. To develop procedures to encourage the preservation of existing trees on public, as well as private, property;
C. To hear and determine appeals brought pursuant to MVMC 12.28.080; and
D. To perform such other tasks as may from time to time be directed by the mayor or city council. (Ord. 2703 § 4, 1995).
12.28.050 Tree planting on public property.
In addition to any requirements set forth in Chapter 17.93 MVMC, the following rules shall apply to any planting allowed to occur on public property:
A. Tree planting methods shall be in accordance with the standards and specifications as developed by the tree board and the department of parks and recreation.
B. Species for new tree planting for rights-of-way shall be selected from a list of recommended species. The list will be updated periodically and added to as approved by the director of the parks department. Only small trees as defined in this code shall be planted under or within 10 feet of any overhead utility wire.
C. New tree planting on city right-of-way shall be allowed by permit only to ensure proper selection and placement of the right tree. The purpose is to enhance aesthetic continuity and minimize right-of-way maintenance. There shall be no fee for such permit.
D. Planting Plan Required. A tree planting plan shall accompany each permit consisting of:
1. Site plan;
2. All proposed and existing tree species drawn on plan;
3. The size of each tree and the distance between each other and other features such as buildings, curbs, sidewalks, and power lines.
E. The owner of real property for which tree planting was required to satisfy the landscape ordinance (Chapter 17.93 MVMC) shall be responsible for maintenance of such trees and shall replace dead or diseased trees as soon as feasible, given considerations of the health of the replacement trees. Failure to maintain or replace such trees, as required by this section, shall be considered a violation and subject to the penalties described in MVMC 12.28.070. (Ord. 2703 § 5, 1995).
12.28.060 Tree maintenance on public and private property.
A. The parks department shall maintain all trees on the city maintenance responsibility list established pursuant to MVMC 12.28.090.
B. The abutting property owner shall maintain street trees and other vegetation located on planting strips adjacent to streets not listed in the city maintenance responsibility list. The abutting property owner is also responsible for the maintenance of vegetation other than street trees adjacent to streets which are on the city maintenance responsibility list. The abutting property owner shall maintain trees and other vegetation on unimproved rights-of-way.
C. No person shall perform major pruning or remove trees in planting strips, improved rights-of-way, or other public places without written permission from the director of the parks department. The director shall determine if the requested action or treatment is necessary and that the proposed method and workmanship are satisfactory.
D. Tree topping shall be unlawful as a normal practice on city property and highly discouraged on private property. Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes, or certain trees under utility wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical, may be exempted from this chapter as determined by the director.
E. The city shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased trees on private property within the city when such trees constitute a hazard to life and property or harbor significant infestations of insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees within the city. (Ord. 2703 § 6, 1995).
12.28.070 Violation – Penalty.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter or any terms or conditions of any permit issued hereunder shall be subject to the enforcement provisions contained in MVMC Title 19, Code Enforcement, as it is currently written or as it may be amended in the future.
In addition, such person shall be required to pay restitution in an amount equal to the replacement value of the trees and/or vegetation damaged as determined by the latest revision of the “Valuation of Landscape Tree, Shrubs, and Other Plants,” as published by the International Society of Arboriculture. (Ord. 3600 § 14, 2013).
12.28.080 Appeal.
A. Any person aggrieved or affected by any decision relating to the application of these regulations may appeal to the UFAB for relief or reconsideration. The appeal must be made in writing and filed within 30 days of the date the appellant received notice of the decision, by delivery to the office of the finance director for the city. The UFAB shall make a tape recording of such appeal and shall retain the originals (or copies, in the discretion of the UFAB) of any exhibits or items of evidence admitted. The decision of the UFAB may be in writing or on the tape recording of the proceedings and shall set forth the basis of the decision.
B. The determination of the UFAB may be further appealed to the city council. The appeal of the UFAB determination must be made in writing and filed within 10 days of the date the appellant received notice of the decision, by delivery to the office of the finance director for the city. Such appeal shall be made on the basis of the record made during the appeal to the UFAB and no new evidence shall be admitted.
C. Appeals shall only be granted for errors of interpretation, or where the unique natural features of the site are such that application of these regulations would create an undue hardship to the property owner, or in other instances where an undue hardship is created for the owner of the property, or in cases where application of the regulations may result in an unconstitutional taking of property without compensation. (Ord. 2703 § 8, 1995).
12.28.090 City maintenance responsibility list for street trees, park trees, historical trees.
A. There shall be maintained in the office of the parks director, and available for public inspection and copying, a city maintenance responsibility list for street trees, park trees and historical trees. This list shall be as set forth below, but may be amended at any time by the director of the parks department, with the concurrence of the mayor.
B. Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation Department.
1. All trees on designated park property (city-owned).
2. City council designated historical trees, i.e., City Hall parking lot, historical trees in city rights-of-way.
3. Any tree that the Mount Vernon parks and recreation department has planted in the interest of the city.
4. Any tree or vegetation which impedes vehicle or pedestrian traffic or obstructs the vision of vehicles or pedestrians in a right-of-way (safety concerns).
5. Trees along the following rights-of-way or in the following areas:
a. College Way;
b. Riverside Drive;
c. South Second Street;
d. I-5 Interchanges – Kincaid and College Way;
e. City Hall Campus Areas;
f. 1st Street (downtown area);
g. City Shop Complex (perimeter);
h. First and Division area;
i. The property located at 1015 South Second;
j. Triangle areas (Blackburn and Second);
k. City Barn. (Ord. 2703 § 9, 1995).