Chapter 8.20
OBSTRUCTING OR HAZARDOUS VEGETATION1
Sections:
8.20.020 Permission to plant trees.
8.20.030 Public nuisance on streets – Prohibited.
8.20.050 Removal or abatement of nuisance.
8.20.060 Notice of resolution to abate nuisance.
8.20.070 Abuse or mutilation of trees.
8.20.080 Abatement of nuisance and lien therefor.
8.20.010 Enforcing authority.
The street superintendent or his authorized representative shall be charged with the enforcement of this chapter. (Ord. 314 § 1, 1960).
8.20.020 Permission to plant trees.
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 street superintendent. (Ord. 314 § 2, 1960).
8.20.030 Public nuisance on streets – Prohibited.
Trees, shrubs, or vegetation or parts thereof which so overhang any sidewalk or street, or which are growing thereon in such manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of the sidewalk or street by the public, are public nuisances. Grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, or vegetation growing or which has grown and died and which may still be growing upon any property and are a fire hazard or a refuge and haven for rodents and similar disease-carrying animals or in any manner a menace to public health, safety, or welfare are likewise public nuisances. It is the duty of the owner of the property therein or whereon any such nuisances exist to abate the nuisances by destroying, removing, or trimming the growth. (Ord. 314 § 3, 1960).
8.20.040 Prohibited trees.
It is unlawful to plant in any public parking strip the following trees: poplar, willow, cottonwood, fruit trees (except ornamental types), nut trees, ailanthus, mountain ash, and Oregon or big-leafed maple, or any other tree the roots of which cause injury to the sewers, sidewalks or pavements, or which breed disease dangerous to other trees or to the public health. No tree shall be planted within two feet of any sidewalk or pavement, and poplar, willow, American elm, or cottonwood trees hereafter planted anywhere in the city must be placed at least 100 feet away from public sewers. (Ord. 314 § 4, 1960).
8.20.050 Removal or abatement of nuisance.
The street superintendent shall enforce this chapter and if any property owner fails or refuses to abate any such nuisance as contemplated by PMC 8.20.030, the city council may, after report filed by the street superintendent, by resolution require such property owner, in addition or alternative to the penalties prescribed by PMC 1.16.010, to abate the nuisance by removal or destruction, at his cost and expense within a time specified in the resolution; and if the removal or destruction is not made by such owner within the time specified, the street superintendent may abate the same as provided in PMC 8.20.080. (Ord. 314 § 5, 1960).
8.20.060 Notice of resolution to abate nuisance.
The resolution mentioned in PMC 8.20.050 shall not be passed until the property owner is given at least 10 days’ notice of the pendency of the proposed resolution; such notice shall be given by the street superintendent mailing a copy of the notice to the owner as shown upon the records of the county treasurer and at the address shown thereon; and if no owner and address is shown on such reports, a copy of the notice shall be posted upon the property, and shall also be published in one issue of the official newspaper. The mailing, posting, and publication shall be made at least five days before the resolution is adopted and proof shall be made by the affidavit of the street superintendent filed with the city clerk. The notice shall include the resolution number and both shall describe the property involved and the nature of the hazardous condition constituting the nuisance. (Ord. 314 § 6, 1960).
8.20.070 Abuse or mutilation of trees.
Except to abate a nuisance as defined herein, it is a violation of this chapter to damage, destroy, or mutilate any tree, shrub, or plant in any 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 to 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. Provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall preclude either the owner or occupant of real property from trimming or removing trees, shrubs, and plants in the parking strip of such real property. (Ord. 314 § 7, 1960).
8.20.080 Abatement of nuisance and lien therefor.
If the nuisance is not abated by removal or destruction by the property owner within the time fixed in the resolution, the street superintendent may abate the same and he shall render a bill covering the cost of such abatement, including the street superintendent’s expense, and mail the bill to the property owner. If the property owner fails or refuses to pay the bill immediately, or if no bill is rendered because he cannot be found, the street superintendent, in the name of the city, may file a lien therefor against the property, which lien shall be in the same form, filed with the same officer and within the same time and manner and enforced and foreclosed as is provided by law for liens for labor and material. (Ord. 314 § 8, 1960).
For statutory provisions authorizing cities to remove, at the owner’s expense, any vegetation posing a threat to public health or safety, see RCW 35.21.310.