Chapter 6.12
TREES AND SHRUBS
Sections:
6.12.010 Removal of obstruction.
6.12.040 Hearing by city council.
6.12.010 Removal of obstruction.
The owner of any property within the city shall remove or destroy all trees, plants, shrubs or vegetation, or any parts thereof, which overhang any sidewalk or street or which are situated on the property or on the portion of the street or sidewalk abutting thereon, in such manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of the sidewalk or street; including the interruption or interference with the clear vision of pedestrians or persons operating vehicles thereon, or interfering with sidewalks, streets, poles, wires, pipes, fixtures or any other part of any public utility situated in the street. (Ord. 982 § 1, 1976).
6.12.020 Notice to remove.
Whenever, in the opinion of the city engineer/superintendent of public works of the city, any trees, plants, shrubs or vegetation or parts thereof should be removed or destroyed for any of the reasons set forth in POMC 6.12.010, they shall cause a notice to be served on the owner of the property in the manner set forth in this section. Such notice shall describe the property involved and the condition to be corrected and shall require that the owner cause the condition to be corrected within such period of time as shall be designated in the notice. The notice shall further provide that if the condition is not corrected within the time specified, that after the termination of the period of time and on a date specified in such notice, a resolution will be presented to the city council to provide for the removal or destruction of the trees, plants, shrubs, vegetation or parts thereof, and the cost of the removal or destruction becomes a charge against the owner and a lien against the property. (Ord. 017-23 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 982 § 2, 1976).
6.12.030 Service of notice.
The notice provided for in POMC 6.12.020 shall be served by delivering the notice or a copy thereof to the owner personally or by leaving the same at their place of residence with a person of suitable age or discretion, or, if the owner is not a resident of the city, by leaving the same with the agent handling the property or the tenant in possession thereof, or if there be no such agent or tenant, by posting a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises involved and mailing a copy thereof to the owner at their last known place of residence, if any. (Ord. 017-23 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 982 § 3, 1976).
6.12.040 Hearing by city council.
If the conditions described in the notice have not been corrected prior to the time specified therein, a resolution shall be presented to the city council on the date designated in the notice therefor, which resolution shall provide that the department of the city named therein shall after the date set therein forthwith cause the removal or destruction of the vegetation, or any part thereof, as specified or complained of in the notice. Upon introduction of the resolution, the owner shall be entitled to be heard and to show cause, if any, why the vegetation or such part thereof should not be removed or destroyed. The finding of the city council determining that the vegetation described in the notice is or is not a nuisance shall be conclusive. If the city council finds that the same is a nuisance and the owner has appeared at the hearing thereon, the owner may in the discretion of the council be given such additional time as may be specified by the council to abate the nuisance. (Ord. 982 § 4, 1976).
6.12.050 Cost of removal.
Whenever, after authorization by resolution of the city council, any trees, plants, shrubs or vegetation, or parts thereof, are removed or destroyed, the department causing the removal or destruction thereof shall keep an accurate record of the necessary costs thereof and the costs shall become a charge against the owner and a lien against the property as authorized by Chapter 113 of the Laws of Washington, 1949. (Ord. 982 § 5, 1976).
6.12.060 Lien.
Notice of the lien authorized in POMC 6.12.050 shall as nearly as practicable be in substantially the same form, filed with the same officer within the same time and manner and enforced and foreclosed as is provided by law for liens for labor and material. (Ord. 982 § 6, 1976).
6.12.070 Penalty – Violation.
The owning or maintaining of any trees, plants, shrubs, vegetation or parts thereof, in the manner described in POMC 6.12.010, is declared to be a public nuisance. Anyone violating the provisions of this chapter by failing to abate such nuisance within the time specified in the notice described in POMC 6.12.020 or within the time set by resolution of the city council, whichever time may be later, shall upon conviction thereof be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $300.00 or by imprisonment in the city jail for a period not exceeding 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (Ord. 982 § 7, 1976).