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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem #12 Adoption of Ordinance Regarding Trees on Public Lands ~ . Meeting Date: November 18, 2008 Item # \ 2. Contact Name: Contact Number: Jeffrey Hayes 407 -905-3180 Reviewed By: Department Director: City Manager: ~~. Subject: An Ordinance of the City of Ocoee, Florida adopting a new Chapter 163 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee relating to trees on public lands providing for severability; providing for codification; providing an effective date. Background Summary: The importance of trees to the community has been expressed by the City Commission for some time, along with its desire to obtain the Tree City USA designation from the National Arbor Day Foundation. In recognition of this sentiment City Staff has developed an ordinance for consideration that is intended to protect trees on public property and meet the requirements for Tree City USA recognition, The intent and purpose of this ordinance is to regulate and establish policy for the control of planting, removal, maintenance and protection of trees and shrubs in or upon all public lands to eliminate and guard against dangerous conditions which may result in injury to persons using the streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, or other public lands; to promote and enhance the beauty and general welfare of the City; to prohibit the undesirable and unsafe planting, removal, treatment and maintenance of trees and shrubs located on public lands; and to guard all trees and shrubs both public and private within the City against the spread of disease, insects or pests. The ordinance applies to trees and shrubs planted or growing in or upon public lands, and also to trees and shrubs growing or to be planted in or upon any private premises which shall threaten the life, health, safety or welfare of the public using public lands, Issue: Should the Honorable Mayor and City Commission approve adopting Chapter 163 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee relating to trees on public lands, Recommendations Staff recommends that the Honorable Mayor and City Commission approve adopting Chapter 163 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee relating to trees on public lands. Attachments: Ordinance Relating to Trees on Public Lands (ORLA_1 053007 _1.DOC) Exhibit "A" to Ordinance Relating to Trees on Public Lands (ORLA_901495_2.DOC) Financial Impact: No new fiscal impacts from the establishment of the tree ordinance are foreseen. As a note to the Tree City USA designation, in order for the City of achieve and maintain this status it must maintain a budget of at least two dollars ($2) per capital for the community forestry program. Type of Item: (please mark with an "x") Public Hearing _ Ordinance First Reading Ordinance Second Reading Resolution Commission Approval Discussion & Direction For Clerk's OeDt Use: Consent Agenda Public Hearing Regular Agenda Original DocumenUContract Attached for Execution by City Clerk _ Original DocumenUContract Held by Department for Execution Reviewed by City Attorney Reviewed by Finance Dept. Reviewed by 0 N/A N/A N/A 2 i \ ~ ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER 163 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OCOEE RELATING TO TREES ON PUBLIC LANDS PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY' , PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Authority. The City Commission of the City of Ocoee has the authority to adopt this Ordinance pursuant to Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Florida and Chapter 166, Florida Statutes. SECTION 2. A new Chapter 163 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee, Florida is hereby adopted as follows: See Exhibit "A" attached hereto and by this reference made a part hereof. SECTION 3. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion hereto. SECTION 4. Codification. It is the intention of the City Commission of the City that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Ordinances of the City; and that sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettere.d and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "chapter," "section," "article," or such other appropriate word or phrase in order to accomplish such intentions; and regardless of whether such inclusion ORLA_1 053007.1 ..- .' ,I in the Code is accomplished, sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and the correction of typographical errors which do not affect the intent may be authorized by the City Manager, without need of public hearing, by filing a corrected or recodified copy of same with the City Clerk. SECTION 5. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this _ day of ,2008. APPROVED: ATTEST: CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA Beth Eikenberry, City Clerk S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor (SEAL) . ADVERTISED , 2008 READ FIRST TIME , 2008 READ SECOND TIME AND ADOPTED , 2008 UNDER AGENDA ITEM NO. FOR USE AND RELIANCE ONLY BY THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA; APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY this _ day of , 2008. FOLEY & LARDNER LLP By: City Attorney ORLA_1 053007.1 -2- Section 1.. Section 2. Section 3. Section 4. Section 5. Section 6. Section 7. Section 8. Section 9. Section 10. Section 11. Section 12. Section 13. EXHIBIT "A' TO ORDINANCE NO. CHAPTER 163 TREES ON PUBLIC LANDS Statement of Policy and Applicability of Chapter. Definitions. Tree Board. Staff Forester. Interference with the Director Prohibited. Planting, Maintenance and Removal of Trees. Planting of Trees and Shrubs. Trimming. Obstructing View at Intersection or View of Traffic Signs. Removal of Trees and Stumps. Prohibited Acts. Appeal from Determinations or Orders. Provisions Supplemental. Section 163-1. Statement of Policy and Applicability of Chapter. (a) Intent and Purpose. It is the policy of the City to regulate and establish policy for the control of planting, removal, maintenance and protection of trees and shrubs in or upon all public areas and public ways of the City to eliminate and guard against dangerous conditions which may result in injury to persons using the streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, or other public areas; to promote and enhance the beauty and general welfare of the City; to prohibit the undesirable and unsafe planting, removal, treatment and maintenance of trees and shrubs located in public areas; and to guard all trees and shrubs both public and private within the City against the spread of disease, insects or pests. (b) Application. The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to trees and shrubs growing or hereafter planted in or upon public areas and public ways and also to all trees and shrubs growing or to be planted in or upon any private premises which shall threaten the life, health, safety or welfare of the public or of any public areas or public ways. Section 163-2.Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: (a) Conservation areas: means lands which have unsuitable or nonrated soils, wetland vegetative species, which are seasonally flooded and which perform an ORLA_901495.2 environmental function. Conservation areas include all lands within the City which are subject to a recorded conservation easement. (b) Crown: means the main mass of branching of a plant above the ground. (c) Diameter at breast height (DBH): is defined to be fifty-four (54) inches above the surface of the ground at the base of the plant or tree. (d) Director: means the Parks and Recreation Director and/or the Public Works Director. (e) Dripline: means an imaginary line on the ground defined by vertical lines which extend from the outermost tips of the tree branches to the ground. (f) Historic Tree: a historic tree is one that has been designated by the City Commission as one of notable historical interest and value to the City because of its location or historical association with the community. (g) Live Crown Ratio: The distance from the lowest branches to the top of the tree, as a percentage of the total tree height. (h) Person: means any person, firm, association or corporation. (i) Protected Tree: means any tree that has a DBH of more than eight (8) inches, and which is not otherwise exempted from this Chapter. In addition, all palms with at least four and one-half (4-1/2) feet of clear truck between the ground level and the lowest frond are declared to be protected trees. In addition, all Specimen Trees and Historic Trees are Protected Trees. (j) Public Areas: means all public parks, playgrounds, recreation areas, parkways, common open spaces, greenways, trails, forests, conservancies, cemeteries and other lands owned or leased by the City with respect to which the Parks and Recreation Department as supervisory responsibility. (k) Public nuisance: means any tree or shrub or part thereof which, (i) by reason of its condition, interferes with the use of any public area or public way; (ii) is infected with a plant disease; (iii) is infested with injurious insects or pest; (iv) is injurious to public improvements, or (iv) endangers the life, health, safety or welfare of persons or property. (1) Public Trees: means all trees and shrubs located or to be planted in or upon public areas or public ways. (m) Public Ways: means all public streets, right-of-ways, medians, sidewalks and other lands owned or leased by the City and with respect to which the Public Works Department has supervisory responsibility. 2 ORLA_901495,2 (n) Root Flare: The area at the base of the tree where the major support roots begin to grow beneath the soil surface. (0) Shrub: means a low-growing woody plant, usually under 15 feet that often has multiple stems and may have a suckering growth habit. (p) Specimen Trees: means all native trees with a DBH of twenty-four (24) inches or greater. A specimen tree is one that has been officially designated by the City Commission, upon advice of the Staff Forester, to be of high value because of its type, size, age, or other relevant criteria. (q) Staff Forester: means the staff person(s) assigned to administer this Chapter by the Parks and Recreation Director and/or the Public Works Director. (r) Tree: means any woody plant, normally having one stem or trunk bearing its foliage or crown well above ground level to heights of fifteen (15) feet or more. Section 163-3. Tree Board. (a) Tree Board. The Park and Recreation Advisory Board is hereby designated to also serve as the City's Tree Board. It shall have the responsibility to review and propose related standards for trees and shrubs located in public areas, public ways and in public places. (b) The Park and Recreation Advisory Board when acting as the Tree Board shall: a. Develop a program for identifying and maintaining trees in the City which have significant historical, cultural, or public significance and make recommendations to the City Commission on adopting such a program. b. Coordinate the City's Arbor Day program and other similar programs. c. Assist in the dissemination of news and information regarding the protection, maintenance, removal, and planting of trees on public places, and to make such recommendation from time to time to the City Commission as to desirable legislation concerning the tree program and activities for the City. Section 163-4. Staff Forester. (a) Appointment. The Parks and Recreation Director and the Public Works Director may designate, in their respective departments, a municipal employee as Staff Forester to perform the duties and exercise the powers imposed by this Chapter with respect to their respective departments (b) Right-of-way. The Director or his/her designee may enter upon private premises at all reasonable times for the purpose of examining any tree or shrub located upon or over such premises and carrying out any of the provisions of this Chapter. 3 ORLA_901495.2 Section 163-5.Interference with the Director Prohibited. (a) No person shall interfere with the Director or his/her authorized representative while they are engaged in carrying out any work or activities authorize by this Chapter. (b) The Parks and Recreation Director shall have jurisdiction over the regulation of "public areas" under the provisions of this Chapter. Wherever this Chapter uses the word "Director" with reference to "public areas", such reference shall be deemed to refer to and mean the Parks and Recreation Director. (c) The Public Works Director shall have jurisdiction over the regulation of "public ways" under this Chapter. Wherever this Chapter uses the word "Director" with reference to "public ways", such reference shall be deemed to refer to and mean the Public Works Director. Section 163-6.Planting, Maintenance and Removal of Trees and Shrubs. (a) Permission Required. No person, except upon order of the applicable Director or his/her designee, shall plant or remove, or perform major alterations on a tree or shrub in a public area or public way, or cause such act to be done by others without first obtaining permission for such work from the applicable Director or his/her designee. Section 163-7.PIanting of Trees and Shrubs. (a) Purpose. The City Commission hereby states its determination that the planting, care and protection of the trees within the City is desirable for the purposes of beauty, shade, comfort, noise abatement and economic betterment, and hereby encourages all persons to assist in a program of tree planting, care and protection. (b) Tree Planting Program. The Parks and Recreation Department shall implement and maintain a program for tree planting, care and protection for public areas. The Public Works Department shall oversee tree planting, care and protection for public ways. The City Commission shall also encourage the planting, care and protection of trees and shrubs on private premises within the City. (c) Planting. The size and genus, species and variety of trees and shrubs to be planted in public areas and public ways, and the manner of planting shall be approved by the applicable Director or his/her designee prior to commencement of such work. (d) Unlawfully Planted Trees. Trees, plants or shrubs planted within any public area or public way without the authorization and approval of the applicable Director or his/her designee may be removed by the City. Section 163-8. Trimming. 4 ORLA_901495.2 (a) Trees and shrubs standing in or upon any public area and public way, or upon any private premises adjacent to any public way or public area shall be kept trimmed so that the lowest branches projecting over the public street provide a clearance of not less than fourteen (14) feet, provided that the tree retains a live crown ratio of at least 50% after trimming. The Director or his/her designee may waive the provisions of this Section if he/she determines that they do not interfere with public travel, obstruct the light of any street light or endanger public safety. (b) The necessity of the pruning may be determined by the Director or his/her designee. (c) Clearance from sidewalk to lower branches shall not be less than ten (10) feet, provided that the tree retains a live crown ratio of at least 50% after trimming. All trees standing upon private property in the City, the branches of which extend over the line of the street, shall be trimmed so that no branch shall grow or hang over the line of the sidewalk lower than ten (10) feet above the level of the sidewalk. No tree shall be permitted to grow in such a manner as to obstruct the proper diffusion of light from any public lamp. (d) Trimming or pruning of more than one-third (113) of the crown shall be considered to be a major alteration and shall require authorization from the Director or his/her designee. (e) Trees shall be pruned in accordance with the ANSI A 300 Pruning standard and ANSI A133.1 safety standard. Section 163-9.0bstructing View at Intersection or View of Traffic Signs. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, no person shall maintain, plant or permit to remain on any private or public premises situated at the intersection of two (2) or more streets or alleys in the City any hedge, tree, shrub or other growth which may obstruct the view of the operator of any motor vehicle or pedestrian approaching such intersection. (b) It is unlawful for any person to plant, cause to grow, allow to grow or maintain any trees, bushes, shrubbery or vegetation of any kind which is an obstruction to the clear and complete vision of any traffic sign or driveway approach to a street in the City. It shall be the duty of every owner of such tree, bush, shrubbery or vegetation to remove such obstruction. (c) Any shrub, tree or other plant which obstructs the view at an intersection or the view of a traffic sign shall be deemed to be dangerous to public travel and upon the recommendation of the Public Works Director or any code enforcement officer may order, by written notice, the owner or occupant of any private place or premises on which there stands a tree or shrub which unreasonably interferes with or encroaches upon the street or sidewalk, to take such steps as are necessary to remove such interference. If such owner or occupant fails, within ten (10) days of receipt of notice, to take such necessary steps, the Public Works Director may 5 ORLA_901495.2 direct City employees to remove the interference. The cost of removing the interference shall be charged and collected and shall be a lien upon the property upon which or in front of which such tree or shrub stands. Trees or shrubs which obstruct traffic signs and/or cause immediate safety issues may be trimmed or removed immediately by the direction of the Public Works Director. Section 163-10. Removal of Trees and Stumps. (a) Dangerous, Obstructive and Infected Trees. Any tree or part thereof, whether alive or dead, which the Director or his/her designee shall find to be infected, hazardous or a nuisance so as to endanger the public or other trees, plants or shrubs growing within public areas or public ways, which may be deemed injurious to sewers, sidewalks or other public improvements may be removed, trimmed or treated by the City. Section 163-11. Prohibited Acts. (a) Damage to Public Trees. No person shall, without written permits from the Director or his/her designee in the case of a public tree or shrub, perform or cause to be performed by others any of the following acts: a. Secure, fasten or run any rope, wire sign, unprotected electrical installation or other device or material to, around or through a tree or shrub. b. Break, injure, mutilate, deface, kill or destroy any tree or shrub or permit any fire to burn where it will injure any tree or shrub. c. Permit any toxic chemical, gas, smoke, oil or other injurious substance to seep, drain or be emptied upon or about any tree or shrub or onto the soil within the dripline of that tree or shrub. d. Place cement or other solid substance within three feet of the edge of the root flare. e. Remove any guard, stake or other device or material intended for the protection of a public tree or shrub, or close or obstruct any open space about the base of a public tree or shrub designed to permit access of air, water and fertilizer. f. Attach any sign, poster, notice or other object on any tree, or fasten any guy wire, cable, rope, nails, screws or other device to any tree; except that the City may tie temporary "no parking: signs to trees when necessary in conjunction with street improvement work, tree maintenance work, parades or special events. g. Cause or encourage any fire or burning near or around any tree. 6 ORLA_901495,2 (b) Excavation and Construction. All trees on any public area, public way or other publicly owned property near any excavation or construction of any building structure or street work shall be sufficiently guarded and protected by a fence erected by those responsible for such work, with the size of the perimeter to be determined by the Director or his/her designee. No vehicles, equipment, or materials may be operated, parked, or stored within the fenced area. No person shall excavate any ditches, tunnels or trenches, or install pavement within a radius of ten (10) feet from any public tree without permission from the Director or his/her designee. 7 ORLA_901495,2 Section 163-12. Appeal from Determinations or Orders. (a) Any person who receives a determination or order under this Chapter from the Director and objects to all or any part thereof shall have the right to appeal such determination or order, to the City Manager within seven (7) days of receipt of the order. Any such appeals shall be in writing and addressed to the City Manager with a copy to the Director whose determination or order is being appealed. The City Manager may reverse, affirm or modify the order or determination appealed from and the grounds for his decision shall be stated in writing. The City Manager shall, by letter, notify the party appealing the order or determination of his decision and shall file a copy of such written decision with the City Clerk. The decision of the City Manager shall constitute final action by the City Section 163-13. Provisions Supplemental. (a) The provisions of this Chapter are intended to be liberally construed in order to accomplish the intent and purpose of this Chapter. The provisions of this Chapter are supplemental to other provisions of the City Code and are not intended to repeal or supersede any provisions of this Code. 8 ORLA_901495,2 _______-.J