Forestry Committee
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Bath Community Forestry Committee |
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Article 5. Bath Community Forestry Ordinance
Section 6-101 Purpose
The purpose of this ordinance is to promote and protect the public health, safety and general welfare by providing for the regulation of the planting, maintenance, removal, and protection of trees, shrubs, and other plants on property of the City of Bath, including city-owned rights-of-way.
Section 6-102 Administration and Enforcement
It shall be the duty of the Superintendent of Cemeteries and Parks and the City Arborist to enforce the provisions of this ordinance. Any person may appeal any ruling or order to the City Manager.
Section 6-103 Bath Community Forestry Committee
Section 6-104 Applicability
The terms and provisions of this ordinance shall apply to all trees, plants and shrubs located on public property, including city-owned rights-of-way.
Section 6-105 Definitions
For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated. Terms not defined shall have their usual and customary meaning unless otherwise indicated by their use and context. Where the word "shall" is used, it is considered mandatory and not merely directory.
Abutter
is one whose property touches or adjoins along a border or with a projecting part the property of another.
Forestry Division
is the designated agency of the municipality of Bath under whose jurisdiction the trees, shrubs and plants known as "public trees" fall. This is a Division of the Cemetaries and Parks Department.
Person
is any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, organization, or entity of any kind.
Property Owner
shall mean the person owning such property as shown by the tax assessor's records, City of Bath, unless proof to the contrary is available.
Public Hazard
is a condition of any tree, shrub or plant or any substantial portion of a tree, shrub or plant which constitutes a hazard to life and property or harbors insects or disease which constitutes a potential threat to other trees, shrubs, or plants within the City.
Public Property
shall include all property owned, leased, or occupied by the City of Bath or any of its administrative agencies or departments.
Public Tree
shall include all trees, shrubs and plants on public property, including City rights-of-way.
Street or Highway
is the entire width of every public way or right-of-way when part thereof is open to the use of the public, as a matter of right, for the purposes of vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
Topping
is defined as the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter within a tree's crown to such a degree as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.
Large trees
are designated as those species which habitually attain a height of forty-five (45') feet of more.
Medium Trees
are designated as those species which habitually attain a height of thirty (30') to forty-five (45') feet.
Small Trees
are designated as those species which habitually attain a height of thirty (30') feet.
Section 6-106 Permits
Section 6-107 Contract Supervision and Inspection
It shall be the duty of the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist to supervise and inspect the performance of all contracts entered by the City concerning work within the scope of this ordinance.
Section 6-108 Landscaping
Landscaping on City property shall be reviewed by the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks with the assistance of the Bath Community Forestry Committee.
Section 6-109 Specifications and Standards
Maine Landscape & Nursery Association Landscape (MeLNA) Contract Specifications or any amendments thereto or substitutes therefor shall be followed and enforced as a minimum standard for planting. All pruning shall meet, as a minimum standard, the Pruning Standards For Shade Trees published the National Arborist Association or similar national organization. The Forestry Division may establish policies, procedures or regulations which shall also be followed. Copies of these materials will be available to the general public at the Office of the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks.
Section 6-110 Tree Planting, Maintenance, and Removal
Trees planted on public property by adjacent property owners or others shall be selected and located in accordance with Tree Planting, Section 6-110, 2 through 6 of this ordinance and in accordance with Forestry Division policy. Notification shall be made to the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist, and approval given, prior to any planting. In addition, Dig Safe, the Bath Public Works Department and the Bath Water District shall be consulted before any planting.
The current Recommended Tree Species List published by the Maine Urban & Community Forestry Council or similar State recognized agency shall be used. This list shall be made available to the general public at the Office of the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks, and its use encouraged for private planting.
Except in special plantings designed or approved by the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist, the spacing of city-owned trees shall be in accordance with the three species size classes listed under Definitions, Section 6-105, of this ordinance, and no trees may be planted closer together than the following: small trees, 20 feet; medium trees, 30 feet; and large trees, 40 feet.
Any tree planted must have an area of unrestricted soil surface open to air and water, as follows: small trees shall have a minimum of 36 square feet of planting space; medium trees, 48 square feet; and large trees, 60 square feet.
The distance trees may be planted from curbs or curblines, driveways and sidewalks shall be in accordance with the three species size classes listed in Definitions, Section 6-105, of this ordinance. No trees may be planted closer to any curb or sidewalk than the following: small trees, 2 feet; medium trees, 3 feet; and large trees, 4 feet. The distance between tree planting and any driveway shall be 10 feet.
No tree or shrub that will restrict visibility on a traveled way, shall be planted along a street within 30 feet of any street corner, measured from the point of nearest intersecting roadways. No tree shall be planted within 10 feet of any hydrant.
Only small trees (see Definitions: Section 6-105), may be planted under or within 10 feet of any overhead utility wire. No tree shall be planted within 10 feet of any underground utilities.
The City shall have the right to prune, spray, maintain and remove public trees as may be necessary to ensure public safety or to preserve or enhance the beauty of public places. Spraying shall be undertaken in accordance with State laws. Notice of intent to remove, extensively prune or spray any street tree in a City-owned right-of-way shall be made in writing to abutters (as defined in Definitions, Section 6-105, of this Ordinance) of that right-of-way. Any objecting person shall be allowed fourteen (14) days from the date of notice to request in writing a public hearing concerning the proposed work. Upon receipt of written request from such abutters, the Superintendent of the Department of Cemeteries and Parks shall schedule and convene a public hearing concerning the proposed work. Said work shall not occur until after said public hearing and consideration of the public view expressed at the hearing.
The Forestry Division may remove or cause or order to be removed any public tree or part thereof which by reason of it's nature damages or otherwise impairs sewers, electric power lines, gas lines, water lines, or other services, or is affected by an injurious fungus, disease, insect, or other pest. In each case, the abutters will be notified within twenty-four (24) hours in advance.
In case of an emergency, as determined by the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist, work may be performed without written notification.
It shall be unlawful, as a normal practice, for any person or city department to top any public tree. 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 ordinance at the determination of the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist.
The City shall have the right to prune any tree or shrub if and when, in the opinion of the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist, it interferes with visibility of any traffic control device or intersection, or interferes with pedestrian or vehicular traffic. A clearance of fourteen feet (14’) above street surface or eight feet (8’) above the sidewalk surface shall be maintained. If a tree or shrub is on private property, the Superintendent of Cemeteries and Parks shall notify the property owner of the intent to prune.
Section 6-111 Protection of Trees On Public Lands
All trees near any excavation or construction of any building, structure, or street work, shall be guarded with a substantial fence, frame, or box centered around the tree not less than four feet (4’) high and enclosing an area of sixty-four square feet (64 sq. ft.), or at a distance in feet from the tree equal to the diameter of the trunk in inches D.B.H. (diameter breast height: 4 ft.) whichever is greater, and all building material, dirt, or other debris shall be kept outside the barrier.
No person shall excavate any ditches, tunnels, trenches, or lay any drive within the radius of ten feet (10’) from any city-owned tree without first obtaining a written permit from the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist.
No person shall deposit, place, store, or maintain upon any public place of the municipality, any stone, brick, sand, wood, steel, concrete, asphalt products other materials which may impede the free passage of water, air or fertilizer to the roots of any tree growing therein, except by written permit of the Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks or City Arborist.
Under no circumstance shall any person cut, carve, transplant, top, or remove any public tree; attach any rope, wire, nails, advertising posters, or other contrivance to any such tree; allow any gaseous, liquid or solid substance which is harmful to trees to come in contact with them; or to set fire or permit any fire to burn when such fire or the heat thereof will injure any portion of any tree.
Section 6-112 Interference With Forestry Division Employees
It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent, delay, or interfere with any Forestry Division employee, or contractor hired by the Forestry Division, while engaging in and about the planting, cultivating, mulching, pruning, spraying, or removing of any public tree, as authorized in this ordinance Section 6-110, Subsections 7 and 9.
Section 6-113 Violations
It shall be a violation of this ordinance for any person to engage in planting, removal or treatment of any city-owned tree without the necessary permit required under Section 6-106.
It shall be a violation of this ordinance to fail to comply with any notice issued pursuant to the terms and provisions of this ordinance or to violate any other term, condition or provision of this ordinance.
Section 6-114 Penalties
Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance shall be subject to a fine payable to the City of Bath of up to $100.00 each day of the violation. No penalty shall be assessed for failure to act during any notice period.
In addition, if, as a result of the violation of any provision of this ordinance, the injury, mutilation, or death of a tree, shrub, or other plant is caused, the cost of repair or replacement of such tree, shrub, or other plant shall be borne by the person in violation. The replacement value of trees and shrubs shall be determined in accordance with the current edition of Valuation of Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Other Plants, as published by the International Society of Arboriculture.
Section 6-115 Severability
Should any section, clause, or provision of this ordinance be declared by the Courts to be invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole, or parts thereof, other than the part so declared to be invalid.
References:
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Updated 9:37 AM 6/3/01