Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout038 - 04/15/1980 - AMENDING CHAPTER 109 OF THE CITY CODE AS IT RELATES TO THE CARE AND PROTECTION OF TREES ORDINANCE NO 38 1980 OF ThE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 109 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AS IT RELATES TO THE CARE AND PROTECTION OF TREES BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows Section 1 That Chapter 109 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be, and it hereby is, repealed Section 2 That there is hereby enacted a new Chapter 109 to the Code of the City of Fort Collins to read as follows Chapter 109 Trees Care and Protection §109-1 Creation of position of City Forester The City of Fort Collins shall employ or contract for the services of a person to be known as the "City Forester" whose powers and duties are hereinafter specified §109-2 Powers and duties of City Forester The City Forester shall be the supervisor of the Forestry Division of the Parks and Recreation Department The City Forester shall be responsible to the Director of Parks and Recreation in carrying out his duties He shall have the power to promulgate and enforce rules, regulations and specifications concerning the trimming, spraying, removal, plant- ing, pruning and protection of trees, shrubs, vines, hedges and other plants upon the right-of- way of any street, alley, sidewalk, or other public place in the City Such rules, regulations and specifications shall be in writing and shall not be effective until approved by the City Manager Copies of such rules, regulations and specifica- tions shall be available to the public through the office of the City Clerk §109-3 Certain. species of trees prohibited in city A It shall be unlawful to sell or import into the City or to plant or cause to be planted within the City limits any of the following trees 1 Any cotton bearing cottonwood tree (Genus Populus) 2 Any boxelder tree (Ater Negundo) B In addition, it shall be unlawful to plant or cause to be planted any species of tree on the right-of-way of any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place within the City which by its habit or growth would obstruct, restrict or conflict with necessary and safe use of the public rights-of-way §109-4 Permit required for planting, pruning or removal of trees It shall be unlawful for any person, either for himself or another, to plant, prune, remove, destroy, or cause to be planted, pruned, removed, or destroyed, any tree, shrub or hedge in or upon the public right-of-way of any street, alley, sidewalk, or other public place within the City without having first obtained a written permit therefor An approved lanascape plan by City Council shall be considered a permit §109-5 Permit application, contents and conditions Any person desiring to plant, prune, remove or destroy any tree, shrub or hedge in or upon the public right-of-way of any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place within the City shall first make written application therefor at the office of the City Forester upon forms furnished by the City Such application shall set forth the name and address of the applicant, the name and address of the person doing the work, the kind or species of tree or shrub to be planted or removed, and the location of the same, together with such other information as the City Forester shall require The applicant shall , at the time of making the application, agree in writing to, in all respects, save the City harmless and protect the City and the public at all times in connection with the plant- ing, removing or destruction of any tree, shrub or hedge to be planted or removed under such permit §109-6 Inspection of location by City Forester The City Forester shall inspect the location and if, in his opinion, it is desirable that such tree or shrub be planted, pruned or removed, as the case may be, he shall issue a permit therefor Such permit shall set forth the name of the person who shall perform the work, the location at which the tree or shrub -2- is to be planted or removed, and any conditions or requirements made by the City Forester in connec- tion therewith Failure to comply with the re- quirements of any such permit shall constitute violation of this Chapter §109-7 License required for tree surgeons It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of planting, cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying, or otherwise treating trees, shrubs or vines within the City without first procuring a license therefor from the City §109-8 Application procedure Any person desiring a license pursuant to this Chapter shall male appli- cation therefor at the office of the City Forester on forms to be provided by the City The City Forester shall examine the applicant either orally or in writing as he shall deem advisable in order to determine the applicant 's qualifications and competency to engage in the business applied for No license shall be issued or renewed without the approval of the City Forester §109-9 Form of license, identification of vehicles Every license issued hereunder shall show on its face the types, classifications or kinds of services for which tree licensee is licenses and authorized to perform All motor vehicles and other major equipment of any person licensed hereunder used in conducting the licensed business shall be clearly identified witn the name of the licensee §109-10 Adequate insurance coverage required, minimum amounts No such license shall be issued until the applicant therefor has presented to the City Forester a satisfactory public liability insurance policy covering all proposed operations of the applicant in such business in the City in the sum of at least One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) for the injury or death of any one (1 ) person, Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000 00) for the injury or death of any number of persons in any one (1) accident, and Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000 00) for damage to property Such policy may allow the first One Hundred Dollars ($100 00) of liability to be deductible Such insurance policy must be prepared for at least the term of -3- the license and shall require at least thirty (30) days advance notice to the City before cancella- tion In the event of the cancellation or termi- nation of any such required insurance policy during the licensed term, the license shall be terminated and the holder thereof shall surrender the same to the City Forester unless the licensee presents to the City Forester a substitute in- surance policy meeting the requirements of this Section §109-11 License fees, term and renewal No license shall be issued hereunder until the applicant has paid a license fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100 00) for the original license and Twenty-Five Dollars ($25 00) for the renewal of a license Every license issued hereunder shall expire one (1) year after the date of its issuance Renewal applica- tions may be submitted at the office of the City Forester any time within thirty (30) days of the date the license will expire §109-12 Suspension or revocation of license, hearing Upon the verified complaint in writing by any person, the Director of Parks and Recreation may suspend or revoke any license issued hereunder for violation of this Chapter The complaint shall be submitted in writing to the Director of Parks and Recreation and shall state the date, time and place of violation for which the suspension or revocation of said license is requested Before suspending or revoking any license pursuant to this Section, the Director of Paris and Recreation shall first mail , by certified mail , a copy of the complaint to the license holder and give notice to the license holder of a date, not less than five (5) days after the date of mailing of such notice, on which the Director of Paris and Recreation will hold a hearing to determine whether or not such license should be suspended or revoked §109-13 Appeals and hearings In the event of any suspen- sion of revocation of a license by the Director of Parks and Recreation, the licensee shall have the right to appeal such suspension or revocation to the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Board Any such appeal must be submitted in writing to the Director of Parks and Recreation within ten (10) -4- } days after the date of suspension or revocation of the license The Parks and Recreation Board shall have the power to overrule or otherwise modify any order of the Director of Parks and Recreation suspending or revoking any license In hearing an appeal from any action of the Director of Parks and Recreation suspending or revoking any license, Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Board may, on its own motion, or shall, if so requested by the licensee, augment its membership by not more than two (2) additional licensed arborists or foresters who shall have voting privileges at the hearing The hearing by the Fort Collins Parks and Recrea- tion Board shall be held within fifteen (15) days from the date the appeal is filed with the Direc- tor of Parks and Recreation §109-14 Property owners shall have the right to plant and care for trees and shrubs on any abutting street right-of-way, alley, sidewalk, or other public place in accordance with Section 109-2 and 109-4 of this Chapter §109-15 Removal of hazardous trees and limbs, notice It shall be the duty of the owner of any property to remove any dead or dying trees or dead or dying limbs dangerous to life, limb, or property when located upon the premises of such owner whenever required to do so by notice given by the City Forester served upon the owner of such property in accordance with Section 109-19 of this Chapter Such work shall be performed within such reason- able time as may be specified in such notice Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as requiring the owner of a private property to trim or remove any trees or shrubs when such trimming or removing is required so as to provide for safe use of street or sidewalk or because of City utility lines or traffic control devices or signs, and it shall be the duty of the City to do any trimming or removing for such utilities, traffic control devices or signs and for safe use of street or sidewalk §109-16 Control of disease or infestation of trees on private property Upon the discovery of any destructive or communicable disease or other -5- pestilence which endangers the growth, health, life or well-being of trees or plants in the City, or which is capable of causing an epidemic spread of communicable disease or insect infestation such as Dutch Elm Disease, the City Forester shall at once cause written notice to be served upon the owner of the property upon which such diseased tree is situated, which notice shall require such property owner to eradicate, remove or otherwise control such condition within reasonable time to be specified in such notice §109-17 Compliance with notice within specified time required It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to comply with the requirements of any notice given pursuant to Section 109-15 and 109-16 of this Chapter within the time specified in such notice §109-18 Appeals from notices of City Forester, hearings Any notice given by the City Forester pursuant to Sections 109-15 and 109-16 of this Chapter shall allow at least five (5) days to the property owner to perform the work required after the time the notice is served on the property owner During such period the property owner shall have the right to appeal the order of the City Forester to the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation board by filing with the Director of Parks and Recreation a notice that said property owner desires to appeal from such order Such appeal shall be submitted in writing to the Director of Parks and Recreation within five (5) days from the date of service of the order If any property owner files a notice of appeal with the Director of Parks and Recrea- tion, the Director of Parks and Recreation shall schedule a hearing of the Parks and Recreation Board to consider such appeal within ten ( 10) days Until a final determination by the Parks and Recreation Board, work required to be done by the City Forester shall not be required, and if the Parks and Recreation Board sustains all of any part of the order of the City Forester, it shall set the time within which the work required to be done shall be done In hearing any appeal from an order of the City Forester pursuant to this Sec- -6- tion, the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Board may, on its own motion, and shall, if so requested by the property owner, augment its membership by not more than two (2) additional licensed forest- ers or arborists who shall have voting privileges at the hearing §109-19 Procedure whereby notice is served Any notice authorized in Sections 109-15 and 109-16 of this Chapter may be serveo by delivering a copy of such notice to the record owner of such property or by leaving a cony of such notice at such owner ' s usual place of abode witn some member of his family over the age of 18 years In case there is more than one owner of property, service upon any owner shall be adequate service upon all co- owners If the owner of any property cannot be found in the City, service may be made by mailing a copy thereof to such owner postage prepaid, certified mail , addressed to the last known address and by posting a copy of such notice in a conspicuous place on the premises involved Service by mail shall be completed five (5) days after the date the notice is deposited in the mails and posted on the premises §109-20 Cost of work levied against property ohners If any work required under Sections 109-15 and 109-16 of this Chapter is not accomplished within the time specified on the notice, the City Forester shall cause the work to be done and the cost of the same shall be collected from the property owner Any notice given pursuant to this Chapter shall state that if the work required is not done within the time specified, the City will cause the same to be done at the expense of the property owner If the City Forester causes the work to be done, he shall submit the cost thereof to the Director of Finance who shall send a statement in such amount to the property owner at his last known address Any such statement shall be paid by the property owner within thirty (30) days after the statement is mailed to him After such thirty (30) days, any unpaid amount shall bear interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum If any property owner is unable to pay the cost of such work within thirty (30) days, lie may enter into an agreement for the payment of the -7- same in monthly installments over a period not to exceed five (5) years, and the unpaid costs shall, by such agreement, be made a lien on the lands of such property owner Any unpaid balance due under such agreement shall bear interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum The agreement shall be filed in the office of the County ClerK and Pecorder of Larimer County §109-21 Assessment of claim against property owners The Director of Finance shall , not later than July 1st of each year, report to the City Council as to any costs for work done by the City under this Chapter which have not been paid by the property owner or which have been made the subject of an agreement with the property owner as authorized in Section 109-20 of this Chapter Notice shall be mailed by the Director of Finance to each property owner, which notice shall state the amount claimed to be due from such property owner, the date, the place, and time that the report will be made to the City Council , the description of the property to be assessed, a description of the work performed, and that the City Council will be asked to assess the cost of the work together with an amount not to exceed seventeen percent (17%) to cover interest, legal and advertising fees, and the cost of collection against the property of such owner Sucn notice shall be mailed at least ten (10) days, and not more than forty-five (45) days before the date the report will be made to the City Council The City Council shall, when the report is presented to them, consider ordering by ordinance the assessrent of such cost, together with an amount not to exceed seventeen percent (171.) to cover the interest, legal , and advertis- ing fees and the costs of collection against such real estate Such assessment shall be certified by the Director of Finance to the County Treasury anid shall be on a parity with the tax lien for general , state, county, city, town, or school taxes Such assessment shall becorre delinquent on the 1st day of September after the date of assess- ment and after the same becomes delinquenit shall be advertised and sold by the County Treasurer at the same time or times, in the same manner, and under all the same conditions and penalties, and witn the same etfect as now prescribed by the -8- t general laws of the State of Colorado for the sale of real estate in default of payment of general taxes §109-22 City Forester authorized to enter private proper- ty In order to accomplish the purposes of this Chapter, the City Forester is hereby authorized to go upon any property in the City for the purpose of inspecting trees, shrubs and other plants §109-23 City reserves right to collect costs in addition to penalties The imposition of any penalty for a violation of this Chapter shall not be construed as a waiver of the right of the City to collect the costs of removal or treatment of any tree, shrub or other plant in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered pub- lished this 1st day of April , A D 1980, and to be presentee for final passage on the 15th day of April , A D 1980 / Mayor AT 4er y Passed and adopted on final reading this 15th oay of April , A D 1980 UV Wit-(U Mayor E/S City Clerk -9-