No person shall do or cause to be done by others, either purposely,
carelessly or negligently, any of the following acts to a tree, shrub
or plant on a public right-of-way or park:
No shade or ornamental tree or shrub shall be planted in any
public highway or park without written permission from the Director
of Public Works.
The owner or tenant of any lands lying within the Township shall keep all trees, bushes and/or shrubs maintained in a safe manner so they shall not create a hazard to the general public and shall keep trees, shrubs and/or bushes in compliance with § 112-24, Brush and hedges near roadways and intersections.
In case any tree or shrub, or any part thereof, along the municipal
roadway shall become dangerous to the public safety, the owner of
the property in front of which such tree or shrub shall be located
shall remove the same or the required part thereof forthwith upon
service of written directive to the effect from the Department of
Public Works. The notice shall be sent certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the owner of such property.
If the owner fails to remove the tree or shrub, or portion thereof,
within two weeks after service of written notice to do so, the work
shall be performed by the Township under the supervision of the Director
of Public Works, who shall certify the cost thereof to the Tax Collector.
Upon receipt of the certified costs, the Tax Collector shall
charge the foregoing as a lien upon the lands, and such amount shall
be added to and become and form a part of the taxes next to be assessed
and levied upon the lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate
as other taxes, and shall be collected and enforced by the same officer
and in the same manner as taxes.
The Township shall be empowered to prune or remove trees and/or
shrubs deemed to be a danger to the public by the Director of Public
Works within the right-of-way of any municipal roadway.
Whenever it becomes necessary for the Township to prune or remove
any tree within the right-of-way of a municipal highway, any person
having a wire running through such public highway shall temporarily
remove such wire or wires within 24 hours after the service upon the
owner of the wire or wires, or his agent, of a written notice from
the Department of Public Works. Any utility company, instead of temporarily
removing such service wire, shall have the option of pruning or removing
such tree.
Any person who violates the provisions of this article may be served with a complaint to appear in Franklin Township Municipal Court for such violation and, upon such violation and upon conviction, shall be subject to the penalties included in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty, for each and every day in which such violation shall continue.
If any person shall continue to violate any of the provisions
of this article after being duly notified of such violation or shall
neglect or refuse to comply with any lawful order of the Department
of Public Works, the failure to comply with a second or each of any
subsequent notifications or orders shall be construed as an additional
violation of this article, and each such additional offense shall
subject the offending party, upon conviction, to the same penalty
as provided for the first offense.
