[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Waterford
as Chapter 24 of the 1998 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Village of Waterford to
regulate the planting, maintenance and removal of trees, plants and shrubs
in the Village in order to promote, protect and enhance the public health,
safety and general welfare of its people. The purpose of this chapter is to
preserve, protect and plant trees, plants and shrubs, as valuable resources
which enhance the aesthetics of property, prevent soil erosion, filter airborne
pollutants, reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, provide protection
against severe weather, aid in the control and drainage and restoration of
soil subsequent to construction or grading, and reduce stormwater runoff.
The Village of Waterford hereby proclaims that an annual Arbor Day shall
be set aside and celebrated on the last Friday of the month of April. The
observance and celebration of Arbor Day shall include educational activities
and the planting of trees, and in conjunction with those purposes a school
principal may request one free tree from the Department of Natural Resources
for each fourth grade pupil in the school, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 118.025.
A.
Designation. The Director of the Village Public Works
Department is appointed to perform the duties of the Village Forester. The
Village Public Works Department is appointed to carry out the duties assigned
by the Village Forester.
B.
Duties and responsibilities. The Village Forester shall
administer and enforce this chapter, and shall exercise the powers granted
by Wis. Stat. § 27.09. It shall be the responsibility of the Village
Forester to study, investigate, counsel and develop and/or update annually,
and administer, a written plan for the care, preservation, pruning, planting,
replanting, removal or disposition of trees in parks, along streets and in
other public areas. Such plan will be presented annually to the Village Board
and upon its acceptance and approval shall constitute the official comprehensive
Tree Plan for the Village of Waterford. The Forester, when requested by the
Village Board, shall consider, investigate, make findings, report and recommend
upon any special matter or question coming within the scope of the Forester's
work.
C.
Authority. The Village Forester shall have the authority
and jurisdiction to regulate the planting, maintenance and removal of trees
on streets and other publicly owned property to ensure safety or preserve
the aesthetics of such public sites. The Village Forester shall have the authority
and it shall be his duty to supervise or inspect all work done under a permit
issued in accordance with the terms of this chapter. The Village Forester
shall have the authority to affix reasonable conditions to the granting of
a permit in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
This chapter provides full power and authority over all trees, plants
and shrubs located within street rights-of-way, parks and public places of
the Village of Waterford; and to trees, plants and shrubs located on private
property that constitute a hazard or threat as described within. The Village
shall have the right to plant, prune, maintain and remove trees, plants and
shrubs located in any public place, as may be necessary to ensure public safety
or to preserve or enhance the beauty and symmetry of such public place. This
section does not prohibit the planting of trees within tree lawns by adjacent
property owners, provided that permit requirements are complied with.
As used within this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
set forth in this section:
The Village Forester, who is the actual individual or his or her
agent assigned to enforce this chapter.
Any public or private individual, group, company, firm, corporation,
partnership, association, society or any other combination of human beings,
whether legal or natural.
All grounds owned by the Village of Waterford, County of Racine,
State of Wisconsin.
Any tree, shrub, bush, or other woody vegetation located in a public
place.
The entire width of every public way or right-of-way when any part
thereof is open to the use of the public, as a matter of right, for purposes
of vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic.
That part of a street or highway, not covered by sidewalk or other
paving, lying between the property line and the curb or that portion of a
street or highway usually used for vehicular traffic.
The Village of Waterford.
A.
Permit requirement. No person shall plant, replace, prune,
alter, remove or perform surgery on a public tree or disturb the land within
the dripline of a public tree, or cause such work to be performed by others,
without first obtaining a written permit for such work from the Village Forester,
unless acting under contract with the Village. A person shall not be required
to obtain a permit to fertilize or water trees in a tree lawn abutting his
or her property.[1]
B.
Time. Any person who applies for a permit shall make
the application in writing, on a form provided by the Village, no less than
24 hours prior to the time the work is to be performed.
C.
Standards. The Village Forester shall issue the permit
required if, in the Forester's judgment, the proposed work is desirable and
the proposed method and workmanship are satisfactory. Any permit granted shall
contain an expiration date, and the work shall be completed in the time and
manner provided for in the permit. A permit shall be void if its terms are
violated.
D.
Annual public utility and contractor permits. Public
utilities and contractors may apply for and obtain, in accordance with this
chapter, an annual forestry permit subject to the following additional conditions,
unless waived for just cause by the Village Forester:
(1)
File evidence of possession of liability insurance in
the minimum amount of $300,000 for bodily injury or death and $100,000 property
damage indemnifying the Village or any person injured or damaged resulting
from work done pursuant to the permit; and maintain that liability insurance
for the permit period.
(2)
Provide the Village Forester with seven days' advance
notice of the work to be performed.
(3)
Perform the work in conformance with this chapter and
written guidelines and directives of the Village Forester.
A.
Every property owner or occupant shall be responsible
for the normal care, including watering, of trees located on such property.
B.
Willful injury or disfigurement of any tree growing within
the Village shall be a violation of this chapter.
C.
A protective barrier shall be placed outside the root
zone of any public tree prior to construction activities, and shall remain
in place until all construction activity is terminated.
D.
Every owner of any tree overhanging any street or highway
within the Village shall prune the branches so that the branches will not
severely obstruct the light from any street lamp or obstruct the view of any
street intersection or street sign and so that there shall be a clear space
of 13 feet above the street surface and 10 feet above the sidewalk surface.
E.
Tree pruning which is necessary for the maintenance of the transmission lines of a utility or cable TV franchise shall conform to the requirements of Wis. Stat. §§ 86.16, 182.017 and Municipal Code Chapter 104, § 104-10I (if applicable), and shall only be performed after 48 hours' notice to the Village, even when no public trees are affected.[1]
F.
Every owner of any tree shall remove all dead, diseased
or dangerous trees, or broken or decayed limbs which constitute a menace to
the safety of the public.
G.
It shall be unlawful, as a normal practice, for any person
or Village department to top any public tree. Topping is defined as the severe
cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter within
the tree's crown to such a degree as to remove the tree's normal canopy and
disfigure the tree. Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes, or certain
trees under utility wires or other obstructions where pruning is impractical,
may be exempted from this chapter at the determination of the Village Forester.
A.
The following are declared public nuisances under this
chapter:
(1)
Any dead or dying tree.
(2)
Any otherwise healthy tree which is affected with any
injurious fungus, insect or other pest.
(3)
Any tree which, by reason of location or condition, constitutes
an imminent danger to the health, safety or welfare of the general public,
including any tree or part thereof which is in an unsafe condition or which
by nature is injurious to sewers, electric powers lines, gas lines, water
lines, or other public improvements.
(4)
Any tree which obstructs the free passage of pedestrian
or vehicular traffic, or which obstructs the view of any street intersection
or street sign, or severely obstructs the light from any street lamp.
B.
Right to inspect. The Village Forester and the Public
Works Department have the authority to enter onto private property, after
prior notification of the property owner, whereon there is located a tree
that is suspected to be a public nuisance.
C.
Abatement. The means of abating public nuisances under
this chapter are as follows:
(1)
Any public nuisance under this chapter which is located
on public property shall be pruned, removed or otherwise treated by the Village
Forester in whatever fashion is required to cause the abatement of the nuisance
within a reasonable time of its discovery.
(2)
Upon finding any public nuisance under this chapter which is located on private property, the Village Forester shall follow the procedures for notice and abatement set forth in Chapter 165, § 165-7, of this Municipal Code. Notice to abate a nuisance issued under § 165-7C shall specify whether the property owner shall prune, remove, or otherwise treat the tree.
(3)
When a property owner fails to comply with an order to
abate a public nuisance issued under this chapter, and the Village Forester
causes the nuisance to be abated, the costs of the service, including labor,
equipment and materials, shall be charged to the property owner, and shall
be assessed to the property in conformance with Wis. Stat. § 66.0627.
D.
Immediate abatement. Notwithstanding the above, the Village
Forester is empowered to cause the immediate abatement of any public nuisance
which the Village Forester determines to be an immediate threat to any person
or property.
The Village Board shall include in its annual budget the sum necessary
to meet the expenses required by the enactment of this chapter and the implementation
of the Tree Plan, which shall not be less than $2 per capita of the population
of the Village of Waterford. The Village Board may, in its discretion, levy
a separately denominated tax for the purpose of setting out shade and ornamental
trees as provided in Wis. Stat. § 61.47.
A.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter
or fails to comply with any order issued pursuant to this chapter, upon being
found guilty of the violation, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $200
for each separate offense. Each day during which any violation of the provisions
of this chapter shall occur or continue shall be a separate offense.
B.
If a public tree is injured, mutilated or dies as the
result of the violation of any provision of this chapter, the cost of repair
or replacement of such tree shall be borne by the person in violation.
Any person who is aggrieved by any action or decision by the Village
Forester or Public Works Department may appeal to the Village Board. The Board,
after a hearing, may reverse, affirm or modify the order, requirement, decision
or determination of the Village Forester upon notice to the appellant, and
to that end shall have all of the powers of the Village Forester.
