[Adopted 9-23-1992 by Ord. No. 92-9]
It is the desire of the Mayor and Town Council
of the Borough of Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and
said Council hereby establishes the Shade Tree Commission, hereafter
to be known as the "Commission," as set out in the Borough Code, Section
2721 et seq. (53 P.S. § 47721 et seq.).
[Amended 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Borough of Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The Chief Administrative Officer of the Borough of Chambersburg,
Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The governing body of the Borough.
The duly appointed members of the Shade Tree Commission of
the Borough.
That part of the Borough of Chambersburg's Central Core,
generally considered the streets including Main Street, between Washington
Street and Falling Spring, Lincoln Way, between Second Street and
the Conococheague Creek, Memorial Square, Rhodes Drive, the Borough
parking lots, alleys on such blocks, and Chambers Fort Park.
The area of any public street, road, highway or other publicly
held thoroughfare within the corporate limits of the Borough that
has been designated by law as a public street right-of-way, including
that part of the public street right-of-way lying between the property
line and the portion of the right-of-way usually used for vehicular
traffic or parking.
Any tree, whether deciduous or evergreen, which is planted
in, or has at least one half of its trunk in, any public street right-of-way
under the control of the Borough.
Typically used as an alternative to planting strips in business
districts where additional sidewalk width is important to accommodate
pedestrian volumes, a tree pit is a constructed box inserted into
a pedestrian sidewalk; if permitted as an alternative to planting
strips, tree pits shall be constructed per specifications as detailed
by the Borough Engineer.
[Amended 7-14-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-09]
The Commission shall be composed of five residents
of the Borough, who shall be appointed by the Council as Commissioners
and shall serve without compensation. Council shall appoint members
to staggered terms so that one term expires every year. On the expiration
of the term of any Commissioner, a successor shall be appointed by
the Council to serve for a term of five years. Vacancies shall be
filled by Council for the unexpired terms.
Within a reasonable time after the establishment
of the Commission, Commission members shall meet and organize to provide
for the adoption of rules and procedures and for the holding of regular
and special meetings as said Commission shall deem advisable and necessary
in order to perform the duties as charged.
[Amended 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08]
The Commission shall have exclusive custody
and control of shade trees in the Borough.
A.
No person
or entity other than the Borough, or any department thereof, in response
to an emergency created by the shade tree, shall remove any shade
tree without first obtaining a permit from the Borough of Chambersburg.
The Borough Manager, or his designee, shall promulgate policies and
procedures, applications and rules associated with the removal of
a shade tree. Council may adopt a fee, if they so choose, for the
permit, and amend said fee from time to time. Any person or entity
receiving a permit shall abide by the standards of practice adopted
by the Commission and all terms, conditions, and requirements of the
permit.
B.
The Borough
may so choose to require the installation of a replacement shade tree,
or the installation or maintenance of a tree pit, as a condition of
any permit.
C.
Any pruning or trimming work to be done on any shade tree should be done in accordance with ANSI A300 tree care standards or by the advice provided by the Commission included in the Approved Street Tree Planting List. The requirements of this Subsection C shall apply to, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(1)
Any
property owner when contracting with any person or entity to prune
or trim any shade tree in the public street rights-of-way adjacent
to said property owner's property; and
(2)
The
Borough, or any department thereof, when contracting with any person
or entity to prune or trim any shade tree on Borough's rights-of-way;
and
(3)
Any
property owner when pruning or trimming shade trees on his or her
own property.
D.
Nothing
in this section shall prohibit property owners from pruning or removing
trees planted or growing on their own property that do not constitute
shade trees.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 11-12, Trees not to
be disturbed without permission, was repealed 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08.
[Amended 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08]
The Commission shall establish a list of the
type of shade trees permitted to be planted upon the public street
rights-of-way as designated by the Borough. Only shade trees from
the Approved Street Tree Planting List established by the Commission
should be planted. The Commission may amend or supplement the Approved
Street Tree Planting List from time to time.
[Amended 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08]
A.
It is the
adjacent property owner's responsibility to promptly remove or have
removed all fallen trees on public street rights-of-ways adjacent
to the property owner's property. In case of emergency or storm conditions,
it is the responsibility of the property owner to, as soon as possible,
remove or have removed all fallen trees owned by the property owner
that impede vehicular or pedestrian traffic flow on the public street
rights-of-way in the Borough or as placed on the public street rights-of-way
by the Borough. If the property owner fails to have the fallen trees,
or a significant portion thereof, removed within a reasonable period
of time, the Borough may cause the work to be done and levy and collect
the cost thereof as a municipal claim against the property as provided
for in Chapter 27 of the Borough Code.
B.
If a portion
of a shade tree represents a potential hazard above the Borough public
streets rights-of-way, the Commission may request that the Borough
Manager, or his designee, notify the entity or property owner to remove
said portion. Nothing herein shall prohibit the Borough from undertaking
any effort to abate any dangerous or hazardous situation, based on
the sole discretion of the Borough Manager, caused by a shade tree.
[Amended 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08]
Replacement of shade trees by property owners
on public street rights-of-way, including by installation of a tree
pit, shall be done in accordance with the Approved Street Tree Planting
List as established by the Commission.
The Commission may require owners of property
to cut, remove or treat diseased plants, shrubs and trees afflicted
with the Dutch Elm or other diseases and properly dispose of diseased
plants as established by the Commission. Upon failure of the owner
to comply with such notice, the Borough may cause the work to be done
by the Borough and levy and collect the cost thereof from the owner
of the property by the filing of a municipal claim on the property.
[Amended 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08]
A.
Responsibility
for care and maintenance of shade trees. Property owners are responsible
for the cost of care and maintenance of shade trees in the public
street rights-of-way adjacent to their property. The Borough may choose
instead to assess the property owner for the cost of planting or maintaining
any shade tree (upon the recommendation of the Commission) and, in
such circumstances, the Borough may assume responsibility for the
care.
B.
However,
in the downtown, under the direction of the Borough Manager, the Borough
may assume responsibility for the care and custody of certain shade
trees that, when in combination, create a downtown tree garden, which
improves the aesthetics of the downtown and provides for Christmas
lighting.
[Amended 3-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-08]
The Commission is responsible for the education
of the public with regards to the value, benefit, and care of trees.
The Commission shall have further powers, duties
and authority as set forth in the Borough Code and so designated by
the Mayor and Town Council of the Borough of Chambersburg.
The Commission shall have authority to spend
such funds as are appropriated by the Mayor and Town Council for the
purposes of the Commission in its yearly budget.
The Commission shall annually report in full
to the Council its transactions and expenses incurred during the last
fiscal year of the Borough.
Any person, partnership or other entity who
or which fails to comply or violates any provision of this article
shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
less than $50 nor more than $300 and cost of prosecution. Each day
an original violation continues, after written notice from the Commission
to the offender, shall be considered a separate offense.
