All persons who shall conduct, or cause to be
conducted, any erection, repair, alteration, construction, or other
similar act near any tree, shall use best efforts to protect and preserve
the trees in and about the area of such conduct.
The Borough shall have the right to plant, prune,
maintain and remove trees, plants and shrubs within the Borough as
may be necessary to insure public safety, preserve or enhance the
beauty or symmetry or public grounds, or effectuate the intent and
purpose of this chapter. The Borough may remove or cause to be removed
any tree or part thereof which is in an unsafe condition or which
may be injurious to sewers, electric lines, gas lines, water lines,
or other public improvements, or which is or may be infected with
any fungus, insect or pest.
In the event that the Borough Engineer has determined
that one or more Borough trees must be removed for the benefit of
a Borough project or due to one or more Borough trees becoming a hazardous
tree due to a Borough project, then:
A.
The Borough tree(s) and the stump(s) shall be removed;
and
B.
The Borough tree(s) shall be replanted on a one-for-one
basis, in accordance with the planting requirements of this chapter;
and
C.
The cost of the removal(s) and replanting must be
a part of the project cost; and
D.
Adjacent property owners shall be notified and offered
the option to participate in the Adopt-a-Tree Program.
The following practices are prohibited and shall
constitute a violation if such practice continues by the same person,
landscape company, or on or near the same private property. Notice
of the violation condition shall allow a seven-calendar-day grace
period, after which the property owner shall be subject to the proscribed
violation penalty if the condition remains or continues. Second violations
of the same type for the same property owner shall not allow such
grace period. Violation Types 1, 2 and 4 shall not allow such grace
period.
B.
Violation Type 2, Vandalism or Severe Preventable
Damage:
(1)
Malicious vandalism of any Borough tree.
(2)
Cut, break, injure, disturb, install nails or other
metal objects into, or interfere in any material manner with any Borough
tree, or tree in a commercial buffer area;
(3)
Roots cut from a Borough tree in such a manner to
destabilize the Borough tree.
(4)
Conduct any excavation without a permit within four
feet of any Borough tree; and/or
(5)
Engage in any tree topping of a Borough tree as defined
in this chapter;
(6)
Spray any Borough tree or near any Borough tree any
chemical which may cause injury or death to said Borough tree, or
place salt, brine, oil, or any other substance which is or may be
injurious to plant growth on the ground, sidewalk or street area within
30 feet of the base of the Borough tree;
(7)
To build fires or station any kettle, road roller,
fuel oil dispensing truck, or other engine in any street or other
public place in such a manner that the heat, vapors, fuel or fumes
may injure a Borough tree.
C.
Violations Type 3, Other:
(1)
Mulch installed to more than six inches deep at the
base of a Borough tree.
(2)
Motorized trimmers and lawn mowers utilized in such
a way to damage the bark or cambium layer of a Borough tree.
(3)
Soil applied in excess of six inches deep on top of
the soil at the area under the drip line of a Borough tree.
(4)
To remove or injure any guard or device placed to
protect any Borough tree.
(5)
To place salt or other substances injurious to plant
growth in any street, park, and public place in such a manner to injure
any Borough tree.
(6)
Fasten any rope, wire, sign, or other device to any
Borough tree or to any guard about such Borough tree;
(7)
Close or obstruct any open space about the base of
any Borough tree which would prevent the access of air, water and
fertilizer to the roots of such tree;
(8)
Every person having or maintaining utility lines in
the street, park or public place shall maintain such lines in a manner
as will safeguard the Borough tree against damage and make periodic
adjustments whenever necessary to prevent damage to Borough trees.
(9)
Place or maintain in any street or ROW or park, any
stone, cement, or other sidewalk or other substance which may impede
the free access of air and water to the roots of any Borough tree,
and, where any Borough tree is surrounded by pavement of stone, placement
of cement or asphalt or any other substance tending to impede the
free access of air and water to the roots of any Borough tree;
The Borough may notify in writing any property
owners of any tree(s) which may, for any reason, threaten public safety,
and require the removal of any such tree(s), or pruning of such tree
limbs, at the owner's expense and in accordance with the requirements
of this chapter with such removal to occur within 30 days of the date
of such notice. The Borough may remove such tree(s), or prune such
tree limbs, in the event of owner's failure to cause such removal,
and the costs thereof shall be included in the next property tax bill
rendered to the owner. The Borough or the Commission shall give reasonable
notice of its intention to remove or prune, or cause the removal or
pruning of any tree(s), or part thereof, unless public safety requires
immediate removal, in which case no notice shall be necessary.
The Commission shall have the power to administer
treatment to or remove any tree(s) situated upon private land which
is believed to harbor a disease or insects, or is within the recommended
radius of a tree which is believed to harbor a disease or insects,
readily communicable to neighboring healthy trees in the care of the
Borough. The Borough shall have the right to enter upon private land
for that purpose, with notice to the property owner thereof, provided
that the suspected condition is first confirmed by a certificate by
or on behalf of the Department of Agriculture. The cost of such treatment
or removal shall be borne by the Borough.
All sewer service mains from private improvements
to the point of tap at the public sewer main are the responsibility
of the property owner to maintain regardless of the origination of
any tree roots or other tree-related problem. The Borough shall not
be responsible for clearance of tree roots, or replacement of sewer
piping, or any other affiliated expense of sewer service mains. In
the event that repair or replacement of the sewer main pipe would
destabilize a Borough tree(s) and cause it (them) to become a hazard
tree(s) according to USDA Forestry guidelines, then the property owner
must remove and replace the Borough tree(s) at the property owner's
expense. The replacement tree must comply with the planting requirements
of this chapter.
Property owners shall not prune or cause to
be pruned any portion of any tree within 10 feet vertical or horizontal
distance of a utility wire, inclusive of electric, cable and telephone
wiring. Issues pertaining to such wires shall be reported to the utility
company.
A.
Property owners are responsible for the maintenance
of sidewalks at all times. In the event that sidewalk work for repair
or replacement becomes necessary for any reason, the property owner
must obtain a permit from the Department of Buildings. The permit
process shall include a review by the DSTC of any Borough tree(s)
within the ROW.
B.
In the event that repair or replacement of the sidewalk,
in like and kind, would destabilize the Borough tree(s) and cause
it (them) to become a hazard tree(s) according to USDA Forestry guidelines,
then the property owner must remove and replace the Borough tree(s),
on a one-for-one basis, at the property owner's expense unless the
property owner meets both of the following two requirements of proof:
(1)
Proof that one, or a combination of, the following
options cannot be done to avoid creating a hazard tree condition:
(a)
Reroute the sidewalk, within the ROW, with a
minimum sidewalk width of three feet and a clear distance of at least
25% of DBH from the edge of the new sidewalk to the point where the
root collar enters the soil; and/or
(b)
Regrade soils and the sidewalk, but the new
sidewalk slope shall not exceed 1:12 ratio, or current ADA handicapped
accessibility standards, and the soil height shall not be increased
more than six inches; and/or
(c)
Use alternate materials, but such materials
shall have a warranty period of at least 10 years.
(2)
Proof that the Borough tree(s) meet the definition
of an overgrown tree.
C.
The property owner must provide such proof along with
any notice to the DSTC that the Borough tree(s) requires removal at
Borough expense.
D.
The replacement tree(s) must comply with the planting
requirements of this chapter.
