It shall be the duty of every owner of real estate
located in the Borough to trim and keep trimmed all trees and shrubbery
located upon his property, or upon the abutting streets or sidewalk,
so that:
There shall at all times be a clear space of at least
14 feet between the lowest branch or other overhanging portion of
every such tree and the surface of the street below; and
There shall at all times be a clear space of at least
eight feet between the lowest branch or other overhanging portion
of every such tree and the paved surface of the sidewalk below; and
No portion of any such tree or shrubbery shall extend
horizontally onto any street at any point less than 14 feet above
the surface of the street or onto any sidewalk at any point less than
eight feet above the surface of the sidewalk; and
There shall be no contact with electric, telephone
or other utility wires, and a clear and unobstructed space for those
wires shall be left, but without unnecessary cutting of any tree or
any branch or top of a tree; and
It shall be the duty of every owner of real estate
located in the Borough to remove all trees located upon his property
or upon the abutting street or sidewalk if that tree:
Is so diseased or in such a state of decay as to present
a threat or source of danger to pedestrians, motorists and other users
of the street or sidewalk and/or to vehicles parked or driven upon
the street;
Is growing in such a manner as to cause the upheaval
or disturbance of the abutting street or sidewalk, in which case the
property owner shall remove the roots causing that upheaval or disturbance
and then, as directed by Council, to make or pay for the necessary
repairs or reconstruction work to eliminate the disturbance or upheaval.
The work required by Subsections A and B of this section may be done on the initiative of the property owner referred to, and shall be done by him within 15 days after notice from Council to do so. All costs and expenses of the work, including any remedial or restorative work to any street, sidewalk or sidewalk area necessitated by removal of any tree or tree roots, shall in all cases be the responsibility of the property owner. If a property owner fails, neglects or refuses to do any work required by Subsection A or B of this section, within the time limit stated in the notice, or to satisfactorily complete the work, Council shall have the authority to have the work done by the Borough or under contract with the Borough, and to collect the resultant cost and expenses in any manner authorized for collection of debts against boroughs.
Any failure on the part of a property owner to perform
any duty required by this section shall constitute a violation by
him of this article.
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $300 and costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Provided: the fine and costs imposed under this section may be in addition to any costs and penalties imposed under § 280-12.