[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Canonsburg 11-1-1988 as Ch. 25 of the 1988 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The word "person," as used in this chapter, shall mean and include
any natural person, partnership, association, firm or corporation.
The singular shall include the plural, the plural shall include the
singular and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to plant, maintain or allow
to grow any North Carolina poplar within the lines of any street,
alley or sidewalk in the Borough of Canonsburg or within 100 feet
of any public sewer or water line.
Every owner of property in the Borough shall be required to
keep limbs and branches of all trees growing upon such property or
along the street, sidewalk, curb or alley abutting upon such property
trimmed so that no part of such limbs or branches or of the foliage
growing thereupon shall have a clearance of less than eight feet above
the surface of the sidewalk or of less than 14 feet above the surface
of the roadway of any street or alley.
It shall be the responsibility of property owners in the Borough of Canonsburg to conform to the requirements of this chapter as to trees upon property owned by them or along streets, alleys and sidewalks abutting upon such property and, upon notice from the Borough Council, to remove any tree or trees growing in violation of § 157-2 of this chapter and to trim or cut the branches or limbs of trees as required by § 157-3 hereof. Any person failing to comply with any such notice within the time limit stated therein shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter, and following the expiration of such time limit, the Borough Council shall have the authority to cause the work required by such notice to be done by the municipality or under contract therewith and to collect the cost of such work with an additional amount of 10% from such property owner in default.
Whenever it shall appear that the roots of any tree now growing
within the Borough obstruct or interfere with the operation of any
public sewer in said Borough, the Code Enforcement Officer shall give
written notice thereof to the owner of such tree or the person in
front of whose property the same may be located, requiring him or
them to remove such tree and repair any damages to sewer caused by
such tree within five days from the service of said notice, and upon
a failure to remove said tree and make such repairs within the time
fixed in said notice, the corporate authorities may cause said tree
to be removed and collect the cost and expense thereof, together with
the expense of repairing said sewer, from the owner of said tree or
the person in front of whose property the same may be located, to
be collected as other debts are by law collected.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania
Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall
be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus court costs
and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement
proceedings. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction,
or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine
or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and
committed to the Borough correctional facility for a period not exceeding
10 days or to the county correctional facility for a period not exceeding
30 days. Each day that such violation exists shall constitute a separate
offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also
constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement
under this section, the Borough may enforce this chapter in equity
in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County.
