The purpose of this Article 17 is to protect, manage, preserve,
and enhance the forested character and natural resources of the Village.
The Village has determined that the presence of trees, shrubs, and
other plants in the Village improves air quality, conserves energy,
provides wildlife habitat, reduces soil erosion, enhances stormwater
detention and drainage, and preserves and enhances property values
in the Village and its environs. The Village also seeks to eliminate
trees that constitute a threat, danger or nuisance to the public or
property in the Village, or that may be dangerous to the health of
other trees and vegetation in the Village. The policy of the Village
is to balance the private property rights of landowners with the public
health, safety, and welfare that is promoted by the existence and
maintenance of trees in the Village. Specifically, and without limitation
of the foregoing. It is the intent of the Board of Trustees of the
Village of Lincolnwood that the terms of this Article 17 shall be
construed so as to promote (i) the planting, maintenance, restoration
and survival of desirable trees, shrubs and other plants within the
Village; and (ii) the protection of community residents from personal
injury and property damage, and the protection of the Village from
property damage, caused or threatened by the improper planting, maintenance,
or removal of trees, shrubs, or other plants located within the community.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and enforcement of this Article 17:
The owner or representative of an owner of a lot, parcel,
or tract on which a tree-impact activity is sought.
The manual prepared by the arborist pursuant containing regulations
and standards for the planting, maintenance and removal of trees,
shrubs and other plants upon Village-owned property.
The Village Arborist.
That portion of the applicant's lot determined to be buildable
under the provisions of the Village Zoning Code, and not including
the required front, side, and rear yards existing on said lot as of
the date of passage of this Article 17.
The diameter of a tree when measured at six inches above
grade. Caliper shall be the form of size measurement for trees four
inches and less in diameter.
Any lot, parcel or tract within the Village that is four
acres or greater.
A permit issued by the Village Manager or his or her designee
authorizing the removal of a tree in a conservation area pursuant
to the provisions of this Article 17. Said permit is valid for a period
of 12 months from the date of issue.
The felling and/or removal of a tree, or any other procedure
that is likely to cause the death of, or material damage and/or substantial
injury to, a tree. Cutting does not include normal pruning or trimming
of trees.
Any species listed in the Village's Arboricultural Standards
Manual as a deferred species.
The actual physical removal, or the effective removal, of
a tree through damaging, poisoning, or other direct or indirect action
resulting in, or likely to result in, the death of, or material damage
and/or substantial injury to, a tree.
The diameter of the trunk of a tree, stated in inches and
measured at 4 1/2 feet above the existing grade at the base of
the tree; dbh shall be the form of size measurement for trees greater
than four inches in diameter.
An artificial line along the ground that conforms to the
perimeter of the crown of a tree and projects vertically to the ground.
Any tree that poses a risk to the general public or urban
forest or is identified as problematic to the community as determined
by the Village Manager or his or her designee, any tree species designated
as a nuisance in the Village's Arboricultural Standards Manual, or
any State of Illinois identified nuisance. Nuisances unrelated to
the species or condition of a particular tree are determined at the
discretion of the Village Manager or his or her designee.
The record owner or contract purchaser of any parcel of land.
Any tree located on any Village-owned property, including,
without limitation, parkway and other rights-of-way.
Any deferred species or nuisance tree as well as any dead,
diseased, or hazardous trees as determined by the Village Manager
or his or her designee.
The felling and/or destruction of a tree, or the effective
destruction of a tree through damage or otherwise.
A tree installed pursuant to a tree removal permit to replace
a significant tree that an applicant has been authorized to cut or
destroy.
Any tree located on private property, other than a nuisance
or deferred tree, having a dbh of eight inches or more.
A plan submitted to the Village that includes the following:
Identifies all significant trees on the lot, parcel, or tract,
including their location, size (in dbh), species, and condition;
Indicates the nature and extent of the tree-impact activity
that is proposed to occur within, or likely to interfere with, the
dripline of any significant tree; and
Sets forth in detail the measures to be undertaken to protect
any significant tree.
A self-supporting, woody plant, together with its root system,
having a well-defined stem or trunk or a multistemmed trunk system,
a more or less well-defined crown, and a mature height of at least
eight feet. "Tree" does not include trees in containers or nursery
stock trees kept or maintained for resale.
A tree as determined by the Village Manager or his or her
designee that has become an imminent danger or hazard to persons or
property as a result of fire, motor vehicle accident or natural occurrence
such as lightning, windstorms, ice storms, floods, or other similar
events; or a tree that must be removed in order to perform emergency
repair or replacement of public or private water, sewer, electric,
gas, or telecommunications utilities.
Any activity that will or is likely to involve or result
in: (i) the subdivision of any lot, parcel, or tract of land in the
Village; (ii) the cutting or destruction of a significant tree outside
the building envelope; or (iii) taking actions inside or outside of
the building envelope that will likely result in the cutting or destruction
of a significant tree.
A permit issued by the Village Manager or his or her designee
authorizing the removal of a tree pursuant to the provisions of this
Article 17.
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Any term used in this Article 17 that is not defined in this Section 14-17-2, but that is defined elsewhere in this Code, shall have the meaning ascribed to it therein.
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(A)
A tree removal permit shall be required for the removal of any tree
having a dbh equal to or greater than eight inches.
(B)
A tree removal permit fee shall be required as established in this
Code. The fee shall be waived for local units of government and for
the removal of a tree pursuant to the provisions of this Code concerning
the removal of dying, dead, or diseased trees.
(C)
A tree removal permit shall require the protection of other trees
located on, or adjacent to, the subject property, as determined by
the Village Manager or his or her designee.
(B)
Notwithstanding any other regulations of this Article 17, a person
otherwise required to obtain a tree removal permit may take any reasonable
action necessary to avoid or eliminate the immediate danger or hazard
caused by the tree emergency. The person taking such action shall
file an application for a tree removal permit within 72 hours after
a tree is removed in a tree emergency.
(A)
A tree removal permit application shall be submitted, along with
a tree removal permit fee, on a form approved by the Village Manager
or his or her designee.
(B)
The tree removal permit shall be issued by the Village Manager or
his or her designee upon determination that the application form has
been properly completed, that a business removing the tree is properly
licensed in the Village, that the applicable permit fee has been paid,
and the required tree replacement obligation, if any, has been satisfied.
(A)
The Village Manager or his or her designee is hereby authorized to
establish any incidental rules or regulations that may be necessary
to implement the provisions of this Article 17, including the preparation
of application, permit, or other forms.
(B)
In the event that an applicant objects to a determination of the
Village Manager or his or her designee in connection with a tree removal
permit or tree removal permit application under this Article 17, an
applicant may appeal such determination by filing a written appeal
with the Village Manager within 10 days after the Village Manager
or his or her designee's determination. The appeal shall set forth
with particularity the aspect or aspects of the Village Manager or
his or her designee's determination from which the appeal is sought
and the basis on which the applicant believes the Village Manager
or his or her designee's determination was inconsistent with the standards
of this Article 17. The Village Manager shall notify, in writing,
the person filing the appeal of his or her decision regarding the
appeal.
(C)
The decision of the Village Manager may be appealed to the Village
Board of Trustees, but the Board of Trustees is not obligated to consider
the appeal.
Any person that proposes to undertake any tree-impact activity
shall be required to submit a significant tree plan as part of the
tree removal permit application to the Village Manager or his or her
designee, prior to the approval or commencement of any tree-impact
activity. The significant tree plan shall be submitted on a form prescribed
by the Village Manager or his or her designee. The Village Manager
or his or her designee may require an applicant to submit supplemental
information that may reasonably be necessary to conduct a complete
review of the application pursuant to this Article 17.
(A)
The Village Manager or his or her designee shall review each significant
tree plan to determine: (1) whether such plan will likely result in
the cutting or destruction of any significant tree; (2) whether such
plan minimizes the destruction or cutting of significant trees; and
(3) whether such plan provides adequate protection for each significant
tree.
(B)
If the Village Manager or his or her designee determines that a significant
tree plan will neither destroy nor cut any significant tree and will
provide adequate protection of all significant trees, then the Village
Manager or his or her designee shall issue a tree removal permit,
and the applicant shall be entitled to proceed with the tree-impact
activity, subject to satisfaction of any other permitting or other
requirements of law relating to such activity.
(C)
If the Village Manager or his or her designee determines that a significant
tree plan will likely result in the cutting or destruction of any
significant tree, the Village Manager or his or her designee shall
first consult with the applicant to modify the tree-impact activity
or to take other or additional action to avoid or minimize such cutting
or destruction. If such consultation results in modifications or additional
actions that avoid or minimize the cutting or destruction of significant
trees, the Village Manager or his or her designee shall issue a tree
removal permit, and the applicant shall be entitled to proceed with
the tree-impact activity, subject to satisfaction of any other permitting
or other requirements of law relating to such activity. If the applicant
modifies the significant tree plan to avoid the cutting or destruction
of a significant tree, the Village may, at its discretion and in cooperation
with the applicant, purchase and install one new three-inch caliper
tree on the applicant's property.
(D)
If the Village Manager or his or her designee determines that a significant
tree plan will result in the cutting or destruction of any significant
tree, and the Village Manager or his or her designee's consultation
with the applicant does not result in modifications or additional
actions that avoid or minimize the cutting or destruction of significant
trees, the applicant shall receive a tree removal permit, subject
to satisfying the tree replacement obligation set forth in the tree
removal permit.
(E)
When issuing a tree removal permit, the Village Manager or his or
her designee may establish such conditions as may be necessary or
appropriate to achieve the purposes of this Article 17, including,
without limitation, the installation of fencing to protect the dripline
of any significant tree. Any applicant receiving a tree removal permit
shall be required to comply strictly with the terms and conditions
of such tree removal permit, including the significant tree plan,
at the applicant's sole cost and expense.
Whenever a tree removal permit is subject to a tree replacement
obligation due to the cutting or destruction of a significant tree,
the Village Manager or his or her designee shall determine what the
tree replacement obligation shall be. The obligation shall be based
on the size of the significant tree(s) affected and subject to the
following terms.
(A)
The Village Manager or his or her designee shall require the applicant to replace the significant tree(s) removed with new trees, each of which shall have a minimum diameter of not less than three inches. The total diameter of replacement tree(s) shall equal or exceed the dbh of the tree(s) removed, unless the Village Manager or his or her designee determines that full replacement would result in unreasonable crowding of trees upon the subject property. In such an event, the applicant shall be responsible for payment of a tree replacement fee as set forth in Section 14-17-9(E) of this Code.
(B)
The Village Manager or his or her designee shall have prior approval
of all species of trees to be planted on the property when the planting
of replacement trees is required.
(C)
An applicant shall be required to replace any replacement tree that
does not survive the second anniversary of its installation.
(D)
An applicant that selects replacement trees from the Village's preferred
species list shall have the replacement ratio reduced by 20%.
(E)
If the subject property cannot accommodate the required replacement
trees, or the applicant chooses to pay a fee in lieu of planting replacement
trees on the property, the Village shall require payment of a tree
replacement fee in the amount set forth in the Annual Fee Resolution
per diameter inch of tree removed.[1] The Village shall then use such funds to purchase and
plant trees elsewhere on Village property.
(A)
Any applicant in a conservation area that removes or intends
to remove any tree(s) having a dbh equal to or greater than eight
inches shall be required to obtain an annual conservation area tree
removal permit.
(B)
A conservation area tree removal permit fee shall be required
as established in this Code. The fee shall be waived for local units
of government.
(A)
A conservation area tree removal permit application shall be
submitted, along with a conservation area tree removal permit fee,
on a form approved by the Village Manager or his or her designee.
(B)
The conservation area tree removal permit shall be issued by
the Village Manager or his or her designee upon determination that
the application form has been properly completed, that the entity
removing the tree is properly licensed in the Village, and that the
applicable permit fee has been paid.
(C)
Upon receipt of a conservation area tree removal permit, the
applicant shall be required to meet with the Village Manager or his
or her designee prior to any cutting or destruction of a significant
tree(s) and shall also be required to meet with the Village Manager
or his or her designee at least one additional time during the year
at a time to be determined by the Village Manager or his or her designee.
Any applicant in a conservation area shall be prohibited from
removing more than 20% of the significant trees located on said conservation
area throughout the term of the conservation area tree removal permit.
(A)
It shall be an offense for any person to remove a tree, or for
a property owner to employ, authorize or direct any third person or
entity to remove a tree, without having first obtained a tree removal
permit, if so required under the provisions of this Article 17.
(B)
It shall be an offense for any person to remove a significant
tree from a conservation area without having first obtained a conservation
area tree removal permit.
(C)
It shall be an offense for any person to remove more than 20%
of the significant tree population within a conservation area throughout
the term of the conservation area tree removal permit.
(D)
It shall be an offense for any person to undertake a tree-impact
activity that is not undertaken in strict conformity with the terms
and conditions of a tree removal permit.
(E)
A separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed for
each tree removed without a tree removal permit or in violation of
a tree removal permit.
(F)
Each offense under this Section 14-17-13 shall be punishable by the issuance of a stop-work order until full compliance with this Article 17 has been achieved; a fine in the amount set forth in the Annual Fee Resolution;[1] and the imposition of a tree replacement fee in the amount
set forth in the Annual Fee Resolution per diameter inch of tree removed,
as determined by the Village Manager or his or her designee.
(G)
Any entity that violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with, or resists the enforcement of, any of the provisions of this Article 17 two or more times during any eighteen-month period shall be subject to the suspension or revocation of its business license pursuant to Section 9-1-14 of this Code.
The violation of any provision of this Article 17 shall be grounds
for revocation of any permit or approval issued pursuant to this Article
17.
