[Amended 9-11-2018 by Res. No. 95-18]
(a) 
The Mayor, with the approval of the Common Council, shall appoint a Tree Board consisting of five members, two of whom shall be sitting members of the Common Council, one of whom shall be the Mayor, one of whom shall be the Director of Public Works, and the remaining member shall be a resident of the City. The President of the Common Council shall be an ex officio member of the Tree Board. The term of the Common Council members appointed shall be for two years. The term of the other members shall be three years. All terms shall expire on December 31. If a vacancy shall occur during the term of any member, his successor shall be appointed for the unexpired portion of that person's term.
(b) 
The members of the Tree Board shall serve without compensation.
(c) 
It shall be the responsibility of the Tree Board to administer the tree ordinances and to recommend to the Common Council such proceedings, acts, or actions as will support the City tree program. It shall be the responsibility of the Board to study, investigate, counsel, update, and administer a written plan for the care, preservation, pruning, planting, replanting, removal, or disposition of trees and shrubs in parks, along streets, and in other public areas. Such plan will be presented by annual report to the Common Council. The Board, when requested by the Common Council, shall consider, investigate, make findings, report, and recommend upon any special matter or question coming within the scope of its work.
(a) 
No trees or shrubbery shall be planted by abutting landowners, nor any trees removed, between the street line and curbline within the City without receiving a permit, in writing, from the Department of Public Works approved by the Common Council.
(b) 
The permit, if granted, may specify such reasonable terms and conditions to be required for the proposed action, as may be determined by the Common Council and the following provisions:
(1) 
Tree planting specifications and selections.
a. 
Use street-grade trees following American Standard Nursery Stock (ANSI 60.1).
b. 
No damage to trunk or leaders.
c. 
No girdling roots.
d. 
Strong central leaders on trees (no co-dominant stems or included bark).
e. 
Caliper to be 1.5 inches to three inches for B&B and 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches for bare root trees.
f. 
Acceptable tree species shall be determined by Tree Board by referencing American Standard Nursery Stock and http://woodyplants.cals.cornell.edu/home.
g. 
Proper judgment shall be used in tree placement by the City Forester following the proceeding standards.
(2) 
Spacing requirements for street trees.
a. 
Thirty feet minimum spacing between trees.
b. 
Fifteen feet minimum spacing from utility/light poles and fire hydrants.
c. 
Forty-five feet minimum distance from corner with traffic signal present.
d. 
Thirty feet minimum distance from all other corners.
e. 
Five feet minimum distance from any driveway; three feet minimum distance from any sidewalk.
f. 
Five feet minimum distance from underground utility lines, water service boxes, etc.
(3) 
Site requirements for street trees (applies within City right-of-way).
a. 
Four feet minimum subway width between curb and sidewalk for planting of any tree with root barriers; five feet minimum subway width without root barriers.
b. 
Tree may be planted behind sidewalk, within right-of-way, provided proper spacing requirements are followed.
c. 
Tree pits should have roughly 35 square feet of surface area, such as six feet by six feet, five feet by seven feet, or four feet by eight feet, unless structural soil is used under surrounding paved area.
d. 
No raised planters for trees.
e. 
Trees may be planted under wires to mature at 25 feet or less.
f. 
Impacts on sight distances should be considered.
(4) 
Private tree planting standards.
a. 
Acceptable tree species shall be determined by the Tree Board by referencing American Standard Nursery Stock and http://woodyplants.cals.cornell.edu/home.
b. 
Impacts shall be considered on sight distances.
c. 
Trees shall be a minimum of 10 feet from a property line.
d. 
There shall be no underground utilities within five feet of any proposed tree.
e. 
Fifteen feet minimum spacing from utility/light poles and fire hydrants.
f. 
Five feet minimum distance from any driveway; three feet minimum distance from any sidewalk.
g. 
Trees shall not be planted in front of building entrances.
(5) 
Park tree planting standards.
a. 
Acceptable tree species shall be determined by the Tree Board by referencing American Standard Nursery Stock and http://woodyplants.cals.cornell.edu/home.
b. 
Impacts shall be considered on sight distances.
c. 
The trees shall be a minimum of 10 feet from a property line.
d. 
There shall be no underground utilities within five feet of any proposed tree.
e. 
Fifteen feet minimum distance spacing from utility/light poles and fire hydrants.
f. 
Five feet minimum distance from any driveway; three feet minimum distance from any sidewalk.
g. 
Trees shall not be planted in front of building entrances.
(c) 
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Common Council on application for a permit may apply to the Common Council, within 15 days of the issuance of such permit or its denial, for a hearing, which shall be held not less than two nor more than four weeks from the date of request for hearing. Notice of public hearing shall be given to the applicant by mail and shall be published once in the Olean Times Herald.
(d) 
At the time of the hearing, the Common Council shall hear all persons wishing to be heard on the application. In its decision on the application for a permit, the Common Council may take into account and consider the effects of the proposed action on the environment, the neighboring properties, and the safety, health, and welfare of the residents of the community generally.
All persons owning property in the City abutting upon any street and upon which there are shade trees along such street shall clean out the dead limbs and otherwise trim such trees so that the same will not become dangerous to, obstruct, or interfere with public travel or pedestrians.
All persons required by notice from the Director of Public Works to trim trees, as required under this article, must proceed to do so within 10 days after receiving such notice.
In case of failure to trim trees, as required under this article, the Director of Public Works is hereby authorized to do so, and the expense thereof shall be collected from the owner or occupant in the usual or ordinary way by suit and shall become a lien upon the premises.
Unless acting under a contract with the City, or unless there be a bona fide emergency, no tree shall be trimmed by any utility company without such utility company's having obtained a permit from the Common Council of the City. Utility companies desiring to obtain such permit may make application to the Common Council which shall contain its plan for the trimming and/or topping of trees. The permit shall be for a term of one year and may contain such reasonable conditions pertaining to the health and welfare of the citizens of the City as may be deemed appropriate to the circumstances. The Common Council shall act upon each permit application within 60 days of its receipt.
[Amended 10-8-2019 by Res. No. 76-19]
(a) 
Any person owning property in the City abutting upon any street and upon which there is a tree which has been deemed by the Tree Board and/or City Forester to be dangerous to, obstructing, or interfering with public travel or pedestrians shall have 30 days to have the tree removed by an insured contractor.
(b) 
The City of Olean will provide a rebate of 1/2 of the cost of such removal by the contractor of the property owner's choice or the City's tree removal contractor, whichever is less, to the property owner upon completion, subject to the following provisions:
(1) 
Eligible tree removal projects for the rebate are those which have been deemed by the Tree Board and/or the City Forester to be dangerous to, obstructing, or interfering with public travel or pedestrians. Trees removed for aesthetic purposes or at the will of the property owner will be ineligible for this rebate.
(2) 
An application (available in the Department of Public Works) must be completed and submitted to the Department of Public Works by the property owner.
(3) 
Department of Public Works inspection and designation of removal requirement by the Tree Board is required prior to the commencement of the project in order for the project to be eligible for the rebate.
(4) 
A permit will be required for the removal of the tree, and all work must be done by a licensed contractor in accordance with City of Olean specifications.
(5) 
A postremoval inspection will be performed prior to the release of funding.
(c) 
Any tree that has not been properly removed or maintained within 30 days of notification by the Department of Public Works shall be subject to removal by the City of Olean. In such cases where the property owner fails to remove or maintain said tree, or fails to apply for or comply with the procedures of the rebate program, the City's actual cost of removing or maintaining said tree shall become a lien on the premises.
Any person owning property in the City abutting upon any street and upon which there is a tree who desires to remove a tree in this right-of-way must request permission from and obtain required approvals from the Tree Board. In the event that the Tree Board denies such request for approval to remove a tree in the right-of-way, the property owner may appeal the decision to the Common Council within 15 days of the rendered decision of the Tree Board, and the Common Council will review said appeal by their next regularly scheduled meeting. Approval to remove the tree granted by the Tree Board (or Common Council, upon appeal) does not exempt the property owner from obtaining necessary permits from the Department of Public Works. A licensed contractor must perform the work required to remove the tree, and removal of a tree not deemed required for the public welfare or safety by the Tree Board will be done solely at the property owner's expense.
No poplar trees shall be placed in the subways of the City, and all poplar trees are hereby declared to be a nuisance and shall be removed by the owners thereof upon 15 days' notice from the Director of Public Works.