Due to the complex nature and often conflicting interrelationships
between living plants such as trees, shrubs, and turf, and public
improvements such as streets, sidewalks and underground facilities,
it is recognized that there is a need to manage both plants and improvements
in a manner that will minimize conflict and maximize the benefits
to be realized from each. Therefore, it is hereby declared to be the
intent of the City of Beverly that there shall exist at all times
a policy of open communication and coordination between the various
departments and divisions of City government regarding the management,
installation and maintenance of the plants or improvements for which
they are responsible.
In this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise,
the following words and phrases shall be defined as follows:
CITY ARBORIST
The person designated under Chapter
58, Officers and Employees, of the City Code or his/her duly authorized representative designated to perform inspection or otherwise enforce the provisions of this chapter.
CLEAR-VISION TRIANGLE
A triangle-shaped zone formed by the existing or proposed
curblines of two or more intersecting streets, roads, or alleys and
a third line connecting said curblines at a distance of 30 feet in
each direction from the point of curbline intersection, in order to
provide vehicular traffic an unobstructed view of cross traffic at
intersections.
MAINTENANCE AND PROTECTION
Includes all operations of trimming, pruning, spraying, injecting,
fertilizing, treating, bracing, cabling and cutting any tree or shrub
above or below the ground.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation
or government entity.
PUBLIC TREES AND SHRUBS
Any tree or shrub, as herein defined, presently or hereafter
planted in or upon any public area.
PUBLIC WAY
Includes all public ways, parks, and other lands owned, controlled,
or leased by the City.
SHRUB
A woody plant, usually with multiple stems branched at or
near the base, reaching a height of less than 12 feet.
STREET TREE
Any public tree presently or hereafter located in the public
way between the curb and public sidewalk, or between the curbs of
a median strip, or in the equivalent location with respect to future
curb, sidewalk or median strips where such curbs or sidewalks are
not yet installed.
TREE
A woody plant, usually with a single stem unbranched at the
base, reaching a height of 12 feet or more.
TREE PROTECTION ZONE
A zone of protected space not less than four feet high and
10 feet square, or at a distance in feet from the tree trunk equal
to the diameter of the trunk at breast height (DBH) in inches, whichever
is greater.
The most recent versions of following documents, each in its
entirety, are hereby adopted and made a part of this chapter upon
passage:
A. ANSI A300-1995, American National Standard for Tree Care Operations
- Tree, Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance - Standard Practices.
B. ANSI Z60.1-1996, American Standard for Nursery Stock.
The following specifications and standards are hereby established
for the planting, pruning, and removal of all public trees and shrubs
within the City:
A. Planting.
(1) No tree shall hereafter be planted which is less than 1 1/2
inches in diameter at six inches above the ground.
(2) No street tree shall be planted less than 10 feet from any driveway
or fire hydrant, or within the designated clear-vision triangle or
less than 30 feet from any street corner, whichever is greater.
(3) All street trees hereafter planted shall be spaced not less than
25 feet apart, except that a tree planted for the purpose of future
replacement of an existing declining tree may be planted less than
25 feet from the declining tree. The actual spacing, location, and
alignment of street trees shall be determined by the City Arborist
based on the mature size of the species to be planted and the specific
site limitations.
(4) The following shall not be planted in the public ways of the City:
any conifer, any species of the genus Populus, any Ailanthus, Catalpa,
mountain ash, box elder, silver maple, willow, white bark birch, black
locust, or such other species that shall be determined to be unsuitable
for street planting.
B. Pruning.
(1) All pruning of public trees and shrubs shall conform with the standards
set forth in ANSI A300 or the most recent version thereof as adopted
hereunder.
(2) It shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person, firm, or
City department to top any street tree, park tree, or other tree on
public property. "Topping" is defined as the severe cutting back of
limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter within the tree's
crown to such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure
the tree. Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes, or certain
trees under utility wires or other obstructions, where other pruning
practices are impractical, may be exempted from this chapter at the
determination of the City Arborist.
C. Removal.
(1) The City Arborist may remove or order to be removed any tree or part
thereof which is in an unsafe condition or which by reason of its
nature is injurious to sewers, electric power lines, gas lines, water
lines, or other public improvements, or is affected with any injurious
fungus, insect, or other pest.
(2) Trees shall be completely removed from the growing site and disposed
of in the proper manner. Any person or firm engaged in the removal
of any public tree or shrub shall have the necessary limits of insurance
and shall be held liable for any injury or damage to persons or property.
(3) Stumps and roots that elevate sidewalks and/or boulevards shall be
removed from the growing site by grinding or other means to a depth
suitable for the future planting of trees, shrubs, or turf. The hole
created by removal of a stump shall be filled to the level of surrounding
grade with mineral topsoil, tamped to prevent settling and seeded
with a mixture of grass species appropriate for the site.
D. Spraying, injecting, fertilizing, bracing, cabling or other arboricultural
operations or treatments shall be performed in a neat and professional
manner according to accepted arboricultural standards and in compliance
with all laws governing the use of pesticides.
The entire cost of planting, removal, maintenance, and protection of trees and shrubs in all public areas of the City, when performed by department employees or their contractors at the direction of the City Arborist, shall be borne by the City out of the departments' budgets, or from funds donated or otherwise acquired for this purpose. When a private party other than the City plants, removes, maintains, or protects public trees or shrubs pursuant to §
261-2 of this chapter, said party shall incur all expenses connected therewith.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be,
upon conviction or a plea of guilty, subject to a fine not to exceed
$1,000. In addition to a fine, the City may require restitution for
the fair market value of the tree(s) and/or shrub(s) that was damaged
or destroyed as a result of a violation of this chapter.