Whenever the following words or terms are used in this article, they shall have the following meanings:
CITY FORESTER Person or City employee designated by the City Council as authorized to carry out provisions of this chapter.
PERMIT The written permission of the City Forester or his or her designee to plant trees on public right-of-way.
PERSON Person, firm, association or corporation.
PUBLIC NUISANCE TREE Any tree with an infectious disease or insect problem; dead or dying tree; a tree or limb(s) that obstruct street lights, traffic signs, the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles; a tree that poses a threat to public safety.
PUBLIC PROPERTY All public parks and other lands owned, controlled or leased by the City.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY The entire area between the dedicated boundaries of all public street, roads, and alleys and includes green areas (lawns or landscaped areas), sidewalks and public parking area within such boundaries.
PUBLIC TREES All trees located or to be planted, pruned, trimmed or removed in or upon public property or public rights-of-way.
TOP or TOPPING The severe cutting back of limbs to stubs within the tree's crown to such a degree so as to remove normal canopy and disfigure the tree.
TREES Any woody plant, normally having one stem or trunk bearing its foliage or crown well above ground level to heights of 10 feet or more.
URBAN FOREST A collection of trees in and around the City, including park and street trees on public property and on private property.
Planting of certain trees is restricted. No person shall hereafter plant any tree listed on the "Restricted Tree List" upon any public right-of-way or other public property within the City of Hudson. The "Restricted Tree List" shall be developed and updated by the City Forester or his or her designee on an annual basis and be made available with the tree permit application. The City Forester or his or her designee shall cause the removal of any tree planted in violation of this section.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall be notified by the City Forester or his or her designee of the noncompliance and the action that must be taken to come into compliance. If the compliance persists penalties may be imposed for each day of violation as provided in Hudson City Code §
1-18. These penalties shall be in addition to any other remedies available to the City under Hudson City Code and/or Wisconsin law.
The City Forester or his or her designee with approval of the Mayor, in the case of emergencies, such as windstorms, ice storms, insect/disease outbreaks or other disasters, may waive the requirements of this article so that they in no way shall hinder private or public work to restore order in the City.
Nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to impose any liability upon the City, its officers, or employees nor to relieve the owner of any private property from the duty to keep any tree, shrub, or plant upon their property or under their control in such condition as to prevent it from constituting a hazard to public safety or an impediment to travel or vision upon any road, park boulevard, alley, or public place within the City.
Should any section, subsection, clause, or provision of this article be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the ordinance in whole or in any part thereof other than the part so declared to be invalid.
Any person who receives a determination or order under this chapter from the City Forester or his or her designee and objects to all or any part thereof shall have the right to appeal such determination or order, to the Public Works Committee within seven days of receipt of the order and the Public Works Committee shall hear such appeal within 30 days of receipt of written notice of the appeal. After such hearing, the Public Works Committee may reverse, affirm or modify the order or determination appealed from and the grounds for its decision shall be stated in writing. The Public Works Committee shall, by letter, notify the party appealing the order or determination of its decision within 10 days after the hearing has been concluded. The Public Works Committee shall file its written decision with the City Clerk.