The purpose and intent of this chapter is to promote and protect the public health, safety and general welfare in the Village of Cayuga Heights by providing for the regulation of the planting, maintenance, protection and removal of public trees and shrubs located within the right-of-way of any public street or in public parks or on other Village property. It also establishes the office of a Village Forester and a Shade Tree Advisory Committee and provides for the issuing of permits for the planting, maintenance, protection and removal of public trees and shrubs.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Village of Cayuga Heights Street Tree and Shrub Protection and Planting Law."
When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases will have the following meanings:
ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNER The person, firm, entity, or corporation owning property bordering a Village street and the municipal right-of-way. The adjacent property owner to a public tree shall be the owner of property located on a perpendicular with the street line through the center of the tree four feet above the edge of pavement of a roadway.
CALIPER The diameter in inches of the tree trunk 12 inches above the base of the tree.
CARE That which is required to maintain the health and vigor of a tree or shrub in accordance with best silvicultural practices.
CONTRACTOR A person, company or organization employed to supply necessary skills and services in pruning, trimming or removing trees and shrubs.
DAMAGE Physical or chemical injury or harm done to any tree or shrub.
DBH (DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT) Tree trunk diameter measured in inches at a height of four feet six inches above the finished grade at the base of the tree.
DISTURB Any act, treatment or process that will change the shape, growing conditions, health, size or density of a tree or shrub.
DRIPLINE A vertical line extending from the outermost edge of the tree canopy or shrub branch to the ground.
FERTILIZE The application of substances to the plant or the surrounding soil which are required for the optimal growth and health of the tree or shrub.
MAINTAIN To keep a tree or shrub in maximum health and vigor.
NUISANCE Any thing or act that unreasonably annoys or disturbs a person, interferes with a person's use of his or her property, or violates the public health, safety and welfare.
PARK/PUBLIC PLACE All property owned by the Village or public street rights-of-way within the Village.
PRUNE To remove dead or living parts from a tree or shrub so as to increase health, vigor and form.
PUBLIC STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY The land bordering the travelled area of a Village public street, road or highway owned and maintained by the Village to the width owned by the Village or otherwise as prescribed by applicable law.
PUBLIC TREE OR SHRUB A tree or shrub located on publicly owned land or within the public street right-of-way.
REMOVE To take away and remove a tree or shrub, including the stump to below ground level.
REPLACE The removal of a dead, dying or diseased tree or shrub followed by the planting of a tree or shrub of the same or different species in the same or adjacent location.
SEVERE ROOT PRUNING Cutting back the underground tree roots inside the dripline of the tree that will be detrimental to the life of the tree.
SHRUB Woody plant with more than one main stem emerging from the ground.
TOP/TOPPING Severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter within the tree crown to such degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.
TREE A woody plant with a single central axis (trunk) emerging from the ground and acquiring a minimum height of 10 feet at maturity.
UTILITY An entity that provides electricity, gas, sewer, water, telephone or cable television to properties within the Village.
[Amended 1-18-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023]
A. It shall be the duty of any person or utility owning real property bordering on any property owned by the Village, including, but not limited to, any public street or park, at their own expense, to prune or remove any trees located upon their property which are dead, harbor insects or disease, or which are so damaged as to be a public nuisance or in danger of falling, thereby potentially causing damage to person or property on any such adjacent property owned by the Village, including, but not limited to, any public right-of-way or park.
B. It shall be the duty of any person or utility owning real property bordering on any property owned by the Village, including, but not limited to, any public street, at their own expense, to ensure that trees and shrubs located upon their property are pruned in a manner that they do not obstruct or shade streetlights, obstruct the passage of pedestrians on sidewalks, obstruct vision of traffic signs or obstruct the view of any street or sidewalk intersection.
C. The Village Forester may deliver to the property owner written notification that a
tree or
shrub located upon their property should be pruned or removed for the reasons stated in Subsection
A or
B above. The property owner shall have 15 days after the date of service of the notice to confirm its receipt and to inform the Village Forester or Code Enforcement Officer as to when the
tree or
shrub shall be pruned or removed. After so informing the Village Forester or Code Enforcement Officer, the property owner shall prune or remove the
tree or
shrub within 60 days unless the Village Forester or Code Enforcement Officer delivers to the property owner written notice that such work is required to occur sooner than such sixty-day period. If the property owner fails to comply with such provisions, the Village may prune or remove the
tree or
shrub and deliver to the property owner an invoice for the Village's cost of pruning or removal.
D. Notwithstanding the terms of Subsection
C above, in the case of any
tree located on private property, (a) which
tree was the subject of a notice delivered to the property owner in accordance with Subsection
C above, that falls and obstructs any property owned by the Village, including, but not limited to, any public right-of-way or park, or (b) which
tree poses an imminent threat to person or property on any property owned by the Village, including, but not limited to, any in the right-of-way or park, and, whether due to the
tree's size, its proximity to electrical utilities, or some other factor, must be removed on an emergency basis by a professional
tree care management company, the Village may arrange for said removal and deliver to the property owner an invoice for the Village's cost of removal.
E. If the property owner objects to payment of the invoice described in either Subsection
C or
D above, the property owner may appeal the requirement to pay such costs by written notice delivered to the Village Board of Trustees within 30 days of the date of such invoice, and the Village Board will consider such appeal at its next regularly scheduled Board meeting following receipt of such appeal. If the property owner does not deliver to the Village payment of the Village's cost of such pruning or removal within 60 days of the Village's delivery of the invoice, and the Village Board has denied the property owner's appeal of such invoice, the cost stated on such invoice shall be added to the next real estate tax bill for the subject property.
[Amended 10-21-2019 by L.L. No. 5-2019]
If
trees or
shrubs are interfering with utilities, including, but not limited to, overhead utility wires, it is the responsibility of the appropriate utility company to correct the situation. Prior to commencing any action pursuant to this §
248-12, the appropriate utility company shall give the Village Forester written notice of at least 10 business days.
No person shall hinder, prevent, delay, or interfere with the Village of Cayuga Heights or its agents, including the Village Forester or Shade Tree Advisory Committee members, while engaged in carrying out the enforcement of this chapter or duly adopted regulations.
[Amended 10-21-2019 by L.L. No. 5-2019]
Any person, utility, firm, entity, or corporation violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation, and upon conviction thereof shall pay the cost of rectifying damage to any tree or shrub on Village-owned property and be fined, for a first offense not less than $50 and not more than $250, for a second offense not less than $100 and not more than $250, and for any additional offense not less than $150 and not more than $250, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Should a dispute arise in the administering of this chapter, an appeal can be requested by petitioning, in writing, the Village Forester. The Village Forester will have 10 working days to reply in writing. Should this provide an unsatisfactory resolution, a second appeal can be requested by petitioning the Code Enforcement Officer. In such event, the Code Enforcement Officer shall consult with the Village Forester. The Code Enforcement Officer will have 30 working days from the filing of the second appeal to reply in writing. Should this also provide an unsatisfactory resolution, a third appeal can be requested by petitioning the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will act upon the petition within 60 days from the date of receiving the petition.