[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Directors
of the Town of Manchester as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
CHARTER REFERENCES
Authority to regulate trees on streets and public
grounds — See § 1-3(48).
Tree Warden; tree protection — See C.G.S. 23-58
et seq.
STATUTORY REFERENCES
License — See C.G.S. Title 21.
[Adopted as Secs. 9-1 to 9-2 of the 1996 Code]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as "The Town of Manchester Tree and Shrub Spraying Notice Ordinance."
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation
to spray or cause to be sprayed any chemicals, in liquid, powder or
other form, which have a detrimental effect upon domestic bees, persons,
and pets, upon trees and shrubs on any property within the borders
of the Town without first notifying all beekeepers registered within
the Town located within two miles of the site of any proposed spraying
and further notifying occupants of the property to be sprayed and
of all property abutting the property of the site of said spraying.
The notice to the beekeepers shall be by telephone at least two days
prior to the date of the planned spraying. The notice to the occupants
shall also be by telephone or in writing and, if in writing, be either
mailed to their addresses or placed at the main entrance to their
addresses. The notice to occupants must be received at least 48 hours
prior to the time of said spraying. If the spraying date is changed,
the parties entitled to receive a notice must be notified again of
the new date. Both the sprayers and the parties contracting for the
spraying shall be responsible for completing these notice provisions.
Any person who violates any provision of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished in accordance with § 1-2 of this Code.
All violations concerning licenses shall be
forthwith reported to the state's attorney for prosecution.
[Adopted 7-11-2017]
It is the purpose of this article to promote and protect the
public health, safety and general welfare by providing for regulation
of the planting, maintenance and removal of trees and shrubs within
the Town of Manchester. It is the intent of the Board of Directors
that the provisions of this article be construed so as to promote
the planting, maintenance, restoration and survival of desirable trees
and shrubs within the Town of Manchester. This article provides full
power and authority over all trees located within streets, rights-of-way,
parks and public spaces of the Town and trees located on private property
that constitute a hazard or threat as hereinafter defined.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings as indicated:
An individual, corporation, including a public utility company,
partnership and association.
The owner of record of any parcel of land.
Woody plants, branched from the base, generally less than
15 feet tall when mature.
Any and all property owned by the Town of Manchester and
any public right-of-way maintained by the Town of Manchester, including,
for the purposes of this article, such limbs, roots or parts of trees
and shrubs as extend or overhang the limits of any municipal road
or grounds.
A woody plant, usually with one main trunk, reaching a height
of at least 15 feet when mature.
The General Manager shall appoint a Tree Warden, who shall have
all powers, duties and authority as set forth herein as well as in
the Connecticut Public Shade Trees Statutes, particularly Connecticut
General Statutes Sections 23-58, 23-59, 23-60 and 23-65, as the same
be amended, and this article. The Tree Warden shall have a working
knowledge of arboricultural practices through formal education and/or
directly related experience. The Tree Warden shall have full power
and authority over all trees and shrubs located within the public
areas and, to the extent provided herein, on private property.
The Town's Conservation Commission shall function as the
Tree Advisory Board. The duty of the Tree Advisory Board is to ensure
that the intent and provisions of this article are carried out to
the fullest extent possible by developing and maintaining a working
relationship with the Tree Warden.
Public utility work on either public or private property shall
be limited to the actual necessities of the service of the company
or agency. Notwithstanding the obligations of public utility companies,
pursuant to State Statutes and the State Vegetation Management Task
Force Final Report dated August 28, 2012, the plans of any public
utility company shall be reviewed by the Tree Warden prior to being
undertaken, and said review shall include the following:
A.
Notifying the Town's Tree Warden at least 30 days in advance
when the utility company proposes to remove trees on public or private
property.
B.
Identifying the trees to be removed by tagging each tree.
C.
Notifying all property owners on a street when trees are proposed
for removal on more than one property on a street.
D.
Meeting with the Tree Warden to review the trees proposed for removal
to consider the Tree Warden's opinion as to the need for removal.
Such plans shall be reviewed by the Tree Warden prior to being undertaken,
and the work shall be done in a neat and professional manner. The
Tree Warden shall, to the extent possible, supervise the work performed.
The Tree Warden has the right to require replacement of trees or shrubs
or substitution of appropriate landscape material.
A.
Public nuisance.
(1)
Any tree or shrub or part thereof growing upon private or public
property which is interfering with the use of any public area, infected
with infectious plant disease or endangering the life, health and
safety of persons or property is declared a public nuisance.
(2)
If the Tree Warden shall determine, with a reasonable certainty,
that any nuisance tree or shrub, as herein described, or any part
thereof exists in or upon any public area or public way, he/she shall
cause it to be treated, trimmed, removed or otherwise abated in such
manner as to destroy or prevent the spread of the nuisance.
(3)
If the Tree Warden shall determine, with reasonable certainty, that
any nuisance tree or shrub, as herein described, exists in or upon
any private premises, he/she shall, in writing, notify the owner or
tenant having charge of such premises. Within 30 days after issuance
of said notice, said person shall cause the treatment, trimming or
removal and destruction of said nuisance tree or shrub as directed
in the written notice. No damage shall be awarded the owner for the
destruction of trees or shrubs destroyed pursuant to this article.
(4)
In the event the owner or tenant having charge of such premises shall
refuse or neglect to comply with the terms of the written notice within
30 days after receiving it, the Tree Warden, upon approval of the
General Manager, shall cause the removal, treatment or trimming of
said nuisance tree or shrub. The decision for such removal, treatment
or trimming shall be deemed a final decision subject to appeal pursuant
to Tree Advisory Board. The expense thereof shall be charged to the
owner of said premises on which said tree or shrub is located and,
with respect to the cost of removing that portion interfering with
any public area or public way, shall become a lien on the property
upon recordation of notice thereof on the Town land records.
B.
Emergency tree and shrub removal. When it is necessary to expedite
the removal of damaged or destroyed trees or shrubs in the interest
of public safety, health and general welfare, the General Manager
may, by decree, suspend the requirements of this article.
C.
Damage to trees and shrubs. No person, company, utility, state or
federal agency shall, in any public area or public way of the Town
of Manchester, except as authorized by the Conservation Commission
in areas under its jurisdiction, including managed municipal forested
areas, prune, remove, deface, cut, paint, mark, injure, mutilate,
kill or destroy any tree or shrub or permit any animal under his/her
or its control to do so, permit any fire to injure any portion of
any tree or permit any toxic chemical to seep, drain or be emptied
on or about any tree. During construction operations, the contractor
shall erect suitable protective barriers around public trees which
may be injured as a result of his/her activities.
D.
Fastening materials to trees and shrubs. No person shall fasten any
sign, playbill, picture, notice, advertisement, rope, wire, climbing
spurs or other materials to, around or through any public trees or
shrubs, except in an emergency, such as storms or accidents.
Any person who violates any provision of this article or who
fails to comply with any notice issued pursuant to the provisions
of this article shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100 for
each separate offense; each day during which any violation of this
article shall occur or continue shall be a separate offense.
