This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Shade Tree Ordinance of the City of Bloomington, Illinois."
A. 
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. Terms connoting a particular gender shall include the other gender when used in connection with the action of a person other than the City, its officers or agents. All provisions of this chapter imposing duties upon the City, its officers or agents shall be construed as directory, unless the context clearly requires them to be construed as mandatory; otherwise the word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
CITY
The City of Bloomington, Illinois.
CITY FORESTER
The City Forester of the City of Bloomington.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation.
SHADE TREE or TREE
A tree in a public place, except where otherwise indicated and includes trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
B. 
The Section of this chapter, unless otherwise specifically stated herein, shall apply only to public streets, parkways, boulevards, alleys, parks, lawns, and other land publicly owned or controlled by the City.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
[Ord. No. 2018-93; amended 5-9-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-46]
There is hereby established in the Parks and Recreation Department the office of City Forester. Until otherwise designated, the Director of Parks and Recreation shall serve as the City Forester.
The City Forester shall have exclusive jurisdiction and supervision over all trees planted or growing in public places.
A. 
Preserve or remove. The City Forester shall have authority to plant, trim, spray, preserve and remove trees in public places to insure safety or preserve the symmetry and beauty of such public places and to maintain health and vigor of shade trees.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
B. 
Order to preserve or remove. The City Forester shall have the authority to order the trimming, preservation or removal of trees upon private property when he shall find such action necessary to public safety or to prevent the spread of disease or insects to public trees and places.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
C. 
Supervision. The City Forester shall have the authority to supervise all work done under a permit issued in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
D. 
Issue conditional permit. The City Forester shall have the authority to affix reasonable conditions to the granting of a permit hereunder, based upon the necessity for public safety or the prevention of spread of disease or insects to public trees and places.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
A. 
Preserve or remove. No person shall trim any limbs on a tree five inches diameter breast height or greater or remove trees in public places without first filing an application and procuring a permit from the City Forester.
(1) 
Application date. The application required herein shall state the number and kind of trees to be trimmed or removed; the kind and condition of nearest trees upon the adjoining property; and such other information as the City Forester shall find reasonably necessary to a fair determination of whether a permit should be issued hereunder.
(2) 
Standards for issuance. The City Forester shall issue the permit provided for herein when he finds that the desired action or treatment is necessary and that the proposed method and workmanship are satisfactory.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
B. 
Plant. Any plant or tree set out on public land or a public thoroughfare is subject to removal by the City at any time unless an application for such planting is first filed and a permit to so plant shall be issued by the City Forester and all planting is subject to the following restrictions and regulations:
(1) 
Application data. The application required herein shall state the number of trees set out; the location, grade and variety of each tree; the method of planting, including the supplying of suitable soil; the amount of surface soil area in square feet in which the roots can develop and on which rain may fall; and such other information as the City Forester shall find reasonably necessary to a fair determination of whether a permit should be issued hereunder.
(2) 
Standards for issuance. The City Forester shall issue the permit provided for herein when he finds that the proposed plantings are suitable as to species and location.
(3) 
Regulations for planting in a public place. Work done under a permit issued hereunder shall be performed in strict accordance with the terms thereof and with the following regulations established for the planting, trimming and care of trees in public rights-of-way:
(a) 
Trees must not be less than one inch in diameter of trunk one foot above the ground.
(b) 
No tree shall be placed so as in the opinion of the Director of Engineering and Water to cause a traffic hazard.
(c) 
In felling trees, the same must be removed with the stump grubbed out when so required by the City Forester.
(d) 
Trees shall be planted a minimum of 15 feet apart, except where special permission is obtained from the City Forester.
(e) 
No tree shall be planted where the clear space between the curb and sidewalk is less than four feet.
(f) 
No tree shall be planted within five feet of any underground utility connection.
(g) 
No tree shall be planted directly below overhead utility lines unless special permission is obtained from the City Forester.
(h) 
Prohibited species. No person shall plant any of the following species within a public right-of-way:
Acer negundo
Boxelder
Acer saccharinum
Silver Maple
Ailanthus altissima
Tree of Heaven
Elaeagnus angustifolia
Russian Olive
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo - female
Gleditsia triacanthos
Honeylocust
Platanus sp.
Sycamore
Populus sp.
Poplars
Robinia sp.
Locust
Rhus sp.
Sumac
Salix sp.
Willow
Ulmus sp.
Elms
Quercus palustris
Pin Oak
Maclura pomifera
Osage Orange
Sorbus sp.
Mountainash
Betula sp.
Birch
Morus sp.
Mulberry
Alnus
Alder
Non-Ornamental fruit trees
Catalpa speciosa
Catalpa
Juniperus sp.
Junipers
Pinus sp.
Pines
Abies sp.
Firs
Picea sp.
Spruces
Psuedotsuga menziesii
Douglas Fir
Tsuga sp.
Hemlocks
Taxus sp.
Yews
All scrub type planting material
(i) 
No tree shall be planted nearer than two feet from, the curbline Or outer line of the sidewalk unless special permission is granted by the City Forester.
(j) 
If any planting or tree in the opinion of the Director of Engineering and Water becomes a hazard to traffic, including vehicular or pedestrian traffic or the same interferes with an extension of any public street, sidewalk or duly authorized utility use, the same may be removed by the City at any time.
(k) 
To deposit, store or maintain on City right-of-way any stone, brick, sand, concrete, lumber, tile, pipe or other material which reasonably may be expected to impede the passage of water, air or fertilizer to the roots of any trees is a violation of this Ordinance.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
It shall be the duty of any person growing a tree on property abutting on public areas supporting trees:
A. 
Trim. To trim his trees so as not to cause a hazard to public places or interfere with the proper lighting of public roadways by the streetlights, and so that minimum clearance or any overhanging portion thereof shall be nine feet.
B. 
Treat or remove. To treat or remove any tree so diseased or insect-ridden as to constitute a hazard to the other trees in the public areas.
C. 
To inform the City of trees within the public right-of-way that require trimming, treatment or removal.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
When the City Forester shall find it necessary to order the trimming, preservation or removal of trees upon private property as authorized in § 19-104B herein, he shall serve a written Order to correct the dangerous condition upon the owner, operator, occupant or other person responsible for its existence.
A. 
Method of service. The Order required herein shall be served in one of the following ways:
(1) 
By making personal delivery of the Order to the person responsible.
(2) 
By leaving the Order with a person 10 years of age or older who is a member of the household of the person responsible.
(3) 
By affixing a copy of the Order in a conspicuous spot upon the premises in violation and mailing a copy or said Order to the person responsible at his last known address by registered or certified mail.
(4) 
By publishing a copy of the Order at least once a week, for three successive weeks, in a local newspaper of general circulation and mailing a copy of the Order to the last known address of the person responsible by registered or certified mail.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
B. 
Time for compliance. The Order required herein shall set forth a time limit for compliance, dependent upon the hazard and danger created by the violation. In cases of extreme danger to persons or public property, the City Forester shall have the authority to require compliance immediately upon service of the order.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
C. 
Appeal from order. A person to whom an Order hereunder is directed shall have the right, within 10 days of the service of such Order, to appeal to the City Manager who shall review such Order within five days and file his decision therein. Unless the Order is revoked or modified it shall remain in full force and be obeyed by the person to whom directed. No person to whom an order is directed shall fail to comply with such order within five days after appeal shall have been determined.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
D. 
Disposition of removed trees. Trees that have been removed voluntarily or within the terms of this chapter due to infection with any disease, the existence of said disease having been established in said trees by a positive sample test thereof, shall be disposed of by whatever method determined to be the most suitable by the City Forester.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
E. 
Trees which have been removed by private owned and operated persons, firms or corporations rendering such service for any reason, whether by authority or direction of the property owner or the City Forester, or without any such authority or order, shall be disposed of and the area thereafter cleaned up by said company rendering such service at its own expense and other direction of the City Forester who shall see that said operation is in conformity with the terms of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
F. 
Failure to comply. When a person to whom an Order is directed shall fail to comply within the specified time, the City Forester shall remedy the condition or contract with others for such purpose and charge the cost thereof to the person to whom the Order is directed. The person remedying a condition under a contract made hereunder shall be authorized to enter premises for that purpose.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
G. 
The City shall have the authority and duty to proceed by all legal means to collect cost of remedying such a condition from the person responsible if not paid within 30 days after receipt or a statement therefor from the City Forester.
[Ord. No. 1986-13]
No person shall:
A. 
Damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree or injure the bark;
B. 
Pick seeds of any tree;
C. 
Attach any rope, wire, or other contrivance to any tree;
D. 
Dig in or otherwise disturb grass areas, or in any other way injure or impair the natural beauty or usefulness of any area;
E. 
Cause or permit any wire charged with electricity to come in contact with any tree or allow any gaseous, liquid, or solid substance which is harmful to such trees to come in contact with them; and
F. 
Build fires on soil under trees.
[Repealed 6-26-1972 by Ord. No. 1972-44]
[Ord. No. 1998-43]
Any person violating any portion of this article shall be fined in a sum of not less than $25 nor more than $100.
[Ord. No. 1998-43]
Except as otherwise set forth in this article, the officers, employees, or agents of any public utility may trim trees in the public right-of-way as necessary based on the guidelines laid out by Dr. Alex Shigo in Pruning Trees Near Electric Utility Lines, copyright 1990 and the National Arborist Association in Pruning Standards for Shade Trees, revised 1988. Prior to performing any tree trimming pursuant to this article, the public utility shall give advance notice to the City Forester of the areas and approximate dates of any tree trimming activities.
[Ord. No. 1998-43]
Nothing in this article shall be interpreted as requiring a deviation from any applicable OSHA or ANSI standards regulating the manner trees may be trimmed in the proximity of power lines.
A. 
The following species of trees located in the City right-of-way will be trimmed according to the Table of Recommended Line Clearances and the accompanying notes set forth in this section:
[Ord. No. 1998-43]
American Hophornbeam
American Sweetgum
Ash, Blue
Ash, White
Baldcypress
Black Walnut
Blue Beech
Buckeye
Catalpa
Elm, American
Ginko, Male
Hickory
Ironwood
Kentucky Coffeetree
Linden, Littleleaf
Linden, Silver
Maple, Black
Maple, Norway
Maple, Red
Maple, Sugar
Oak species (except Pin Oak)
Tulip Tree
B. 
Standard clearance.
(1) 
The following table gives clearances adequate to protect the wires under normal operating conditions. Special clearances may be needed sometimes because of field conditions. The City Forester is authorized to grant waivers from the following table in light of such field conditions as set forth in Subsection B(5) of this section.
(2) 
Electric wires will sag due to hot weather or swing sideways in strong winds. The greatest wire sag and sway occurs at mid span. The following line clearance will be measured from the maximum distances power lines will sag and sway.
Table of Recommended Line Clearances
(in feet)
Clearance From Trees
120 to 600 V
750 to 5,000 V
7,200 to 12,500 V
Aerial Cable 2,400 to 12,500 V
34,500 V
69,000 V and Above
Side
1 - 2
3 - 4
4 - 6
2 - 4
8 - 10
(d)
Through
1
2
2 - 3
2(a)
(b)
(d)
Over Conductors
1 - 2
2 - 4
6 - 8
4 - 6
(c)
Under Conductors
2 - 4
4 - 6
5 - 7
5 - 7
6 - 8
(d)
Notes:
(a)
Remove limbs over two inches in diameter which may sway into or otherwise contact line for a minimum clearance of two feet.
(b)
Not permitted through trees.
(c)
All overhead should be kept to a minimum.
(d)
Remove all trees that could grow or fall into line before they become a hazard.
(e)
The letter "V" refers to volts.
(3) 
No permit shall be required of any official, employee or agent of a public utility by the City Forester for trimming of any tree located in the City right-of-way which is not included in the list set forth in Subsection A of this section. However, any official, employee or agent of a public utility shall still trim according to the standards set forth in § 19-201 of this chapter.
(4) 
No permit shall be required of any official, employee or agent of a public utility by the City Forester for trimming of any tree located in the City right-of-way included in the list set forth in § 19-203A so long as the trees are trimmed according to the line clearance standards set forth in § 19-203A.
(5) 
Trees located in the City right-of-way included in the list set forth in § 19-203A may need to be trimmed to clearances in excess of the standards set forth in § 19-203A for aesthetic or safety reasons. In such cases, the City Forester is authorized by the City to issue a permit to any official, employee or agent of a public utility permitting such person to deviate from such clearance standards in a manner set forth by the City Forester in such permit. No fee shall be charged for such permit. No tree trimming shall be done by any official, employee or agent of a public utility for trees as set forth in this Subsection B(5) except pursuant to the authorization of the City Forester.
[Ord. No. 1998-43]
[Ord. No. 1998-43]
Nothing in this article shall be interpreted as preventing an electric utility from trimming to remove trees or portions of trees for the purpose of restoring electric power which has been interrupted by reason of such trees or portions thereof having come in contact with electric power lines.
[Ord. No. 1998-43]
In the event any tree located on a public right-of-way of the City is trimmed by any official, employee or agent of a public utility in a manner other than as set forth in this article, the person or entity violating such Sections shall pay a fine of $1,000 per tree.