The City Council finds and declares that trees contribute greatly
to the health, safety and general welfare of all of the City's citizens
and that the preservation and proper maintenance of trees is a matter
of citywide concern. The City Council further finds and determines
that it is necessary to enact regulations prohibiting unnecessary
damage, removal, or destruction of trees.
The City Council recognizes and finds that trees provide great
aesthetic benefits, offer windbreaks, provide summer shade, noise
abatement, and privacy screening, erosion control, act as filters
against airborne pollutants, release oxygen, are wildlife habitats,
and prevent landslides through their root systems. All trees perform
these functions for the property on which they are growing. Trees
of significant size and maturity perform these functions for all persons
living in their vicinity. Trees are key elements in a living system
the boundaries of which do not conform to the arbitrary property lines
of individual lots and parcels and upon which the continued health
and welfare of this community depends. In addition, trees in the community
and in a neighborhood provide a sense of identity and tradition and
enhance property values.
The City Council further finds and declares that careless treatment
and arbitrary removal of trees detracts from scenic beauty, causes
erosion, increases risks of landslides, reduces property values, increases
construction costs and drainage costs, and thereby further reduces
the attractiveness of an area.
A purpose of the City Council in enacting the following regulations
is to protect certain trees that are an essential part of the City's
natural heritage, referred to in this chapter as heritage trees, wherever
they may be growing in the City, while, at the same time, recognizing
an individual property owner's right to utilize his or her land in
a way that is otherwise allowed by law.
(Ord. 2858 § 1, 1990)
