The city council finds that a comprehensive program for the planting and maintenance of vegetation, which is located adjacent to, or which may encroach upon, public streets within the city, is required for the following purposes:
1. 
To protect and enhance the public's health, safety, and general welfare;
2. 
To foster and restore the planting of vegetation along the streets of the city, utilizing effective forestry principles;
3. 
To strengthen and maintain the visual and aesthetic values of the streets of the city which serve as a source of community image and pride;
4. 
To provide an orderly and efficient means of maintaining maximum tree cover and protecting vegetation along the streets of the city;
5. 
To define the powers and duties of the administrative officers and bodies as provided herein;
6. 
To ensure safe and cost effective maintenance and repair of public right-of-way infrastructure.
The street forestry policy is adopted, therefore, for the purpose of developing and providing for such a program and for the purpose of establishing policies and standards necessary to ensure that the city will continue to realize the benefits provided by its public infrastructure and urban forest.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
As used in this chapter:
"City"
means the City of Westminster;
"Curbline"
means the line of the curb or pavement edge along a street;
"Director"
means the public works director of the city, who is under the direction of the city manager, and shall include his authorized representatives;
"Frontage"
means all the property fronting on one side of a street between the nearest intersecting streets, or between a street and a right-of-way, waterway or some other similar barrier;
"Ground cover"
means and includes turf or perennial plants that normally grow in a prostrate manner so as to conceal, or with the purpose of concealing the ground surface, and that do not exceed eight inches in height.
"Infrastructure"
includes streets, utilities, curb and gutter, street trees, driveway approaches, sidewalks, lighting, signage, and other publicly owned improvements;
"Interim street tree"
means and includes those trees already planted along city streets prior to the enactment of the calendar year (CY) 2001 street forestry policy which do not qualify as acceptable street trees because of certain undesirable characteristics of growth with reference to their crown and/or root structure, or are not adaptable to local climate, disease, soil, parkway or tree well width, or street conditions;
"Maintenance" or "maintain"
means and includes the pruning, spraying, bracing, staking, treating for disease or injury or other work performed to promote the life, growth, health, or beauty of vegetative matters, but shall not include the watering or fertilizing of such trees;
"Median"
means the center section of the street, whether set off by curbs or not, and whether planted or not, which separates opposing traffic;
"Owner"
means the private property owner of record of real property and shall not include a lessee or other person occupying such property with the consent of the owner;
"Parkway"
means the portion of the public right-of-way suitable for growth of vegetation;
"Person"
as used in this chapter shall be broadly construed to include an individual, a firm, an association, a corporation, co-partnership, and the lessees, trustees, receivers, agents, servants, and employees of any such person;
"Private property tree"
means a tree or shrub that is located on private property. For the purpose of this ordinance, private property trees are those that are adjacent to the public right-of-way that may encroach upon the public right-of-way by foliage or roots and potentially adversely affect the public's enjoyment and safety;
"Pruning"
means the trimming or cutting out of branches and excessive foliage. The work shall encourage the natural form of the tree and generally exclude topping;
"Public street or streets"
includes all roads, streets, avenues, boulevards, alleys, parkways, and public rights-of-way, or any portion thereof, of the city;
"Right-of-way"
means that strip of land dedicated to or over which may be built streets, alleys, parkways, sidewalks, curb and gutter, utilities, or other improvements. The right-of-way is an easement over the land of the adjacent private property owner;
"Shrub"
means and includes woody vegetative matters or woody plant having multiple stems and bearing foliage from the ground level up as determined by the director;
"Street tree"
means and includes those trees designated and determined or hereafter determined by the director to be acceptable as the best suited to plant along the city streets because of their crown, root structure, general public acceptance, master plan or official designation, and adaptability to local climate, disease, soil, parkway width, and street conditions. The director shall keep an official master list of designated suitable street trees on file at his office, available to the public during normal working hours;
"Topping"
means any pruning cut that removes a branch to a stub, a bud, or a lateral branch not large enough to assume the terminal role. A lateral branch is large enough to assume the terminal role when it is at least one-half the diameter of the branch that is removed.
"Tree"
means and includes any woody plant, normally having one stem or trunk bearing the foliage or crown well above the ground level as determined by the director;
"Vegetation"
means trees, bushes, shrubs, grasses, or other plant material as determined by the director.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
Whenever used in the street forestry policy, the singular number includes the plural number.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
The director or his or her designee is charged with the responsibility for the enforcement of this chapter and related council-approved policies. The director or the director's designee may direct that notice be served to any person in violation thereof and legal proceedings initiated with the assistance of code enforcement officers and the city attorney.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
The director or his or her designee and under the general supervision of the city manager, shall have the authority and responsibility to do the following:
A. 
Develop a comprehensive management plan, soliciting the advice and participation of the community, which includes policies and objectives, an inventory of existing and proposed urban forestry treatments for major traffic routes and districts, street tree renewal plan, tree installation standards for residences, street trees and developments, and standards for repair and replacement responsibilities regarding the public infrastructure;
B. 
Prepare maintenance standards as they relate to street trees and infrastructure in public places;
C. 
Develop an annual program for infrastructure maintenance and repairs and for tree planting and tree care in public places of the city;
D. 
Determine the types and species of vegetation suitable for planting, including a single street designation tree type, and to determine the areas in which and conditions under which such vegetation may be planted in, or encroach upon the public right-of-way within the city;
E. 
Inspect the planting, maintenance, and removal of all trees and vegetative matters in public places;
F. 
Make determination of tree removals in public places and promote proper management of privately owned trees potentially causing damage to public infrastructure;
G. 
Review all landscaping plan standards as they affect public places;
H. 
Develop and annually revise, if needed, an official street tree designation list which describes types and species of vegetation acceptable for planting within the city and their maintenance grouping;
I. 
Undertake an ongoing program of public outreach and education in order to promote public understanding of the city's urban forest and right-of-way infrastructure and public compliance with the standards and procedures established under this ordinance;
J. 
Report to the city council annually on the work and activities carried on under the provisions of this chapter;
K. 
Review and improve the cost effectiveness of the program;
L. 
Review and improve the public safety with regards to street trees, parkways, and city public infrastructure.
A. 
The director shall plant, or cause to be planted, remove, regulate and control all vegetation planted along any city street in the public right-of-way. The director shall designate the location, species, kind, number spacing and method of planting trees and shrubs. No tree shall be planted closer than twenty feet to another tree, utility pole, or light standard, or closer than ten feet to a sewer lateral, driveway, fire hydrant, water meter or gas meter, or closer than twenty feet from the beginning of the curb return. No tree shall be planted in a parkway which is less than thirty-six inches in width between the sidewalk and curb without the express written consent of the director.
B. 
Where there are trees, not on the official street tree list, that are damaging or potentially damaging to the public infrastructure, the city shall contact the adjacent owner, and may remove and then replace the unacceptable or interim street tree with the suitable designated street tree. Infrastructure will be repaired for safe use. If funds allow, infrastructure will be replaced.
C. 
Where there remains a preponderance of interim street trees (generally greater than forty percent of the residences) whose removal would seriously impact the appearance, shade cover and property value of the neighborhood, the director shall, upon receipt of a seventy five percent petition of support, develop a five year replacement plan with the residents to transition from unacceptable, damage-causing street trees to trees from the director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types.
D. 
When adjacent property owners initiate a special request to install or remove street trees or shrubs, the total cost of the removal and/or the installation of new trees or shrubs, including labor, materials, plants and trees, shall be borne by the property owner. In the event the cost of removal or replacement creates a hardship for the adjacent property owner, the owner may petition for the city council for relief from this requirement. Upon proper showing of hardship by the property owner, the council may, in its sole discretion, waive assessment of costs for such improvement.
E. 
Street or interim street trees and shrubs shall not be removed unless they are dead, dying, diseased, maintain medically-documented allergies, or are the cause of documented water or sewer problems, or are unacceptable tree species as designated by the director and requested by the adjacent property owner, or constitutes a public hazard or nuisance, as determined by the director.
F. 
Due care will be used so as to not improperly remove any statutorily protected or endangered tree.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
A specific tree designation (type) shall be established by the director for each street segment for public trees planted. The tree designated for each street segment shall be from the director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types. Diversity of trees will be used on different streets to establish and maintain an optimum level of age and species diversity; to help stabilize the urban forest by buffering it from pest and disease epidemics; and to ensure proper compatibility between trees and planting sites to reduce infrastructure damage and premature tree removal.
A. 
New Plantings. The established tree designation for each street segment shall be used in new plantings except under the following conditions:
1. 
Seventy-five percent of the property owners of the street segment in question shall petition the city for a uniform change of tree designation to another tree from the director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types.
2. 
Individual property owners may petition for a different tree designation under the following circumstances:
a. 
The proposed tree shall be from the director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types; and
b. 
The proposed tree shall conform to the same maintenance schedule grouping on the Director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types as the designated tree for that street segment.
B. 
Replacement Plantings. Trees being planted as replacements for public trees planted prior to CY 2001 shall conform to the specific tree designation (type) for the street segment in question from the director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types. If the adjacent property owner does not wish to have the public tree replaced with the designated street segment tree, the adjacent property owner may petition for a different tree designation under the following circumstances:
1. 
The proposed tree shall be from the director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types; and
2. 
The proposed tree shall conform to the same maintenance schedule grouping on the director's official street tree designation list of acceptable tree types as the designated tree for that street segment.
C. 
A request for a variance may be submitted to the director in writing if the property owner desires the planting of a nondesignated tree. In the event the variance is granted, the property owner shall bear all costs and expenses associated with the planting of the nondesignated tree.
D. 
Trees Set Out in Conflict with this Chapter. Whenever any tree is set out in conflict with this chapter, following the issuance of the ordinance codified in this chapter and initial public education, it is lawful for the director to remove or cause removal of the same. The cost of removal of such tree may be charged to the property owner responsible for the planting thereof. The property owner will be provided advance notice by the city of the prospective removal. The property owner will be afforded thirty calendar days in which to appeal the director's decision to remove the subject tree. Notice and appeal requirements shall not apply to urgent matters or emergency situations.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
A. 
The public works department shall maintain, plant and remove all official street trees planted along city streets. Maintenance of interim trees planted along city streets shall be similar to maintenance given official street trees, except official street trees will have priority over the interim trees in the department's maintenance program subject to funding, and may not receive the same extensive care as official street trees. Street trees planted on city property, other than along street right-of-way, will be maintained by the public works department according to their official classification, except trees planted along alleys will not be maintained but will be removed when such trees are determined by the director to be a hazard or a public nuisance. Trees planted along city streets shall be pruned to give a clearance of not less than twelve feet over sidewalks and not less than sixteen feet over streets, as the size of the tree permits. Trees shall be maintained/trimmed in accordance with the standards adopted by the American National Standard for Tree Care Operations (ANSI A300-1995) and Western Chapter International Society of Arboriculture Pruning Standards.
B. 
As defined in Section 12.12.020, topping is generally prohibited except in special cases, e.g., where a potential threat to persons or property exists.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
In order to avoid unintentional damage, no person shall perform any maintenance except for watering and fertilizing, upon any tree planted along a city street, or on any other city property, except under emergency conditions. Upon prior written consent of the director, any person determined to be qualified by the director may perform maintenance on such trees as may be designated by the director.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
Any person desiring permission to plant, remove or in any way interfere with the natural growth of any vegetation matters planted along city streets, or on other city property, shall make an application to the director for a permit therefor. The director may require all or any part of such work approved by him or her to be performed under the supervision of the department.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
No person shall place, or cause to be placed, any stone, cement or other substance about any vegetation planted along any street or on other city-owned property, which shall impede the free entrance of water or air to the roots of such vegetation. A minimum area of at least eighteen inches surrounding the vegetative matter, generally defined as three feet by three feet, shall remain open to allow free entrance of water and air.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
No person shall abuse, destroy, deface, or mutilate any vegetation or infrastructure in the public right-of-way or attach or place any rope, wire (other than one used to support a young or broken tree), sign, poster, handbill or other such things which may cause damage to the tree or on infrastructure or any tree growing in a public place, or to cause or permit any wire charged with electricity to be placed or attached to any infrastructure of such tree, or allow any gaseous, liquid or solid substance which is harmful to such trees to come in contact with their roots, trunks or leaves.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
A. 
Property owners shall plant, fertilize, and maintain turf or suitable groundcover and water/fertilize trees in the parkways. However, no person shall plant, or cause to be planted, any tree, shrub, plant or groundcover in the public right-of-way, except as provided for in the street forestry policy. Turf or other groundcover plantings and/or shrubs less than three feet in height that do not obscure the view shall be permitted, provided that such plantings shall not be allowed to attach themselves to or ascend the trunk of any street tree. Planting, cutting, mowing, watering, fertilizing and all other maintenance of turf, shrub, or other groundcover in such parkway shall be performed by the adjacent property owner, subject to the restrictions of the street forestry policy. Plantings shall be neatly maintained and not create an unsafe condition.
B. 
Artificial turf meeting the requirements of Section 17.310.035(B) may be installed in the parkway for the purpose of matching artificial turf installed on adjacent private property. Installation of artificial turf shall require a permit and not cause an unsafe condition. The permit shall be valid for a duration of ten years. At the end of ten years from the date of issuance, such permit shall automatically expire. Property owner may request a renewal of such permit prior to its expiration. A ten-year extension may be given to the property owner if the condition of the artificial turf and its installation remain in an acceptable condition to the city. If renewal request is denied, property owner shall either plant trees, shrub, plant or groundcover as indicated in subsection A or apply for a new permit for installation of new artificial turf. Should the city need to perform work within the parkway right-of-way, property owner shall be responsible for the repair of artificial turf that sustained damage as a result of work reasonably performed by the city within the right-of-way, most particularly where clearance is necessary to remove, repair, or replace public infrastructure. Prior to any work performed on the parkway, the city shall provide the property owner with at least five days' advance notice of action. The notice shall provide the property owner with the date the work will be performed as well as describe what permitted artificial turf will be affected. The city may require the removal/repair of artificial turf installed in the parkway at any time if city inspector deems the artificial turf to be unsightly or in unsafe condition. This removal/repair shall be performed at the property owner's expense.
C. 
Private infrastructure hardscape improvements, (like bricks, concrete, planters, etc.), to the parkway shall require a permit and not cause an unsafe condition. Should the city repair the infrastructure or replace or remove trees within the parkway right-of-way, the parkway shall be repaired by the city by leveling and reseeding grass. The city shall take reasonable steps to avoid damage to resident improvements in the parkway or on private property adjacent to the sidewalk or other public improvement. However, the adjacent property owner shall be responsible for repair of any private improvements to the parkways or private property that sustain damage as a result of work reasonably performed by the city within the right-of-way, most particularly where clearance is necessary to remove, repair, or replace public infrastructure. The city shall provide at least five days' advance notice of action which will affect private property infrastructure.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002; Ord. 2510 § 1, 2014; Ord. 2573 § 1, 2021)
In the erection, alteration, construction or repairing of any building or structure, the owner thereof shall place, or cause to be placed, such guards as determined by the director, around all nearby vegetation located along the street, alley, or other public place as to effectively prevent injury to them.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
A. 
It is the intent of this section to preserve the existing vegetation on private property, but also recognize that private vegetation can cause damage to public infrastructure and that prudence dictates reasonable efforts to avoid taxpayer supported expense and public safety problems where possible.
B. 
For private property vegetation where there is no current damage to public infrastructure, but upon inspection would indicate that damage will likely occur in the foreseeable future, the city shall first contact the property owner of the condition and make a recommendation on how to retain the vegetation without causing damage to the adjacent public infrastructure, or if necessary, recommend relocating or replacing the tree or shrub. Following written notification, if no action is taken by the property owner and damage to the public infrastructure later occurs, the property owner shall be held responsible for the costs to repair or replace the damaged infrastructure to the satisfaction of the city.
C. 
For private property vegetation that appears to have already caused either minor damage requiring grinding, or major damage requiring replacement to the public infrastructure, the city shall first contact the property owner. If necessary, the city shall physically verify that the roots, or other growth of the private property vegetation are the cause of the damage. If the private property vegetation is found to have caused the damage, the property owner will be notified in writing. Three situations which may occur are included, but not limited to, the following:
1. 
Firstly, if the property owner and the city agree the vegetation can be saved, the city will repair or replace the infrastructure, prune the roots, and/or install a root barrier as necessary, at the city's expense. The property owner shall trim and maintain the vegetation to reduce risk of any further damage. The city shall then notify the property owner that further damage to the public infrastructure from the same source will be repaired or replaced to the city's satisfaction at the expense of the property owner.
2. 
Secondly, if the vegetation is so close to the adjacent public infrastructure that minor damage has already occurred and any root pruning along the city right-of-way will likely cause the tree to topple or die, the city shall repair the infrastructure to reduce the public safety hazard. The city shall then notify the property owner that further damage to the public infrastructure from the same source will be repaired or replaced to the city's satisfaction at the expense of the property owner.
3. 
Lastly, if the vegetation is so close to the adjacent public infrastructure that major damage requiring replacement has already occurred and any root pruning along the right-of-way will likely cause the tree to topple or die, the city shall consult with a certified arborist to obtain an opinion as to whether the tree will survive root pruning. If it is determined that the tree will not survive the root pruning safely, the tree shall be removed with the property owner's permission, and the infrastructure replaced, both at the city's expense. If the property owner refuses to permit the city to remove the tree within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed sixty calendar days, the city will pursue legal action in the interest of either public safety, public use, and/or cost recovery.
D. 
All notifications that would hold private property owners responsible for future damage to public infrastructure will be made in writing and issued by certified mail.
E. 
In all cases noted above where repair or replacement of public infrastructure is undertaken, the city shall take reasonable steps to avoid damage to property owner improvements. However, the adjacent property owner shall be responsible for repair of any private improvements that suffer damage as a result of work reasonably accomplished by the city within the right-of-way, most particularly where clearance is necessary to remove, repair, or replace public infrastructure.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
The director shall collect and maintain all records and data necessary to objectively evaluate whether progress is being made toward the stated purpose of this chapter. An annual summary and analysis of the evaluation, and recommendations for action, shall be prepared at the direction of the director and/or his or her city-employed designee and presented to the city council. The city council shall consider the report and recommendations and take all actions deemed necessary to accomplish the goals of this chapter. These actions may include, but are not limited to, revision or amendment of the ordinance codified in this chapter or the adoption of other resolutions, policies, or ordinances.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
The city council shall appoint a ten-member committee, consisting of five regular members and five alternate members. Each council member shall nominate one regular and one alternate member that shall be approved by a majority vote of the city council. Three members shall constitute a quorum. The corresponding alternate member would vote in meetings only in the absence of the regular member. The purpose of the tree education committee is to help promote reforesting the city responsibly and in conformance with this chapter to include forums, brochures, Arbor Day activities, etc. The committee shall meet as needed without compensation and run for a period of time up to March 22, 2012. The committee will not become a dispute review board.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002; Ord. 2358 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2410 § 1, 2007)
Any person aggrieved by actions or planned actions of public works personnel or contractors regarding this chapter shall first notify the director. Any person aggrieved by any act of determination of the director in the exercise of the authority herein granted, shall have the right of appeal to the city council, whose decision, after public hearing of said matter, shall be final and conclusive. The appeal shall be in writing, state the reasons for the appeal, and must be filed with the city within thirty calendar days of the decision by the director. In the event an act of determination of the director concerns an urgent matter relating to city work crew availability, and project progress or an emergency situation, the written appeal must be filed with the city within ten calendar days of the decision by the director.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to impose any liability upon the city, its officers or employees, nor to relieve the property owner of any private property from the duty to keep any vegetation or physical real property improvement in such condition or configuration as to prevent it from constituting a hazard or an impediment to vision or use of any public property or right-of-way.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
Any person found to have violated any section of this chapter shall be responsible for all costs that are necessary to repair and rectify the damage caused by said violation.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)
Should any part or provision of this chapter be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of the chapter as a whole or any part thereof other than the part held to be invalid.
(Ord. 2335 § 2, 2002)