This chapter is known as the "City of Santee Urban Forestry Ordinance."
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
This chapter sets forth tree-related policies, regulations, and generally accepted standards for planting, trimming, and removing trees on public property and public rights-of-way. Additionally, this chapter sets forth policies relating to trees planted as a condition of residential, industrial and commercial development. The provisions of the chapter are enacted to:
A. 
Ensure that the City will continue to realize the benefits provided by generally accepted practices of urban forestry;
B. 
Clarify property owners' basic responsibilities to ensure that trees on public rights-of-way are recognized as part of the community's urban forest and those trees are not arbitrarily removed or damaged;
C. 
Identify the Department of Community Services as the City department responsible for the care of public trees throughout the City; identify the Director as the responsible City administrator for authorizing public tree removal;
D. 
Maintain the optimal amounts of practical tree cover on public parks and open space lands within the City;
E. 
Maintain the City's commitment to generally accepted Tree City USA status and Growth Award status as designated by the National Arbor Day Foundation and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection;
F. 
Maintain appropriate diversity of tree species and age classes to provide the community with a stable and sustainable urban forest environment;
G. 
Assign the Director to make recommendations regarding tree maintenance and landscaping decisions, promote generally accepted International Society of Arboriculture practices and standards within the City;
H. 
Maintain the practice of managing trees on public rights-of-way in a manner that does not damage, obstruct, or interfere with public improvements;
I. 
Manage the planting of trees on public rights-of-way on residentially classified streets;
J. 
Maintain the practice of requiring tree removal permits for the removal of trees on public rights-of-way;
K. 
Develop and maintain a street tree master plan, including a list of trees approved for use in the right-of-way.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
Words and phrases in this chapter have the common and usual meaning except as defined below or elsewhere in this code.
"Director"
means the Director of Community Services or designated representative.
"Native tree"
means any tree of the following species: Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis), Englemann Oak (Quercus engelmannii), and California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa), and any tree identified as native to southern California.
"Parks and landscape maintenance supervisor"
means the Director's representative who is responsible for landscaping within the City and for administration of this chapter.
"Parkway"
means the portion of the public right-of-way located between the sidewalk and the curb.
"Private trees"
means trees whose trunks are located upon privately owned property and those trees whose trunks are located upon property owned by a public entity other than the City.
"Protected tree"
means the coast live oaks on the property defined in the definition for "native tree."
"Public highway"
means any public street, public way, or public place in the City either owned by the City or dedicated to the public for purpose of travel.
"Public trees"
means both trees growing on City-owned property and trees planted by the City growing on public rights-of-way or landscape maintenance districts.
"Shrubs"
means a bush or a plant more than 12 inches but not more than six feet tall.
"Street classification"
means the name attributed with a set of street and road characteristics listed in the circulation element of the Santee General Plan.
"Street tree"
means a tree which the parks and landscape maintenance supervisor has designated as appropriate for planting within the public right-of-way for the particular portion of the public right-of-way in question and is on the approved street tree list.
"Topping"
means the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter, within the tree's crown, to such a degree as to remove the tree's natural canopy and/or severely disfigure the tree's appearance.
"Tree" or "trees"
means any individual or group of self-supporting woody perennial plant or plants growing with a single or multi-stemmed trunk supporting a crown of branches.
"Trees growing on public property"
means trees whose trunks are located in whole or in part on property owned by the City.
"Trees growing on public rights-of-way"
means trees whose trunks are located in whole or in part on property in which the City owns an interest for purposes of vehicular, pedestrian, equestrian, or City utility use. Trees growing on public rights-of-way include both public and private trees growing on public rights-of-way.
"Trees in public places"
means trees growing on public property and trees growing on public rights-of-way.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
The Director has the right to determine whether any specific woody plant is considered a tree or a shrub. Such determination is final and not subject to appeal.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
The City has control of all trees, shrubs, and other plantings now or hereafter in any street, park, public right-of-way, landscape maintenance districts or easement, or other City owned property within the City limits, and has the right, but not the duty, to plant, care for, maintain, remove, and replace such trees, shrubs and other plantings.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
The Director, by use of City employees or private contractors, has the right, but not the duty, to plant, maintain and otherwise care for, or if necessary, remove, any and all trees in public places in the City. The responsibilities of the parks and landscape maintenance supervisor include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. 
Prepare an annual program for tree planting and tree care in public places of the City;
B. 
In coordination with the Engineering Department, recommend to the City Council changes or additions to the master street tree plan;
C. 
Develop maintenance standards as they relate to street trees and trees in public places;
D. 
Inspect the planting, maintenance and removal of all trees in public places;
E. 
Make a determination to remove trees in public places;
F. 
Review all landscaping plans as they affect trees in public places.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019; Ord. 612 § 2, 2023)
A. 
It is unlawful for any person to:
1. 
Remove, trim, prune or cut any public tree or tree growing on public rights-of-way unless such work conforms to City standards;
2. 
Interfere, or cause any other person to interfere, with employees or contractors of the City who are engaged in planting, maintaining, treating or removing any tree in public places or removing any material detrimental to the tree;
3. 
Willfully injure, disfigure or intentionally destroy by any means any tree in public places, except with permits described elsewhere in this chapter;
4. 
Construct a concrete, asphalt, brick or gravel sidewalk, or otherwise fill up the ground area near any tree in public places, to shut off air, light or water from the roots, except under written authority from the Director;
5. 
Place building material, equipment or other harmful substance near any tree in public places which might cause injury to the tree;
6. 
Post any sign on any tree in public places, tree-stake or guard, or fasten any guy wire, cable or rope to any tree, tree-stake or guard; provided, however, that tree-stakes or guards may be placed around trees growing in the public rights-of-way by property owners for the purpose of protecting or training the trees, with approval of the parks and landscape maintenance supervisor; or
7. 
Plant any tree in public places, except according to policies, regulations and specifications established pursuant to this chapter or any currently applicable ordinances or code sections.
B. 
Any person deemed responsible for damaging a tree in a public place or removing a tree without a permit as described in this chapter is liable for damages to the City in an amount equal to the value of the tree plus City costs incurred to assess damages, in addition to or as part of any other enforcement action.
C. 
The trimming, pruning or removal of protected trees is subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
A. 
Pursuant to Streets and Highways Code Section 5610, it is the duty and responsibility of all property owners to maintain the grounds of sidewalks, parkways, and maintenance strips on the owner's property, regardless of whether such property is developed or within the public right-of-way. Property owners are responsible for watering trees growing in public rights-of-way. The owner of any property has the primary and exclusive duty to perform maintenance of any sidewalk, parkway, or maintenance strip on the owner's property, regardless of whether the City has notified the owner of the need for such maintenance or has performed similar maintenance in the past. The property owner shall owe a duty to members of the public to keep and maintain the sidewalk area in a safe and nondangerous condition. If, as a result of the failure of any property owner to maintain the sidewalk area in a nondangerous condition as required by this section, any person suffers injury or damage to person or property, the property owner is liable to such person for the resulting damages or injury. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a property owner believes damage to the sidewalk, parkway, or maintenance strip has been caused by a tree planted by the City, the owner must notify the Director in writing.
B. 
It is the duty and responsibility of every person owning or occupying any real property within the City of Santee, to keep all trees on that property trimmed in such a manner that meets City of Santee clearance standards for any street, alley, and sidewalk. It is also the duty and responsibility of every person owning or occupying any real property within the City of Santee to keep all trees and shrubs on that property trimmed in such a manner that they do not obstruct the view of any traffic sign or device for vehicle traffic in the direction controlled by that traffic sign or device.
C. 
Property owners having trees or shrubs growing on public rights-of-way must maintain these trees and shrubs to a reasonable standard of care. Reasonable care ensures that trees and shrubs growing on public rights-of-way do not block pedestrian visibility; do not obstruct street clearance requirements; do not obstruct sidewalk clearance requirements; do not obstruct traffic signals or signs; do not grow into overhead utility lines; and do not allow tree root structures to undermine sidewalks, curbs, gutters, adjacent roadways, and underground utilities such as water and sewer lines. Street and sidewalk clearance is defined as a minimum of 13 feet, six inches from the lowest branches to the street or sidewalk.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
When designing or approving new alignments for sidewalks, curbs or driveway approaches, the City may take into account alternative options to preserve desirable trees growing on public rights-of-way. When trees growing on public rights-of-way must be removed, it is the responsibility of adjacent property owners to remove, at their own expense, any private trees directly in the way of new sidewalks, curbs and driveway approaches, unless the tree had been planted with City approval.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
A. 
A public utility must obtain a permit pursuant to Section 8.06.110, issued by the Director to maintain trees growing adjacent to utility fixtures or apparatus. The requirement to obtain a permit includes trees that encroach upon public streets.
B. 
When maintaining trees for which a maintenance permit has been obtained, a public utility must observe good arboricultural practices, as specified by International Society of Arboriculture western chapter pruning standards and City of Santee pruning standards.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
No person is permitted to trim, prune, cut, break, deface, destroy, burn or remove any tree, hedge or shrub from any City-owned public property or from a public highway within the City unless authorized in writing to do so by the Director or the City Council.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
A. 
Any person desiring to trim, prune or remove any tree, hedge or shrub from any public property or public highway must file an application with the Director and obtain a permit issued in accordance with Section 8.06.130.
B. 
In nonemergency circumstances which do not pose an immediate threat to the public health, welfare or safety, any person desiring to trim, prune or remove a protected coast live oak tree must file an application with the Director. The Director may consider the following with respect to the permit application:
1. 
The condition of the tree with respect to disease, danger of falling, proximity to existing or proposed structures and interference with utility services;
2. 
The necessity to remove the tree in order to construct improvements to the property;
3. 
The topography of the land and the effect of the removal of the tree on erosion, soil retention, and diversion or increased flow of surface waters;
4. 
The long-term value of the species under consideration, particularly lifespan and growth rate;
5. 
The ecological value of the tree such as for food, nesting, habitat, protection and shade for wildlife or other plant species;
6. 
The number, size, species, age distribution and location of existing trees in the area and the effect the removal would have upon shade, privacy impact, and scenic beauty;
7. 
The number of trees the particular parcel can adequately support according to good arboricultural practices;
8. 
The availability of reasonable and feasible alternatives that would allow for the continued protection of the tree.
C. 
A protected tree must not be removed unless and until the City Council authorizes such removal.
D. 
In such instances when a protected tree poses danger to the public health, welfare or safety, and requires immediate pruning, trimming or removal without delay, a verbal authorization to prune, trim or remove the tree may be given by the Director. Any person removing a protected tree pursuant to this subsection must replace such tree within 30 days after removal by planting another tree of a type and in such location specified by the Director. The requirement of replanting another tree may be waived by the Director for reasons such as spacing, location and good arboricultural practices for that species of tree. If removal of a tree pursuant to the authority of this subsection results in the elimination of the need for protection under this chapter, whether or not due to the waiver by the Director of the replacement requirement, the City Council will amend this chapter to remove the protected status within 60 days thereafter.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
A. 
The Director may issue a written permit authorizing the trimming, pruning or removal of any tree, hedge or shrub within a public highway upon such terms and conditions as the Director deems appropriate to provide protection to persons and property or may deny such permit.
B. 
Any person removing a live tree pursuant to a permit issued by the Director must, within 30 days following removal of such live tree, plant another tree of a type and in a location specified in the permit. The requirement of replanting another tree may be waived by the Director for reasons such as spacing, location and good arboricultural practices for that species of tree.
C. 
The Director may issue a written permit authorizing the trimming, pruning or removal of a protected tree upon such terms and conditions as the Director deems appropriate to provide protection to persons and property or may deny such permit.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
If the Director deems that the trimming, pruning or removal of any tree, hedge or shrub within a public highway is necessary for the protection of the traveling public or public property, the Director may, subject to the availability of funds, personnel and equipment, cause such tree to be trimmed, pruned or removed to provide such protection. A protected tree must not be removed unless and until the City Council authorizes such removal. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, in such instances when a protected tree within a public highway poses danger to the public health, safety, and welfare and requires immediate removal without delay, and such removal results in the elimination of the need for protection, the City Council will amend this chapter to remove the tree from protected status within 60 days thereafter.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
No person is permitted to plant any tree, hedge or shrub upon or within any City, public highway, or public property within the City unless authorized in writing to do so by the Director.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
Any person desiring to plant any tree, hedge or shrub within any public highway or public right-of-way must file an application with the Director and receive a permit pursuant to Section 8.06.170.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
No permit for the planting of a tree within any public highway will be issued by the Director unless the species of the tree to be planted is one approved by the Director. The permit for the planting of a tree, shrub or hedge may be issued upon such terms and conditions as the Director determines appropriate to protect persons and property or may be denied.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
No person is permitted to injure, deface, or remove any protective structure placed around any tree or plant growing upon any public highway or public property in the City or around protected trees on the County Edgemoor property.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
The City is exempt from the provisions of Chapter 12 (commencing with Public Resources Code Section 25980), Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, known as the Solar Shade Control Act.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
When the City requires tree pruning, any tree service contractor performing work must have on staff an arborist certified by the western chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. This arborist must use reasonable diligence in overseeing pruning trees and must certify that all work meets the City's pruning specifications.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
The City will attempt to provide on-call tree services in emergencies. Emergencies include fallen trees and other immediate safety hazards. The parks and landscape maintenance supervisor determines if an emergency exists. These services will be provided on an "as available" basis and the City assumes no liability for failing to provide these emergency services.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
The topping of public trees and protected trees is prohibited, unless the failure to top a tree poses a threat to public safety.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
Nothing contained in this section imposes any liability upon the City, its officers or employees, or relieves the owner of any property from the duty to keep any tree, shrub or plant upon any street tree area on his or her property or under his or her control in such condition as to prevent it from constituting a hazard or an impediment to travel or vision upon any street, park, pleasure ground, boulevard, alley or public place within the City.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
No person, firm or corporation is permitted to interfere with the Parks and Landscape Maintenance Supervisor or persons acting under his or her authority while engaged in trimming, planting, mulching, pruning or removing any tree, shrub or plant in any right-of-way or public place within the City.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
Any action by the Parks and Landscape Maintenance Supervisor may be appealed, unless otherwise stated, to the Director within 30 working days after the decision of the Parks and Landscape Maintenance Supervisor. The appeal must be in writing and filed with the Community Services Department. Any appeal pursuant to this chapter will be governed by the procedures in Chapter 1.14; provided, however, that the Director's decision is final and nonappealable. The decision by the Parks and Landscape Maintenance Supervisor to remove a tree for safety reasons or in an emergency will be accomplished immediately and is not appealable.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)
The Parks and Landscape Maintenance Supervisor is hereby charged with the responsibility for the enforcement of this chapter in accordance with the provisions of Title 1.
(Ord. 561 § 3, 2019)