It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors that this article shall apply to the abatement of hazard trees threatening eligible roads or parcels in the unincorporated areas of the SQF Complex Fire area.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
Maintaining a hazard tree is prohibited and a public nuisance subject to this article. A violation of any provision of this article shall be deemed to be a public nuisance and subject to any enforcement process available by law.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
Any tree that was fire damaged in the SQF Complex Fire and that is in immediate danger of falling onto an eligible road or parcel is a hazardous tree that must be removed to eliminate the immediate threat to the public at large. This article establishes a hazardous tree removal program that is mandatory and sets forth the manner in which hazardous trees will be identified and removed.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
The Hazard Tree Removal Program shall take effect immediately upon adoption of this article and shall remain in effect until the removal of hazard trees has been completed.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
(a) "Arborist"
means an ISA Certified Arborist with a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ).
(b) "Arborist's/Forester's Certification"
means a written certification verifying that all hazard trees have been removed from a parcel participating in the Private Tree Program. The certification shall be made and executed by an Arborist and/or Forester as defined in this section. The Arborist or Forester shall provide evidence of the required qualifications of this section.
(c) "Enforcement Officer"
means the Chief Administrative Officer of Tulare County or his or her designee(s). Such designee(s) may be a Tulare County employee(s) or third-party provider(s).
(d) "Eligible Road(s)" or "Eligible Parcel(s)"
means a road, right-of-way, or parcel falling into one of the following categories:
Eligible roads or parcels are those affected by the SQF Complex Fire. |
(e) "Forester"
means a Registered Professional Forester, qualified pursuant to California Public Resources Code section 752 (defining a "professional forester").
(f) "Government Hazard Tree Removal Program"
means the hazard tree removal program operated by the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) for the SQF Complex Fire area in conjunction with other state and federal agencies.
(g) "Hazard Tree"
means a wildfire-damaged tree that in the professional opinion of an Arborist and/or Forester:
(h) "Right of Entry Permit"
means the Debris and/or Hazard Tree Removal Right of Entry Permit (for providing debris and/or hazard tree removal on private property), approved by the California Office of Emergency Services and the Board of Supervisors, for use in the cleanup after the SQF Complex Fire.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
(a)
The Government Hazard Tree Removal Program will remove all hazard trees at no out-of-pocket cost to the owner. If an owner does not participate in the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program, and there are hazard trees on the property, the owners are required to identify and remove such trees at their own cost.
(b)
To participate in the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program, owners must complete and submit a Right of Entry Permit. The Right of Entry Permit shall function as the sole permit and authorization for participation in the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this Ordinance Code, no County approvals or permits for hazard tree removal are required for properties participating in the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program, other than the Right of Entry Permit.
(c)
If owners whose property contains hazard trees do not participate in the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program (at no out-of-pocket cost to owner) or identify and remove such trees, the County will enforce this article and charge the owners with any administrative and abatement costs related to such enforcement as described below.
(d)
In implementing this program, property owners who have submitted an application for a development permit shall be given priority in the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
(a)
As an alternative to the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program, owners have the option of identifying and removing hazard tree(s) on their property at their own cost. To opt out of the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program, owners shall submit an Arborist's/Forester's Certification for their property.
(b)
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, owners who remove hazard tree(s) on their property at their own cost may choose to temporarily retain and promptly utilize felled hazard trees which were standing on their property. This temporary retention and utilization by the owner shall be permitted only to the extent felled hazard trees and incidental foliage, slash, tree branches or limbs, and chipped or mulched vegetation do not constitute a fire hazard as prohibited by applicable law, including, but not limited to, California Public Resources Code section 4291 et seq., Title 19 of the California Code of Regulations, and Chapter 11 of this Ordinance Code. Such requirements include but are not limited to the following:
(1)
In storing such hazard trees prior to utilization, an owner shall be required to:
(2)
If an owner utilizes felled hazard trees for wood chips, the owner shall be required to spread the wood chips to a depth of no greater than three (3) inches while maintaining a setback of no less than five (5) feet from any building or structure.
(c)
If any temporary retention and utilization of hazard trees constitutes a fire hazard, it is a public nuisance and may be abated using any available legal remedy. If the owner chooses to temporarily retain and utilize felled hazard trees, the owner is required to utilize such hazard trees prior to the issuance of any County Development Permit
(d)
For the purposes of this section, any temporary retention and utilization of felled hazard trees by the property owner is not a staging area that would require a special use permit. Owners may not receive felled trees from other properties.
(e)
The County shall utilize the state and federal standards and cleanup goals of the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program as the standards for owners who remove hazard tree(s) on their property at their own cost, including, but not limited to, the criteria for determining whether a tree is a hazard tree. Under the supervision of the Enforcement Officer, the County may administratively update these standards as necessary to address ongoing changes in the administration of the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program and the need to efficiently remove hazard trees from the community.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
(a)
No application for a building permit or land use entitlement in the SQF Complex Fire area for a parcel containing hazard trees shall be considered complete until the applicant has entered into the Government Hazard Tree Removal Program or submitted an Arborist's/Forester's Certification for their property. This section shall not apply to permits relating to power, sewer or other utilities for temporary dwellings and the installation of temporary dwellings as provided for in § 4-31-2400 and Article 5 of this Chapter.
(b)
This section shall not apply to permits for wells or septic systems with the Tulare County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
(a)
Properties that contain hazard trees and that do not have (1) an approved Government Hazard Tree Removal Program ROE or (2) an approved Arborist's/Forester's Certification by the deadline set by the Board of Supervisors, are declared a public nuisance and health hazard and such properties may be abated pursuant to this article.
(b)
The Board of Supervisors may set a deadline for the completion of hazard tree removal by resolution. Properties that have hazard trees from the SQF Complex Fire after that deadline are declared a public nuisance and health hazard and such properties may be abated pursuant to this article.
(c)
The Board of Supervisors' intent is to facilitate orderly remediation of a large scale disaster. Nothing in these deadlines shall limit the authority of the County to abate hazards more quickly where required by exigent circumstances.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
(a)
Whenever the Enforcement Officer determines that a public nuisance (as specified in this article) exists, he or she shall use any legal remedies available under California law to address and abate the public nuisance, including but not limited to this ordinance code.
(b)
The County may, in its discretion, abate a violation of this article by the prosecution of a civil action, including an action for injunctive relief. The remedy of injunctive relief may take the form of a court order, enforceable through civil contempt proceedings, prohibiting the maintenance of a violation of this article, or requiring compliance with other terms.
(c)
The County may also abate a violation of this article through the abatement process established by Government Code section 25845 et seq.
(d)
If a public nuisance is found to be present on the property in violation of this article, the Enforcement Officer shall pursue payment for abatement and administrative costs from the owner, and the owner of the property shall be responsible for paying all of the County's abatement costs and administrative costs.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
(a) "Abatement Costs"
means any costs or expenses reasonably related to the abatement of conditions which violate this article of this Ordinance Code, and shall include, but not be limited to, enforcement, investigation, collection and administrative costs, and the costs associated with the removal or correction of the violation.
(b) "Administrative Costs"
shall include the cost of County staff time reasonably related to enforcement, for items including, but not limited to, site inspections, travel time, investigations, telephone contacts, and time spent preparing summaries, reports, notices, correspondence, warrants, and hearing packets. The time expended by the Enforcement Officer and Auditor-Controller staff, to calculate the above costs and prepare itemized invoices, may also be recovered.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
This article is cumulative to all other remedies now or hereafter available to abate or otherwise regulate or prevent public nuisances. The County Counsel is authorized to initiate judicial enforcement as to a violation of any provision of this article without further Board of Supervisors approval.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, when any hazard tree constitutes an immediate threat to the public health or safety, and where alternative procedures would not result in abatement of that public nuisance within a short enough time period to avoid that threat, the Enforcement Officer may direct any officer or employee of the County or third-party provider to summarily abate the public nuisance. The Enforcement Officer shall make reasonable efforts to notify the owner. No summary abatement shall occur prior to consultation with the Office of County Counsel. The County may nevertheless recover its costs for abating that public nuisance in the manner set forth in this article.
(Added by Ord. No. 3587, effective 12-8-20)