[Adopted 6-2-1987 by Ord. No. 604]
Any person who plants, fixes or maintains any
tree, shrubbery, or any other object upon any parkway or private property
within the City adjacent to the intersection of any streets or along
the boulevard in the City, which obstructs the driving vision of the
operator of any vehicle properly upon a street is declared to be guilty
of committing an unlawful act and a nuisance.
Whenever the City Superintendent of Utilities
and Streets, after investigation, shall determine that any tree, shrubbery
or other object planted or fixed upon any parkway or private property
in the City adjacent to a street intersection or along a street boulevard
obstructs the driving vision of the vehicles passing over or through
streets and street intersections constituting a traffic hazard, damaging
or threatening to damage sidewalks, curbs, gutters, or utility lines
and any other purpose consistent with the proper care of the City
streets, he shall cause to be served upon the owner or occupant of
the property abutting such parkway, or the owner of the property upon
which such trees, shrubbery or other objects are planted or fixed
in violation of this article a written notice requiring such owner
or occupant to remove such tree, shrubbery or other object, or to
trim such tree or shrubbery or reduce the height and width of other
objects so as to comply with the provisions of this article. The notice
herein provided for shall be served upon the owner or occupant of
the property therein described and shall require the owner to comply
with the directions contained in such written notice within 15 days
after the service of such notice. Such notice may and can be served
by placing a copy of the notice at a conspicuous place upon the property
abutting the parkway, if the offending object be thereon or upon the
private property upon which the offending object may exist.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this article,
it is hereby made the duty of every person owning or occupying any
land or lots of land within the City to keep all private trees extending
over any street or alley trimmed up to a height of not less than 14
feet except that a height of not less than seven feet shall be permitted
over the sidewalk area, and also to keep said space clear of debris.
A.
Findings. The presence upon lands of brush, hedges,
and other plant life greater than 2 1/2 feet in height above
the established grade of the street at the property line growing within
25 feet of the intersection of streets is decreed to be detrimental
to the safety and general welfare of the residents of the City of
Fairfax.
B.
Duties of owners or tenants. The owner or tenant of
lands lying within the City shall be required to remove or cause to
be removed from such lands any brush, hedges and other plant life
greater than 2 1/2 feet in height above the established grade
of the street at the property line growing within 25 feet of the intersection
of streets.
The owner of any property affected by the directions of the notice in § 190-11 can within the time specified in the notice (15 days), appeal to the City Council by submitting a written appeal to the City Clerk-Treasurer, and until the City Council shall act upon such appeal at its next regular Council meeting, the appellant shall not be required to comply with such notice.
If after the service of the notice provided in § 190-11, the owner or occupant does not comply with the directions contained in such notice within the time specified or does not have an appeal filed with the City Council pursuant to § 190-14, the City Superintendent of Utilities and Streets shall have the necessary action taken to relieve and terminate such hazard, either by having such trees or shrubbery trimmed or by having it or them removed, and charge the costs thereof to the real property owner.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Art. IV, Establishment, Maintenance
and Repair of Sidewalks, adopted 12-1-1992 by Ord. No. 214, which
immediately followed, was repealed 12-8-2020 by Ord. No. 428.
