[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Commission of the City of Parsons as §§ 18-201, 18-202 and 19-201 to 19-207 of the 1963 Code (Ch. 23 of the 1985 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Nuisances — See Ch. 441.
Solid waste — See Ch. 513.
It shall be unlawful for any person, except when acting under the direction and authority of the state, to cut or trim any trees within the City without the consent and approval in writing of the owner of such trees if the same are growing upon private property. No person shall cut or trim any trees growing upon the streets without the consent and approval of the City Manager; provided, however, that any privately owned telephone company or power company owning or using transmission lines in the City may cut or trim trees or other growths in the parking areas or public ways of the City which shall interfere with its lines without obtaining such permission.
State law reference — Authority to regulate the planting, maintenance and removal of trees and shrubbery on streets, alleys, etc., K.S.A. § 12-3201.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any lot abutting upon any street, avenue, alley or public way in the City to plant, care for, grow, keep or cultivate any trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation on such adjoining property or upon the parking area abutting upon or adjacent thereto so that the same shall interfere with public travel and use of the streets and public ways or constitute a menace or danger by reason of the location of any such trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation to any person using or upon the sidewalks or traveling upon the streets or public ways.
B. 
No owner or occupant of real property shall permit any mulberry or thorny-locust tree or branches of any such tree to overhang any street, alley or sidewalk of the City. It shall be the duty of every owner or occupant of lots abutting upon any sidewalk or public way of the City or adjacent to the street parking area to cultivate trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation in such a manner that the same shall not interfere with persons or travel upon or along streets, sidewalks or public ways, and such persons shall cut or trim any such trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation so that the branches or limbs thereof shall not extend out over the sidewalk lower than nine feet from the surface thereof or over the portion of any street, avenue or alley used for vehicles lower than 14 feet from the surface thereof.
C. 
Every owner or occupant of any lot shall remove all dead trees or the branches thereof which shall be in the parking area or close enough thereto to fall on any portion of any street, avenue, alley or sidewalk or close enough thereto to be dangerous to public travel.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
If any tree in the parking area is cut down, the person doing such work shall take out the entire tree, including the trunk and stump, and remove the tree and debris from the parking area and fill the hole left by the removal of the stump with dirt in such a manner that no hole shall be left in the parking area. If any tree, hedge, shrubbery or vegetation in the parking area is trimmed, the person trimming the same shall perform such work in a careful and workmanlike manner so as not to injure or damage such tree, hedge, shrubbery or vegetation and shall remove the debris from the parking area.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
B. 
No owner or occupant of real property shall plant or grow any mulberry or thorny-locust tree in the parking area adjacent to such property.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
C. 
All work required by this section shall be approved by the City Manager or his designee.
It shall be unlawful for any person to plant or grow any trees or any vegetable growth which, by reason of its nature, will grow so high as to interfere with the use of the street, parking area or public way of the City for electric lighting or power wires or telephone wires or which will litter the sidewalks or streets adjacent to such parking area when grown or which will become a nuisance by reason of fruit or other substance falling therefrom upon the sidewalks or streets. All trees or shrubbery shall be planted equal distance between the curbline of any street and the outside of the sidewalk where any sidewalk may be located or where space is reserved for any sidewalk. No such tree or shrub shall be planted closer than 45 feet to the curbline of any intersecting street.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
Whenever any owner or occupant of any property fails to trim, remove or cut trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation as provided in this article, the City Manager may cause the City Clerk to serve notice or cause notice to be served on such owner or occupant requiring him to do so forthwith. If the owner or occupant fails to do so in accordance with the notice, within five days after the same shall be served by a police officer, the City Manager shall cause such trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation to be trimmed, cut down or removed. All such work shall be done by the City in a careful and workmanlike manner. If the owner of the property is unknown or the property is unoccupied, the notice herein required shall be published once in the official City paper. Such notice shall require that the trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation be removed within 10 days. If there exists great danger to life or property by reason of any such trees, shrubbery, hedges or vegetation, the same shall be removed forthwith by the City Manager or his designee without notice.
B. 
The City may collect expenses incurred by it pursuant to Subsection A by special assessment against the property or abutting property involved.
Violation of this chapter shall constitute a Class C misdemeanor, punishable as provided in § 1-2 of this Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[Added 6-2-1975 by Ord. No. 4452]
All automobiles, trucks, trailers or other vehicles operated by any person licensed pursuant to this article for the transportation of the equipment used by him in such licensed business and all self-propelled, draw or tow equipment used by him in such licensed business shall have the name and address of such licensee displayed on both sides thereof in plain and legible figures and letters not less than three inches in height which shall be kept in such condition as to permit the same to be readily distinguished and read at a distance of at least 60 feet.
No person shall engage in the business of cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying or otherwise treating trees within the City without a valid, unsuspended and unrevoked license issued by the City Clerk. It shall be unlawful for the licensee to engage in any types of tree service not specified in his license. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent the owner or occupant from performing work on or removing trees on his own property.
Before any license required by this article shall be issued, an application therefor shall be submitted to the City Clerk who shall refer it to the person designated by the City Manager who shall thereupon examine the applicant, either orally or in writing, upon the applicant's qualifications and competency to engage in the types of service for which his application discloses that he desires to be licensed. The applicant shall demonstrate such actual practical ability and competence or furnish such evidence of previous satisfactory experience as the person designated by the City Manager deems proper. The person designated by the City Manager shall return the application to the City Clerk with an endorsement of approval or disapproval for which the applicant has been found qualified. The City Clerk shall issue or refuse to issue such license in accordance with such endorsement.
A. 
No license shall be issued pursuant to the provisions of this article until the applicant presents to the City Clerk a satisfactory public liability insurance policy covering all operations of such applicant in such business in the City in the sum of at least $100,000 for each person injured and containing a limitation of liability of no less than $200,000 in case of injury to two or more persons in any one accident and in the sum of not less than $50,000 for damage to property. Should the policy be cancelled, the City shall be notified of such cancellation within 10 days after such cancellation is effective. A provision requiring such notice shall be incorporated in each policy. In the event that any such insurance policy at any time fails, in the opinion of the City Manager or his designee, to comply with the provisions hereof or to afford reasonably satisfactory protection to the persons intended to be protected, such failure shall be grounds for revocation of the license or grounds for the suspension thereof until the insurance required hereby is so furnished.
B. 
A person or corporation shall also provide workers' compensation insurance for workers.
[Amended 8-19-1991 by Ord. No. 5571]
Before a tree trimmer's license is issued the person making application shall have in effect on file with the City Clerk a surety bond in favor of the City in the sum of $1,000, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney, conditioned that the principal in the bond will comply with all provisions of all ordinances of the City relating to tree trimming and further conditioned that the City or any person who may deem himself injured or damaged by the principal's failure to comply with such ordinances may sue on such bond to recover his damages.
No license required by this article shall be issued or renewed until the applicant pays a fee of $50 to the City.
A license issued pursuant to this article shall expire at the end of the calendar year for which it was issued. No examination shall be required for renewal of a license if application for renewal is made by February 15 of the license year.
A license issued pursuant to the provisions of this article shall not be transferable. When there is a change in the business status of the licensee, the successor shall have 60 days within which to obtain a license as provided by this article, provided that in the event of the death of an individual, his heir or representative shall be allowed 60 days within which to obtain a license and such additional time as may be granted by the City for cause.
A license issued pursuant to the provisions of this article may be revoked for any violation by its holder of any of the provisions of this article.