[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Boyertown 2-5-2007 by Ord. No.
01-07. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Borough of Boyertown.
The Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough of Boyertown.
A written notification to any person from the Code Enforcement
Officer to plant, prune, remove or otherwise take action with respect
to a shade tree.
Written permission to any person from the Code Enforcement
Officer to perform some act with respect to a shade free.
Refers to any natural person, firm, unincorporated association,
partnership or corporation.
Includes the vehicular cartway and the right-of-way attendant.
Trees, shrubs, bushes, and all other woody vegetation on
land lying in the Borough right-of-way lines on either side of all
streets, avenues, alleys or ways within the Borough of Boyertown.
A.
No person shall plant or remove a street tree without first obtaining
a permit from the Code Enforcement Officer. The permit shall state
the species of the tree to be removed or planted and its location.
B.
No person shall destroy, break, cut, scrape, paint, whitewash or
in any way deface, injure or interfere with the roots, trunk, bark,
branches, leaves, flowers or fruit of any street tree without written
permission of the Code Enforcement Officer. Exception: This section
shall not apply if the roots are interfering with a utility line.
C.
All street trees shall be kept trimmed on or over the street, sidewalk and public alley on which they are located in accordance with §§ 181-8, 181-9 and 181-10. Street trees shall be trimmed so that no portion of any growing shrub or other woody plants (i.e., hedges) shall encroach to within 12 inches of any curbline of any property whereat there is no sidewalk or encroach over the sidewalk area where sidewalk has been installed. Any encroachment of or within 12 inches of the curbline where there is no sidewalk shall constitute a violation of these regulations.
D.
No person shall attach any wire insulator, or other device for holding
such wire, or any other item, document, flier or material to any street
tree. Exception: Newly planted trees and or damaged trees may be guyed
to provide stability during the first growing season.
E.
All other wires shall be securely fastened so as not to come in contact
with said trees or any part thereof, nor shall any person direct or
allow their employees to climb said trees without the written permission
of the Code Enforcement Officer. The use of implements with sharp,
penetrating points, i.e., nails, staples, bolts, etc., is positively
prohibited.
F.
No person shall cause, authorize or permit any oil, liquid dye or
any other substance deleterious to tree life to lie, leak, pour, flow
or drop on or into the soil about the base of any street tree.
G.
No person shall permit any escape of gas so as to injure any street
tree. Any gas leak must immediately be repaired in such manner as
to minimize any chance of recurrence.
H.
No tight guards or any other device shall be attached to any street
tree without the permission of the Code Enforcement Officer. No guard
or device approved by the Code Enforcement Officer intended for the
protection of a street tree shall be removed or damaged. Exception:
Damaged trees may be secured by a holding device to allow healing.
I.
In the erection, alteration, repair or removal of any building or
structure, the owner thereof shall be responsible for the placing
of such guards around all street trees as shall effectually prevent
injury to them. No stories, brick, cement or any other building materials
shall be placed in any manner which may impede the free passage of
air and water to the roots of a street tree.
J.
No person shall attach any rope, wire, sign, or other object to any
street tree guard without the written permission of the Code Enforcement
Officer.
K.
Any of the regulations outlined above may be waived by the Code Enforcement
Officer when it is necessary to perform the regulated actions to protect
or preserve life or property.
The Borough Council shall, by resolution, establish from time to time a list of the official street tree species for the Borough of Boyertown, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. No species other than those included in such list may be planted as street trees without the written permission of the Code Enforcement Officer. A permit must be secured before planting, in accordance with § 181-13 of these regulations. The Code Enforcement Officer may refuse to issue a permit to plant any species of tree which in its opinion is not suited to the location.
A.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall determine the species size class
for each location.
B.
The spacing of street trees will be in accordance with the three species size classes listed in § 181-3 of this chapter and no trees may be planted closer together than the following, except in special plantings designed or approved by a landscape architect:
C.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to solicit
advice from an arborist or consultant on any tree issues.
D.
The Code Enforcement Officer may allow any variances from this ordinance
based on special conditions or circumstances.
The distance trees may be planted from curbs or curblines and sidewalks will be in accordance with the three species size classes listed in § 181-3 of this chapter, and no trees may be planted closer to any curb or sidewalk than the following:
No street tree shall be planted closer than 35 feet to any street
corner, measured from the point of nearest intersecting curbs or curblines
except where a stop sign is placed; then no street tree shall be planted
closer than 35 feet to any stop sign. No street tree shall be planted
closer than 15 feet to any fireplug.
No street trees other than those species listed as small trees
per ordinance or resolution may be planted under or within 10 lateral
feet of any overhead utility wire, or over or within 10 lateral feet
of any underground water line, sewer line, transmission line, other
utility, or any parking meter, bilco door, or other obstruction.
A.
The Borough shall have the right to plant, prune, maintain and remove
trees, plants and shrubs within the right-of-way lines of all streets,
alleys, avenues, and lanes, as may be necessary to insure public safety
or to preserve or enhance the symmetry and beauty of such areas. The
Borough shall only have the right to plant trees within the public
right-of-way with the permission of the property owner.
B.
The Borough may remove, or cause or order to be removed, any tree
or part thereof which is in an unsafe condition or which by reason
of its nature is injurious to sewers, electric power lines, gas lines,
water lines or other public improvements, or is affected with any
injurious fungus, insect or other pest.
C.
The Borough may order removal of any tree which has become overgrown
and when the base of the trunk reaches the curbline.
It shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person, firm
or Borough department to top any street tree. "Topping" is defined
as the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches
in diameter within the tree's crown to such a degree so as to
remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. Trees severely damaged
by storms or other causes, or certain trees under utility wires or
other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical,
may be exempted from this section at the determination of the Code
Enforcement Officer.
The clearance of space between the street and the overhanging
branches of the tree shall be 13 feet six inches above the surface
of the street continuing completely around the circumference of the
tree. Branches shall not obstruct the proper spread of light from
any streetlight or obstruct the view of any sign, traffic control
device or street intersection. Dead, broken or decayed limbs must
be removed so as not to constitute a menace to the safety of the public.
(Newly planted trees will be exempt from height requirements in this
section until the tree reaches maturity). The cost and expense of
caring for such trees after having been planted (except for removal)
shall be borne by the property owner.
A.
The Borough shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead
or diseased trees on private property within the Borough, when such
trees constitute a hazard to life and property, or harbor insects
or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees within
the Borough.
B.
The Code Enforcement Officer will notify, in writing, the owners
of such trees. Removal shall be done by said owners at their expense
within 60 days after the date of service of notice, unless exigent
circumstances require removal in a shorter period as determined by
the Code Enforcement Officer. The above time frames may be extended
by the Code Enforcement Officer upon request in writing by the owner,
setting forth the reasons for the same. In the event of the failure
of owners to comply with such provisions, the Borough shall have the
authority to remove such trees and charge the cost of removal to the
property owner in the form of a lien upon the premises, and a claim
therefor shall be filed and collected by the Borough Solicitor in
the same manner as municipal claims are filed and collected.
All stumps of street trees shall be removed below the surface
of the ground so that the top of the stump shall not project above
the surface of the ground.
A.
Any person receiving a written notice from the Code Enforcement Officer
to perform any of the actions requested in this chapter must conform
to the notice within the time period specified on the notice. Failure
to comply with the notice will result in the work being done by the
Borough at the expense of the person receiving the notice. The entire
cost of the work performed shall be a lien upon the premises, and
a claim therefor shall be filed and collected by the Borough Solicitor
in the same manner as municipal claims are filed and collected.
B.
Applications to the Code Enforcement Officer for permission to plant
a street tree must state the species and the location of the tree
to be planted. The Code Enforcement Officer may refuse to issue a
permit which in his opinion violates this chapter or is not suited
for its location. Issued permits will state the approved species and
the approved location of the planting. The Borough will mark the exact
location where the tree(s) may be planted according to code. Any violation
of any such conditions or limitations shall be a violation of these
regulations.
C.
Upon completion of work, the applicant shall fill out the bottom
section of the permit and return the stub to the Code Enforcement
Officer.
D.
There shall be no charge or fee for any of the permits required under
these regulations.
E.
Whenever the Borough proposes to plant, transplant or remove shade
trees on any street, notice of the time and place of the meeting at
which such work is to be considered shall be given in one newspaper
of general circulation in the Borough once a week for two weeks immediately
preceding the time of the meeting. The notice shall specify in detail
the streets or portions upon which the trees are proposed to be planted,
replanted or removed.
It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent, delay or interfere
with the Borough, or any of its agents, while engaging in and about
the planting, cultivating, mulching, pruning, spraying or removing
of any trees as authorized in this chapter.
Any person who shall violate any of the foregoing regulations
may, upon conviction therefor before the appropriate authority, be
sentenced to pay a fine of $50 but not more than $300 for each and
every violation and for each tree concerned, and all costs of prosecution,
and in addition thereto, or in the alternative, where authorized by
the foregoing regulations, charges may be assessed against the owners
of property and liens placed against real estate of the offender and
collected in the same manner as municipal claims are collected.
In the event of a shade tree being damaged, the Borough may make a charge for treatment to the tree, plus, should the tree be destroyed, all costs for removal and replacement of the tree, against the person causing the damage to the said tree(s). The payment of damages as set forth herein is in addition to the penalties set forth in § 181-15.
A.
The cost of planting, transplanting or removing any shade trees in
and along the streets and highways in the Borough, of the necessary
and suitable guards, curbing or grading for the protection thereof,
and of the replacing of any pavement or sidewalk necessarily disturbed
in the execution of such work, shall be paid by the owner of the real
estate abutting that on which the work is done, unless the work is
done under grant. The amount each owner is to pay shall be ascertained
and certified by the Code Enforcement Officer to Council and to the
Borough Treasurer.
B.
Upon the filing of the certificate within the Council, the Borough
Secretary shall cause 30 days' written notice to be given to
every person against whose property an assessment has been made. The
notice shall state the amount of the assessment, and the time and
place of payment, and shall be accompanied with a copy of the certificate.
The amount assessed against the real estate shall be a lien from the
time of the filing of the certificate with the Council, and if not
paid within the time designated in the notice, a claim may be filed
and collected by the Borough Solicitor in the same manner as municipal
claims are filed and collected.
