Borough of Media, PA Shade Tree Commission

A Shade Tree Commission is hereby created in and for the Borough of Media.

The Shade Tree Commission shall be composed of three residents of the Borough of Media, who shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the approval of the Council, and shall serve without compensation.

B.

One member shall be appointed for a term of three years, one for a term of four years and one for a term of five years; upon the expiration of the terms of the first members, all subsequent appointments shall be for terms of five years each. Any vacancy in the office of Commissioner shall be filled by the Mayor, with the approval of the Council, for the unexpired term.

A.

The Shade Tree Commission shall have all the powers vested in such Commission by the Borough Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and all amendments, changes or additions thereto, except the following:

(1)

Said Commission shall not employ any persons, corporations, or associations or assistants without the prior approval of the Council, unless the same is or has been authorized in the budget adopted by the Council for the Borough of Media.

(2)

The Commission shall not authorize any expenditures or contract for the expenditure of borough funds without the prior approval of the Council, unless authorized in the borough budget.

(3)

Said Commission shall not publish notice of any proposal or program to plant, transplant or remove shade trees on any street without the prior approval of the Council.

B.

All rules or regulations proposed by the Commission shall be approved and published according to the Borough Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

[Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]

The Shade Tree Commission may assess penalties of not more than $600 plus costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, of imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days, for each and every violation of its regulations or any of the provisions of the Borough Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania so far as it relates to shade trees, provided that the Commission has fixed the limit or limits of said penalties in its regulations when they are approved and published.

The rules and regulations hereinafter set forth shall be designated for identification purposes as the "Shade Tree Commission Regulations, as amended in 1987, Commission Resolution No. 1."

The Shade Tree Commission Resolution No. 1, as hereinafter set forth, is hereby approved and adopted by the Council of the Borough of Media and enforceable as such. Said regulations are as follows:

Shade Tree Commission Resolution No. 1
Section 1.	Definitions. The following words, when used in these regulations, shall have the meanings herein ascribed to them:
PERMIT -- A written permit or authorization issued by the representative of the Media Borough Council.
PERSON -- Any natural person, firm, association, partnership or corporation.
PUBLIC AREA -- That area, including cartway and sidewalk, within public right-of-way lines for streets, highways, alleys and public ways within the Borough of Media and also all property owned by the Borough of Media.
SHADE TREE -- Any tree, shrub or other woody plant in or upon any public area in the Borough of Media or that part of any tree, shrub or other woody plant which extends within the lines of any public area in the Borough of Media.

Section 2.		The Commission shall have exclusive custody and control of the shade trees within the public areas in the Borough of Media and, subject to the restrictions of § 81-3 of Article I of this chapter, adopted March 18, 1965, is authorized to plant, maintain and protect said shade trees within the public areas in the Borough of Media and carry out the intent and purpose of this resolution and enforce the provisions hereof.
Section 3.
	(a)	Planting, removing, pruning and trimming shade trees. It shall be unlawful for any person to plant, remove, mutilate or cut down any shade tree or do or cause to have done a major or total pruning of any shade tree within a public area without first obtaining a permit as herein provided and doing the same in conformance with said permit, except that it shall not be unlawful to do the following without a permit or approval of the Commission:
		(1)	Trim shade trees to conform to the clearance requirements of Section 5 hereof, trim or prune shrubs and bushes within the public area and remove or cut off low-hanging or broken branches of trees which create or may create a public nuisance or danger.
		(2)	Carry out normal repair, upkeep, minor pruning and trimming.
		(3)	To prune, trim or cut for the maintenance of public utility facilities.
		(4)	To plant, remove, cut back, trim or prune shrubs and bushes in public areas along streets where sidewalks have not been laid, installed or constructed, where said shrubs and bushes are not planted within 25 feet of an intersection, which 25 feet shall be measured from the curblines.
		(5)	Pruning methods will adhere to National Arborists Association pruning standards, which will be enforced by the warden. Copies of said regulations are available in the borough office.
	(b)	Authority to grant or deny a permit and impose conditions in a permit. The Commission shall review such application for a permit and shall grant or deny said application, and if granted it shall state in the permit the type or species of shade tree to be planted or removed, cut, trimmed or pruned and may set forth specifications for doing the same. It shall then be unlawful to plant, remove, cut, trim or prune any shade tree contrary to specifications set forth by National Arborists Association regulations.
	(c)	The Commission, in carrying out its duties hereunder and in issuing permits, shall adhere to the standards adopted by the National Arborists Association or any other similar, recognized organization or body which promulgates standards and which carries out the intent of the regulations herein.
	(d)	It shall not be necessary for the Borough of Media to obtain a permit to do any work on public areas owned in fee simple or rented by the borough, but no such work shall be done without consultation with the Commission, except as is provided by the exceptions of Section 3(a) above.
	(e)	The Commission shall conduct, within two years of the enactment of this chapter, a census of shade trees in the Borough of Media, which shall mean the compilation of the locations, types, species and evaluation of all said trees, and including the trees, bushes and shrubs not in public areas. The Commission shall update this census on a regular basis. [Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]
Section 4.
	(a)	An application for a permit shall be made in writing to the Borough Secretary on a form provided by the borough. It shall specify:
		(1)	The particular kind of work or operation the applicant desires to perform.
		(2)	The exact location and the species of any shade tree affected.
		(3)	The person who will do the work.
		(4)	The date of the work permit, including the date submitted and the date approved.
	(b)	It shall be the duty of the Borough Secretary to submit every such application promptly to the Commission for approval or disapproval. The permit shall be valid for a term of 90 days, but may be revoked at any time upon proof satisfactory to the Commission that any of the terms or conditions upon which the permit was issued are or have been violated.
	(c)	The Commission, in its discretion, may, as a condition precedent to the issuance of the permit, require the applicant to file a bond satisfactory to the Commission or to deposit security satisfactory to it to guarantee the compliance by the applicant with the terms and conditions upon which such permit is issued, and which bond shall not be more than double the estimated costs of such work. The applicant for any permit shall, at the time of his application, pay to the Borough Treasurer for the use of the borough a fee of $5. For major work, the Commission shall require a certification of insurance against personal injury or property damage, including workmen's compensation, general liability of at least $100,000 and any other pertinent insurance coverage.
Section 5.		No tree shall hereafter be planted in or upon the public streets, highways or avenues within five feet of any driveway, nor shall any tree on private property adjacent to the sidewalk be planted within three feet thereof. To maintain an adequate sight triangle for public safety, no tree shall be planted nearer to the intersection of any two or more streets than 25 feet from the point of intersection of any two public right-of-way lines, and a distance of 30 feet shall be maintained on streets which are state highways.
Section 6.		It will be the responsibility of the Shade Tree Commission to remove any dead tree after it has been determined by the Commission that the removal is necessary for the safety of the community.
Section 7.		No person shall, without first obtaining a permit therefor, cut, break, climb with spurs, injure in any manner or remove any shade tree or cut down or interfere in any way with the main roots of any shade tree or spray any shade tree with any chemical or insecticide or place any rope guy wire, cable, sign, poster or any other fixture on any shade tree or guard for any shade tree or injure, misuse or remove any device placed to protect any shade tree, except in case of immediate necessity for the protection of life and property.
Section 8.		Every owner or occupier of property shall maintain an area of open space, not less than four square feet, around the base of every tree, which space shall be so maintained as to permit the free passage of air and water to the roots of such tree. This requirement for open space does not apply to sidewalks adjacent to shade trees.
Section 9.		No person shall pour saltwater, oil or any other material or perform any act at any place in such manner that injury might result to any shade tree.
Section 10.		These regulations shall be enforced by the Commission in conjunction with the Borough Manager, any Borough Code Enforcement Officer, the Mayor and/or the borough police. All work to be done under any permit shall be completed within a period of 60 days from the date of issuance of the permit, unless such completion date is extended by the Commission. [Amended 9-17-2009 by Ord. No. 1064]
Section 11.		Any person who shall violate or fail to comply with any of the regulations of the Shade Tree Commission of the Borough of Media or its designated representative shall be liable, on conviction thereof, to a fine or penalty not exceeding $600, plus costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days, for each and every offense. Whenever such person shall have been notified by the Shade Tree Commission or by service of a summons in prosecution or in any other way that he is committing such violation, each day in which he shall continue such violation after any such notification shall constitute a separate offense punishable by like fine or penalty. Such fines or penalties shall be collected as prescribed by law. [Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]