[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Clairton 8-14-1973 by Ord. No.
1249 as Ch. 145 of the 1973 Code; amended in its
entirety 4-14-1992 by Ord. No. 1518. Subsequent amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Brush, grass and weeds — See Ch. 159.
Bushes, shrubs and hedges — See Ch. 169.
Nuisances and dangerous structures — See Ch. 247.
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 255.
Poles and wires — See Ch. 271.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 274.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 303.
Subdivision and land development — See Ch. 307.
No tree, shrub or hedge shall be planted in or on or removed
from any highway, park or other public property in the City of Clairton,
nor shall any tree, shrub or hedge so situate be pruned, sprayed or
its growth in any way interfered with, except by the authority of
the City Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council, or with
the written permission of said Council.
No tree shall be planted in or on any highway in the City of
Clairton which is of the Carolina poplar, silver maple, willow, elm
or other incongruous species; any tree of such species already planted
in or on any highway of said City may be removed by the City Council
and shall be replaced in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
Branches of trees projecting over highways shall be kept at
least 11 feet above the street level and at least eight above the
sidewalk level, in dry weather, except on newly planted young trees.
No person shall deposit, place, store or maintain upon any public
area of the City of Clairton any stone, brick, sand, concrete or other
materials which may impede the free passage of water, air and fertilizer
to the roots of any tree or shrub growing therein, except by written
permit of the Council.
No chemicals, salt water, oil, gasoline or other liquid injurious
to plant life shall be poured upon or allowed to fall upon any highway
in such a way as to injure any tree planted or growing thereon.
No person shall break, injure, mutilate, kill or destroy any
tree or shrub or permit any fire to burn where such fire will injure
any portion of any tree or shrub in any public area of the City of
Clairton; no person shall knowingly permit any leak to exist in any
gas pipe within the root zone of any public tree or shrub; no person
shall permit any toxic chemical to seep, drain or be emptied on or
about any public tree or shrub; no person shall knowingly permit electric
wires to come in contact with any public trees or shrubs unless protected
by approved methods; and no person shall attach any electrical insulation
to any public tree or shall excavate any ditches, tunnels or trenches
or lay any drive within a radius of 10 feet from any public tree or
shrub, without first obtaining a written permit from the City. Whenever
the director of a City department determines it is necessary to move,
protect or cut off the electricity from service wires so that the
department's work can safely and properly be done, he or she
shall serve written notice on the owners of such wires and such owners
shall comply with such orders within 24 hours after the service of
said notice.
No stone, cement or other substance which will impede the passage
of water and air to the roots of a tree in or on any highway, park
or other public property shall be placed or maintained unless an open
space of at least 12 square feet is left outside and around the trunk
of the tree, except with the written permission of the City Council.
In the course of the erection or repair of any building and
in the grading, paving, curbing, regrading, repaving and recurbing
of streets or in the doing of any work on the surface or above or
below the surface of the street, suitable guards shall be placed around
all nearby trees in or on any highway, park or other public property
so as to prevent injury to such trees, and such further precaution
as may be required shall be taken to prevent damage to said trees
by breaking, barking, scratching, burning or in any other manner.
No cables, ropes, signs, posters or other advertisements, with
the exception of temporary official signs and notices approved by
the City Council, shall be placed on any tree or tree guard in or
on any highway, park or other public property.
In case of imminent danger to life or property, a tree in or
on any highway, park or other public property may be cut or removed
without permission of the Council, provided that such action must
be reported to the Council within 48 hours after its occurrence; otherwise
it shall be deemed to be in violation of this chapter.
If any tree in or on a highway, park or other public property
is being injuriously affected or is likely to be affected or if the
public safety is being endangered by a tree on private property, the
Council may, at the request of the owner of the private property,
prune, spray, cut or remove the tree on his or her property at his
or her expense. The Council shall also, if the owner of the private
property does not request that the tree be pruned, sprayed, cut or
removed at his or her expense, notify him or her to take the required
action within 10 days, and, if he or she fails to comply, shall then
do the work at his or her expense.
In the event of accidental damage to or destruction of a tree
in or on any highway, park or other public property, report thereof
shall be made within 48 hours to the Council. Repair or replanting
necessitated by such damage or destruction shall be done by the Council.
The Council shall collect the expense of such repairs or replanting
from the person or persons responsible for the damage.
When street plans are submitted to the City Planning Commission
showing trees or hedges or proposed tree or hedge plantings, the City
Council shall be requested by said Commission to check the plans in
order to make sure that the proposed tree planting is in accordance
with the terms of this chapter, and no such street plan shall be approved
by the City Planning Commission unless the Council has been so consulted
and has given its approval.
Any tree or shrub or parts thereof growing upon private property
but overhanging or interfering with the use of any street, park or
public place of the City of Clairton that, in the opinion of the City
Engineer, endangers the life, health, safety or property of the public,
shall be declared a public nuisance. The owner shall be notified,
in writing or by publication in a local newspaper, of the existence
of the nuisance and given a reasonable time for its correction or
removal. If not corrected or removed within the time allotted, the
City Engineer shall cause the nuisance to be corrected or removed
and the cost shall be assessed to the owner as provided by law.
All permits issued for the installation of public utilities
that affect public trees or shrubs shall be certified by the City
Engineer. When a permit is issued to a public utility to trim public
trees or do other operations affecting public trees or shrubs, the
work shall be limited to the actual necessities of the service of
the company, and such work shall be done in a neat and workmanlike
manner according to specifications outlined by the City Engineer who
may, if necessary, assign an inspector to supervise the provisions
of the permit, and the cost of such service shall be charged to the
public utility at cost.
No person shall prevent, delay or interfere with the City Engineer
or any of his or her assistants in the execution or enforcement of
this chapter; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed
as an attempt to prohibit a public hearing or the permit of any remedy
legal or equitable in any court of competent jurisdiction for the
protection of property rights by the owner of any property within
the City of Clairton, Pennsylvania.
The cost of planting, transplanting or removing any trees in any highway and of suitable guards, curbing or grading for the protection thereof, when necessary, and of the proper replacing of any pavement or sidewalk necessarily disturbed in the doing of such work shall be borne by the owner of the real estate in front of which such trees are planted, set out or removed; and the cost thereof as to each tract of real estate shall be certified to the City Council and also to the person having charge of the collection of taxes for the City; and upon filing of said certificates, the amount of the cost of such improvement, of which notice shall be given to each property owner involved, accompanied with a copy of the aforesaid certificate, together with a notice of the time and place for payment, shall be and become a lien upon said real estate in front of which said trees have been planted, set out or removed, said lien to be collectible, if not paid in accordance with notice as herein provided, in the same manner as other liens for taxes are now collectible against the property involved in accordance with the provisions of § 319-14.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding before a District
Justice, be subject to a fine 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.
The Council shall have the power to make reasonable rules and
regulations, consistent with the terms of this chapter, to carry out
the provisions of this chapter.
