[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the Borough of Darby 3-5-1975 by Ord. No. 557. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No tree, shrub or hedge shall be planted in or on, or removed
from, any highway, park or other public property in the Borough of
Darby, 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 Shade Tree Commission or Borough Council, hereinafter referred
to as the "Commission" and "Council," or with the written permission
of said Commission or Council.
No tree shall be planted in or on any highway in the Borough
of Darby 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 Borough may be removed by the Commission
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 feet above
the sidewalk level, in dry weather, except branches on newly planted
young trees.
No person shall deposit, place, store or maintain upon any public
area of the Borough of Darby 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 Commission or 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 Borough
of Darby; 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 Borough.
Whenever the director of a Borough 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 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 Commission.
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 Commission, 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 and Commission, provided that such
action must be reported to the Council and Commission 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 so affected, or if
the public safety is being endangered, by a tree on private property,
the Commission or Council may, at the request of the owner of the
private property, prune, spray, cut or remove the tree on his property
at his expense. The Commission or Council shall also, if the owner
of the private property does not request that the tree be pruned,
sprayed, cut or removed at his expense, notify him to take the required
action within 10 days, and if he fails to comply, shall then do the
work at his 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 Commission or Council. Repair
or replanting necessitated by such damage or destruction shall be
done by the Commission or Council. The Commission or 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 Borough Planning Commission
showing trees or hedges or proposed tree or hedge plantings, the Shade
Tree Commission shall be requested by the 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 Borough Planning Commission unless the Council
and the Shade Tree Commission have been so consulted and have given
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 Borough of Darby that, in the opinion of the Borough
Council, 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 Borough
Council 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 Borough
Council. 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 Borough Council,
which 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.
There shall be close cooperation between the Shade Tree Commission
and other Borough departments and between other Borough departments
and the Shade Tree Commission when its work affects the public trees.
The Shade Tree Commission shall approve all building permits that
may cause injury to public trees or shrubs or their removal. All sewer,
lighting, water and paving plans shall be cleared with the Shade Tree
Commission. The Borough Planning Commission and the Shade Tree Commission
shall work together planning for the present and the future of the
Borough. The Highway Department, Fire Department and Police Department
should work closely with the Shade Tree Commission in the interest
of the public trees and shrubs and public safety. The cooperation
in all cases should work equally both ways.
No person shall prevent, delay or interfere with the Shade Tree
Commission or any of its 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 pursuit 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 Borough of Darby, 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 President of Council and also to the person having charge of the collection of taxes for the Borough. Upon the 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 § 135-14.
The Council and Commission 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.
Any person who shall violate any provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more
than $300 and costs of such proceedings or, upon default of payment
of such fines and costs, by imprisonment in the county jail for a
term of not more than 30 days. The continuation of such violation
for each successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the
person or persons allowing or permitting the continuation of the violation
may be punished as provided above for each separate offense.
