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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinances - MC-87-394 - 03/18/1987 - Ch 24 Street tree ordinanceORDINANCE NO. MC-87-394 AN ORDINANCE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF' MCHENRY, MCHENRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Article I of Chapter 24, Municipal Code,, City of McHenry, Illinois, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 24-1. Street Tree, Defined. A "Street Tree" is defined herein so as to include trees,, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation growing or to be planted between property lines on either side of all streets, avenues, boulevards„ alleys or other public ways within the City. Section 2 4 - 2 . Applications for Permits., Applications for permits shall be made to the City Clerk and referred to the Superintendent of' Public Works for approval before issuance. Section 24-3. Permitted Street Tree Species. No tree species other than the following small tree;, medium tree and large tree species hereinafter listed may be planted as street trees unless permission to do so has been previously been giver► by the City Council: SMALL TREES Crataegus phaenopyrum inermis - Thornless Varieties - Washington Hawthorn Gleditsia triacanthos inermis - Honeylocust cv. Skyline Ostrya virginiana - Hophornbeam or Ironwood Carpinus caroliniana - Hornbeam MEDIUM TREES Acer platonoides - Norway Maple cv. Cleveland, Emerald Queen, Columnare or Erectum Acer rubrum -- Red Maple cv. Autumn Flame, Armstrong or Columnare, Bowhall Celtis occidentalis - Hackberry Fraxinus americana - White Ash cv. Autumn Purple, Rosehill Fraxinus excelsior - European Ash cv. Hessei Fraxinus pennsylvanica - Green Ash cv. Marshall's Seedless Ginkgo biloba - Ginkgo (male clones only) Gleditsia triacanthos inermis - Honeylocust cv. Imperial Tilia cordata - Littleleaf Linden cv. Greenspire, Chancellor Tilia x euchlora - Redmond Linden Tilia tomentosa - Silver Linden LARGE TREES Gleditsia triacanthos inermis - Honeylocust cv. Shademaster Quercus palustris - Pin Oak Quercus rubra - Red Oak Section 24-4. Improvements Prohibited in Public Rights -of -Way. No rock gardens, boulders, benches or fences shall be built or maintained in any public right-of-way. Section 24-5. Spacing. The Small trees shall be planted not less than 30 feet apart, the Medium Trees shall be planted not less than 40 feet apart and the Large Trees shall be planted not less than 50 feet apart. Section 24-6. Planting Distance From Curb and Sidewalk. No tree may be planted in a public, right-of-wa,y or upon adjoining private property closer than 2 feet from any curb, street pavement. edge and/or sidewalk in the case of Small Trees, 3 feet in the case of Medium Trees and 4 feet in the case of Large Trees. Section 24-7. Distance From Street Corners and Fire Plugs. No street tree shall be planted closer than 35 feet from any street corner measured from the point of the nearest intersecting curbs, curb lines or pavement edges. No street tree shall be planted closer than 10 feet from any fire plug. K Section 24-8. Distance from Utilities. No trees may be planted within 10 lateral feet of any overhead utility wire or in 5 lateral feet of any underground water line, sewer line, transmission line or other utility. Section 24-9. Removal of Public Trees, Shrubs. It shall be unlawful for any person or firm to remove or cut down any tree or shrub in any public place or right-of-way without first having secured a permit therefor from the City. Section 24-10. Injuring. It shall be unlawful for any person or firm to injure any tree or shrub planted or growing in a public right-of-way or public place. Section 24-11. Attaching Advertisements, Notices. It shall be unlawful to attach any sign, advertisement or notice to any tree or shrub in any public right-of-way or place. Section 24-12. Vegetation Likely to Fall on Public Ways. Any tree or limb of a tree which has become likely to fall on or across any public way or place shall be removed by the owner of the premises on which such tree is growing or stands. Section 24-13. Wires. (a) It shall be unlawful to attach any wire or rope: to any tree or shrub in any public street, right-of-way or other public place without the: permission of the Superintendent of Public Works. (b) Any person or firm which maintains poles and wires in streets, alleys or other public places shall, in the absence of provision in the franchise concerning the subject, keep such wires and poles free from and away from any trees and shrubs in such places as far as may be possible, and keep all such trees and shrubs near such wires and poles properly trimmed, subject to the supervision of the Superintendent of Public Works so that no injury shall be done either to the poles or wires or to the shrubs and trees by their contact. Section 24-14. Gas Leaks. Any person maintaining any gas pipe in the City shall keep such pipe free from leaks so that no injury shall be done thereby to any trees or shrubs. Section 24-15. Precautions During Excavations. Iin making excavations in streets, public rights -of -way 3 or other public places, proper care shall be taken to avoid injury to the roots of any tree or shrub wherever possible. Section 24-16. Care of Street Trees and Other Trees. The City 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 and within all public grounds. The City 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 infected with any injurious fungus, insect or other pests. Section 24-17. Tree Topping. It shall be unlawful for any person or firm to top any Street Tree without the prior permission of the Superintendent of Public Works. Topping is defined as the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than 3 inches in diameter within the tree's crown to such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. Section 24-18. Pruning & Corner Clearance on Private Property. Every owner of any tree located on private property which overhangs any street or right-of-way within the City shall prune the branches thereof so that such branches shall not obstruct the light from any street lamp or obstruct the view of any street intersection and so that there shall be a clear space of at least 8 feet above the surface level of the street pavement and sidewalk. The owner of such tree shall remove all dead, diseased or dangerous trees or broken or decayed limbs which overhang any street right-of-way or other public property. When the owner fails to do so, the City shall have the right to prune any trees or shrubs on private property when such tree or shrub interferes with the proper spread of light along the street from a street light or interferes with visibility of any traffic control device or sign, and the owner shall immediately reimburse the City for the expense of such work. Section 24-19. Tree Care and Removal on Private Property. The City shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased tree on private property within the City when such trees constitute a hazard to life or property, or harbor insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees or plants within the City. Removal shall be 4 done by said owners at their own expense. In the event of the failure of the owners to comply with such provisions, the City shall have the authority to remove such trees and the owner shall immediately reimburse the City for the expense of such removal. Section 24-20. Removal of Stumps. 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. Section 24-21. Arbor ists License and Bond. It shall be unlawful for any person or firm to engage in the business or occupation of pruning, treating, or removing street trees or trees overhanging streets, right' -of -ways or utility easements without first applying for and procuring a license from the City Clerk. -The annual license fee, based on a calendar year;, shall be $25.00. No license shall be required of any public service company franchised by the City or of any City employee. Before any license is issued, each applicant shall first file satisfactory evidence with the City Clerk of liability insurance coverage in the minimum amounts of $250,000.00 for bodily injury and $250,000.00 for property damage which insurance policy shall name the City as an additional insured party thereon and which shall indemnify the City from any and all claims, damages, and judgments on account of any injury to person or property resulting from the conduct and actions of such licensee. SECTION 2. Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this ordinance shall be fined not less than Twenty Five Dollars ($25.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each offense committed on each day during, or on which, a violation occurs or continues. SECTION 3. All ordinances, or parts thereof, in conflict with the terms and provisions hereof, be and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. SECTION 4. This ordinance shall be published in pamphlet form by and under the authority of the corporate authorities of the City of McHenry, Illinois. SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication in pamphlet form, as provided by law. PASSED this lgth day of March , 1987 . 5 AYES: Bolger, Lieder„ McClatchey, Nolan, Serritella, Smith, Snell, Teta NAYS: None ABSTAINED: None ABSENT: None NOT VOTING: None APPROVED th i s 18th day o f March 1987 • MAYO ATTEST: 6. CITY CLFRK 6