The following words, as used in this Chapter, have the significance attached to them in this Section, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
A. “Director of Public Works” or “Director” means the person having control of the Public Works Department of the City or his designated representative.
B. “Ground cover” means grass, turf, or perennial plants that normally grow horizontally so as to conceal the ground surface, and that do not exceed eight inches in height, and that will tolerate light pedestrian traffic.
C. “Maintain” means to prune, spray, brace, stake, treat for disease or injury, or perform other work to promote the life, growth, health or beauty of trees or shrubs, but does not include the watering or fertilizing of such plants.
D. “Recommended tree” means a tree designated or determined by the Director of Public Works to be the best suited to plant in a given location due to certain desirable characteristics of appearance, growth, root structure and adaptability to local conditions.
E. “Shrub” means and includes any woody vegetation or a woody plant having multiple stems and bearing foliage from the ground level up.
F. “Tree” means and includes any woody plant, normally having one stem or trunk, bearing the foliage or crown well above ground level to heights of sixteen feet or more upon maturity. (Ord. C-7642 § 1, 1999: prior code § 7510).

The Director of Public Works shall regulate and control the planting or removal of trees planted along any City street. The Director shall designate the species, kind, number, spacing and method of planting.
No tree shall be planted closer than twenty-five feet to another tree, or closer than fifteen feet to any utility pole or light standard, or nearer than five feet to any fire hydrant, water meter or gas meter, or closer than twenty feet from the curb radius centers of any street intersection. No tree shall be planted in a planting strip which is less than thirty inches in width between the sidewalk and curb, except that upon the approval of the Director of Public Works recommended trees designated by him may be planted in a planting strip between the sidewalk and curb which is less than thirty inches in width but more than twenty-four inches in width. (Ord. C-7642 § 2, 1999: prior code § 7510.1).

A. The Public Works Department will, except for watering and fertilizing, maintain, plant and remove all recommended trees planted along City streets. Trees planted along walks, lanes, or on City property, other than a public street right-of-way, will be maintained by the Public Works Department according to their classification, except that trees planted along alleys will not be maintained but will be removed when such trees are determined by the Director of Public Works to be a hazard or a public nuisance.
B. Trees planted along City streets shall be pruned to give a clearance of not less than twelve feet over sidewalks and not less than sixteen feet over streets as the size of the tree permits. (Ord. C-7642 § 3, 1999: prior code § 7510.2).

No person shall perform any maintenance except for watering or fertilizing on any tree planted along a City street or on any other City property except under emergency conditions and upon the written approval of the Director of Public Works. A person determined by the Director to be qualified may perform such special maintenance on such trees as the Director may approve. (Ord. C-7642 § 4, 1999: prior code § 7510.3).

No person shall plant, cut, trim, mutilate, prune, injure, remove, or in any way impair the growth of any tree growing in, on, or along any City street, or cause or permit the same to be done except as provided in this Chapter. (Prior code § 7510.4).

No person may plant, cut, trim, prune, remove, or in any way interfere with the natural growth of any tree planted along City streets or on other City property without having first obtained a permit from the Director of Public Works to do such work. The Director may require any or all of the work approved by him to be performed under the supervision of the Public Works Department. (Ord. C-7642 § 5, 1999: prior code § 7510.5).

No person shall place, or cause to be placed, any stone, cement, or other substance about any tree planted along any street or on other City-owned property which shall impede the free entrance of water or air to the roots of the tree without leaving any open space of ground around the trunk of the tree of not less than eighteen inches clearance all around. (Prior code § 7510.6).

No person shall deface, mutilate or attach or place any rope, wire, sign, poster, handbill or other thing to or on any tree growing along any City street or public place, or to cause any wire charged with electricity to come in contact with such tree; provided further, no person shall allow any brine, oil, liquid dye, salt or other substances injurious or harmful to plant life to lie, leak, flow, drip into or onto, or to come into contact with, the tree or the soil about the base of such plant. (Prior code § 7510.7).

A. No person shall plant, or cause to be planted, any tree, shrub, plant or ground cover in the area between the sidewalk and curb, except as provided in this Chapter. Grass, turf or other ground cover plantings shall be permitted; provided, that such plantings shall not be allowed to attach themselves to or ascend the trunk of any tree. Planting, cutting, mowing, watering, fertilizing and all other maintenance of grass, turf or other ground cover in such parking strips will be performed by the adjacent property owner, subject to the restrictions in this Chapter.
B. Upon any violation of this Section, the Director of Public Works shall cause notice to be served upon the adjacent property owner requesting him to correct the violation. If, after seven days after notice has been given, the violation has not been corrected, the Director is granted authority to provide for and enforce the removal of the violation by the Public Works Department. Costs incurred by the Public Works Department in removal or correction of the violation shall be billed to the adjacent property owner. (Ord. C-7642 § 6, 1999; prior code § 7510.8).

In the erection, alteration, construction, or repairing of any building or structure, the owner thereof shall place, or cause to be placed, such guards around all nearby trees located along the street, alley, court or other public place as shall effectively prevent injury to them. (Prior code § 7510.9).

A. Any tree, shrub or plant located on private property infested with a disease or insects, which in the opinion of the Director of Public Works is infectious and may spread such disease or insects to other trees or shrubs in the City, shall constitute a public nuisance. The Director of Public Works shall cause notice to be served upon the property owner directing that the public nuisance be removed or abated within seven days. If the public nuisance is not abated or removed within seven days after notice is served, the Director is granted authority to direct public works employees to enter the property and spray, trim, prune, treat or remove all or any part of the tree or shrub determined to be infested or to otherwise abate or cause to be abated the public nuisance.
B. Any tree or shrub, growing or standing on private property in such a manner that any portion thereof interferes with utility poles, lines, wires or electroliers lawfully erected, constructed or maintained along any public street, sidewalk, or restricts the flow of traffic or visibility of such street, sidewalks or intersections thereof to any person or persons lawfully using the same, or any such tree which has become diseased or weakened in such a manner as to be dangerous to persons lawfully using the streets or sidewalks, shall constitute a public nuisance. The Director of Public Works shall cause notice to be served upon the property owner directing that the public nuisance be abated or removed within seven days. If the public nuisance is not abated or removed within seven days after notice is served, the Director is authorized to abate or cause to be abated the public nuisance by trimming, pruning, cutting or removing all or such portion of the tree or shrub or plant as may be necessary to eliminate such interference, obstruction or condition.
C. Whenever it is necessary for the Director of Public Works to direct the use of City employees to abate, remove, or cause to be abated or removed, public nuisances as contained in this Section, he shall determine the cost of the work performed by the city employees and bill the property owner the cost of the work performed. (Ord. C-7642 § 7, 1999: prior code § 7510.10).

No person shall prevent, delay or interfere with the director of public works, or any of his or her assistants, in the execution or enforcement of this chapter; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed as an attempt to prohibit a public hearing, and providing further, that any person aggrieved by any act or determination of the director of public works or his or her assistants in exercise of the authority granted in this chapter shall have the right of appeal to the city council whose decision, after public hearing of the matter, shall be final and conclusive. (Ord. C-7642 § 8, 1999: prior code § 7510.11).