City Code Section
(Amended by Ordinance 191030, effective November 11, 2022.)
- A. The City may conduct inspections whenever it is necessary to enforce any provisions of this Title, to determine compliance with this Title or whenever the City has reasonable cause to believe there exists any violation of this Title. Inspections shall occur during business hours. If the responsible party is at the site when the inspection is occurring, the BDS Director, City Forester, or other authorized representative shall first present proper credentials to the responsible party and request entry. If such entry is thereupon refused, the BDS Director or City Forester shall have recourse to any remedy provided by law to obtain entry, including obtaining an administrative search warrant.
- B. If any tree is removed without a tree removal permit, a violation will be determined by measuring the circumference of the stump at the ground to establish the diameter size of the tree. For purposes of this Subsection, the diameter size of the tree is the circumference divided by 3.14.
- C. In cases where a tree stump has been removed, the BDS Director or City Forester may use photographs of the tree including the city’s most current aerial images to determine if a violation has occurred. For aerial photographs, when the associated canopy measures 1,600 square feet at the edge of the dripline, this may be considered prima facie evidence of a violation of this Chapter. Nothing in this Subsection will be construed to limit the introduction of other photographic evidence before the Code Hearings Officer.
- D. When there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate whether a removed tree was a nuisance species or native tree species, the tree will be considered as a non-native, non-nuisance species tree.
- E. Tree removal, topping, or other injury caused by natural causes or weather will not be deemed a violation of this Title, provided there is no other clear evidence to suggest that the tree was deliberately removed or injured.