CITY OF REVELSTOKE
BYLAW No. 1792
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A bylaw to provide for the management, improvement and operation of the urban forest on any property held or managed by the City of Revelstoke.
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The Municipal Council of the City of Revelstoke in open meeting assembled, enacts as follows:
1. TITLE:
This bylaw may be cited for all purposes as “City of Revelstoke Municipal Property Tree Bylaw 1792”.
2. APPLICABILITY:
This bylaw applies to all lands owned or managed by the City of Revelstoke.
3. DEFINITIONS:
In this bylaw and unless the context otherwise requires, the following definition shall apply:
“Boulevard” means the portion of a highway between the curb lines or the lateral lines of a roadway and the adjoining property or roadway and includes curbs, sidewalk, medians and ditches.
“City tree” means any tree located on property owned or in the control of the City of Revelstoke.
“Council” means the Municipal Council of the City of Revelstoke.
“Drip Line” means the vertical line extending down from the outer most branches of the tree to the natural grade of the land.
“Highway” means every highway within the meaning of the Highway Act and every road, street, lane or right-of-way designed or intended for, or used by, the general public for the passage of vehicles, and every place or passageway owned or operated by the City of Revelstoke for the purpose of providing off-street parking or for the use of pedestrian or cycle traffic.
“Operations Manager” means the Public Works/Parks Operations Manager for the City of Revelstoke and includes his or her authorized designate.
“Parks Department” means the Public Works/Parks Department of the City of Revelstoke.
“Parks Foreman” means the Parks Foreman for the City of Revelstoke and includes his or her authorized designate.
“Person” means a natural person, his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, a firm corporation, municipal corporation, society or party, school board, or other government agency.
“Protective Barrier” means any physical barrier including a fence, box, frame, guard, tape or line placed around a tree or cluster of trees to indicate retention.
“Public nuisance” means to unduly interfere with the use of public land; to create a hazard to the life, health, safety or property of the public; or to be source or cause of any disease, which may endanger the health of other plants.
“Qualified Arborist” means a person certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or equivalent professional association.
“Remove” means to cut down, remove, or kill a tree, or a substantial part of a tree by any means.
“Tree” means a member of any coniferous or deciduous species having one or more self-supporting trunk/stem and includes the roots, branches, trunk/stem, crown or any part thereof.
4. PROHIBITIONS:
a) No person other than an employee or authorized contractor of the Parks Department shall plant, prune, remove or cause damage to any tree on any property, owned or managed by the City, without first having obtained a permit issued by the Parks Foreman.
b) Without limiting Section 4 a), no person shall damage a tree by soil compacting, deposition or removal of soil or constructing a hard or impervious surface within the Drip Line.
c) The Parks Foreman shall not permit the planting of any tree on property owned by the City, except in compliance with the City of Revelstoke “Tree Management Policy”. The selection of City tree types shall be at the discretion of the Parks Foreman.
5. EXEMPTIONS:
The Parks Department may remove, transplant or otherwise dispose of any City tree or authorize the removal, transplantation or disposal, of any City tree if in the opinion of the Parks Foreman, the tree:
a) Constitutes a hazard to life or property or an irresolvable public nuisance.
b) Is infected beyond reasonable expectation of recovery by disease or injurious insects.
c) Is planted too close to an abutting tree that it impedes growth of either or both.
d) Interferes with the lines, poles, pipes, sewer lines, septic fields, drains, traffic control devices or other public utilities.
e) Has been topped or pruned to the extent it is unlikely to attain a characteristic appearance for that particular species.
6. GENERAL PROVISIONS:
a) All City trees shall be deemed to be the property of the City of Revelstoke and the care, custody and control of such trees shall be with the Parks Foreman.
b) The Parks Department shall take care, custody and control of City trees in accordance with the City of Revelstoke “Tree Management Policy”.
c) No person shall remove, deface, trim, or in any way injure, impair, or interfere with any City tree, except as expressly authorized to do so by the Parks Foreman.
d) No person shall place any building materials or other similar objects against a City tree without first installing a protective barrier to prevent injury to the tree.
e) Cutting or trimming trees shall be permitted, only if carried out by an employee or authorized contractor of the Parks Department, which holds written permission from the Parks Foreman.
f) No person shall alter grade level or drainage pattern in any manner so as to interfere with the access of water, air or nutrients to any tree.
g) Any signs erected on or attached to private property, shall be located in a manner which in no way interferes with boulevard trees and will not necessitate pruning or trimming in excess of normal practice.
h) No person shall attach wire, rope, nails, staples, posters, boards, flags or any such apparatus to any City tree.
i) The Parks Department may remove from any City tree, any wire, rope, nail, poster, or any such apparatus, that may, in the opinion of the Parks Foreman, damage the tree.
j) No person shall remove or interfere with any protective barrier on or about any City tree.
k) The Parks Department may replace any City tree that has died or been removed, provided that such replacement in the opinion of the Parks Foreman, is desirable.
7. INDEMNITY:
For any work done under this bylaw by anyone other than the City of Revelstoke, its agents or employees, the individual doing the work shall indemnify and hold harmless the City of Revelstoke, its agents and employees from any and all claims, risks, actions and causes of action, howsoever arising from or out of the work done by such individual.
8. EQUITABLE COMPENSATION:
a) Any person who removes or damages any City tree in violation of this bylaw shall be required to pay the City of Revelstoke equitable compensation as defined in Section 8 b) of this bylaw.
b) Equitable compensation for the value of a City tree, as appraised by a Qualified Arborist professional, shall be required by the City, if in the opinion of the Parks Foreman, a City tree has been irreparably damaged or has been removed without prior authorization. Repairable tree damage shall be appraised and the reduced tree value and/or cost of the repair will be considered as equitable compensation.
9. RECONSIDERATION:
Any person who is subject to a decision by the Parks Foreman under 4(a) of this Bylaw may apply to the Operations Manager to have the decision reconsidered by:
a) Delivering notice of such request to the City of Revelstoke Parks Department, 1200 East Victoria Road, Revelstoke, B.C. V0E 2S0, or by facsimile to (250) 837-2059.
b) Such notice must be delivered to the Operations Manager within thirty (30) days of the decision of the Parks Foreman.
c) Such notice must contain the address for delivery of the person applying for reconsideration, the particulars of the tree or trees involved and the reason why the decision of the Parks Foreman should be reconsidered.
10. SEVERABILITY:
a) If any section, sub-section, sub-clause, or phrase of this bylaw is for any reason held to be invalid by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this bylaw.
b) Nothing in this bylaw shall be construed or applied to necessarily require or excuse, non-compliance with any provisions of any Act or Bylaw.
11. OFFENCE:
a) Every person who violates any provision of this bylaw, or who allows any act or thing to be done, or omits to do anything required to be done, is guilty of an offence against this bylaw, and is liable to the penalties imposed under this bylaw.
b) Where more than one tree is cut down, removed or damaged, in violation of this bylaw, a separate offence is committed in respect to each tree.
12. PENALTY:
Every person who commits an offence against this bylaw is liable to a fine and penalty not exceeding Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) for each City tree, unlawfully cut down or damaged, in addition to the equitable compensation as outlined in Section 8 of this bylaw.
13. EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bylaw comes into full force and effect and is binding on all persons from the date of adoption.
READ A FIRST TIME THIS 13th DAY OF JUNE, 2005
READ A SECOND TIME THIS 13th DAY OF JUNE, 2005
READ A THIRD TIME THIS 13th DAY OF JUNE, 2005
ADOPTED THIS 27th DAY OF JUNE, 2005
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Director of Corporate Administration
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Mayor
Certified a true copy, this ____________day of _______, ________________.
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