Madison Park

(a)   No person shall spray, fertilize, remove, destroy, cut, top, or otherwise severely prune, including the root system, or treat any tree or shrub having all or any portion of its trunk in or upon any public property without first obtaining a written permit from the city and without complying strictly with the provisions of the permit and this chapter.

(b)   No person shall plant any tree or shrub on any public street right-of-way or public property without first obtaining a permit from the city and without complying strictly with the provisions of the permit and the provisions of this chapter.

(c)   No person shall damage, cut, or carve any tree or shrub having all or any portion of its trunk in or upon any public property; attach any object, including, but not limited to, rope, wire, nail, chain or sign, to any such tree or shrub or attach any such object to the guard or stake intended for the protection of such tree.

(d)   No person shall place, store, deposit, or maintain, upon the ground in any public street or public place, any compacted stone, cement, brick, sand or other materials which may impede or obstruct the free passage of air, water and fertilizer to the roots of any tree or shrub growing in any such street or place without written authorization from the city.

(e)   No person shall change the natural drainage; excavate any ditches, tunnels, or trenches; or lay any drive within the root protection zone of any tree having all or any portion of its trunk in or upon any public property without obtaining a permit from the city and without strictly complying with the provisions of the permit and provisions of this chapter.

(f)   No person shall perform, or contract with another to perform, excavation or construction work within the drip line of any tree having all or any portion of its trunk in or upon any public property without first installing a fence, frame or box in a manner and of a type and size satisfactory to the city to protect the tree during the excavation or construction work. All building materials, equipment, dirt or other debris shall be kept outside the root protection zone. The tree protection fence, frame or box shall not be removed unless or until the city authorizes it to be removed.

(g)   Liability for damages or injuries to any tree or shrub having all or any portion of its trunk in or upon public property resulting from a violation of this article shall be determined by the city in accordance with section 21-124 of this chapter. The person performing the work and the person contracting for the performance shall be jointly and severally liable for any penalties or other enforcement action imposed pursuant to this chapter or other provisions of law on account of work performed in violation of this article. However, no claims shall be made more than five years after damage can be proven to have occurred.