City Tree Codes

5.632 Trees & Shrubs

1. No owner or person in charge of property that abuts upon a street, alley or public sidewalk shall permit trees or bushes on the property to interfere with street or sidewalk traffic. 
2. It shall be the duty of an owner or person in charge of property that abuts upon a street, alley or public sidewalk to keep all trees and bushes on the premises, including the adjoining planting strip, trimmed to a height of not less than seven feet above the sidewalk and not less than 13 feet above the roadway. 
3. No owner or person in charge of property shall allow to stand a dead or decaying tree that is a hazard to the public. 
4. No owner or person in charge of property shall permit a tree limb to remain broken or growing in a manner as so to be a hazard to the public. 
5. All trees, shrubs, plants and vegetation in any planting strip may be trimmed, pruned or removed at any time by the City; or the City may require any property owner or person in charge of property to trim, prune or remove any trees, shrubs, plants or vegetation in a planting strip abutting upon the property. 
6. No person shall plant any variety of poplar or willow trees within the City, except for Quaking Aspen and willow species whose mature height does not exceed 30 feet, all of which shall be planted a minimum of 50 feet from any right-of-way or utility easement. 
7. When the roots of a tree or shrub of any kind close, clog or retard the free and natural flow of sewage or stormwater through the pipes of the sewer system of the City, the City Manager shall proceed to have such obstruction removed. If the City Manager determines that the tree or shrub causing such obstruction will be a nuisance by causing frequent recurrence of such trouble and that it should be destroyed, he/she shall, after removal of the obstruction, proceed to have the tree or shrub removed as provided in this chapter for the abatement of nuisances. 
8. When the roots of a tree or shrub of any kind grow in a manner so as to damage, or it is evident that such roots will damage, any sidewalk, curb or street pavement or a portion thereof, the City Manager shall proceed to have that portion of the tree or shrub causing such damage removed. If the City Manager determines that the tree or shrub will be a nuisance by causing a recurrence of such trouble and that it should be destroyed, he/she shall, after removing that portion causing the damage, proceed to have the tree or shrub removed as provided in this chapter for the abatement of nuisances. 

[Amended by Ordinance No. 6522, enacted December 17, 1986; Amended by Ordinance No. 98-24, enacted November 3, 1998; Amended by Ordinance Number 03-24, enacted December 1, 2003.]