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HomeMy WebLinkAboutordinance.council.034-95 \&,.'e.. \4 i' fie. C1'. ~% '" 11..'. 11t \!~ ~" ORDINANCE NO.~ Series of 1995 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AMENDING SECTION 6-206(C) AND CHAPTER 11 OF THE ASPEN MUNICIPAL CODE TO REQUIRE PERMITS FOR THE REMOVAL AND RELOCATION OF TREES, ESTABLISH A BASIC VALUE FOR TREES, AND ESTABLISH A PENALTY FOR THE UNLAWFUL REMOVAL, RELOCTION OR DESTRUCTION OF TREES WITHOUT A PERMIT. WHEREAS, trees provide important environmental and aesthetic benefits to the people and guests of the City of Aspen which extend beyond the boundaries of the property on which they grow; and, WHEREAS, trees contribute to real estate values throughout the community; and WHEREAS, trees provide important health benefits to the citizens and guests of the City of Aspen which extend beyond the boundaries of the property on which they grow; and WHEREAS, large trees are a resource which cannot reasonably be fully replaced if injured, damaged or removed; and, WHEREAS, property development and construction activities can result in injury or loss of valuable trees in the City of Aspen; and WHEREAS, the Parks Department of the City of Aspen has the expertise and qualified staff to effectively and fairly administer laws to prevent unnecessary damage or destruction of trees. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, THAT: 1 _, ~t, '~ -- . Section 1 Section 13 - 76, of the Municipal Code of the City of Aspen, Colorado, is hereby repealed: Section 2 Section 6-206(C) of the Municipal Code of the City of Aspen, Colorado, is hereby amended to read as follows: C. Procedure. The following procedure shall apply to the issuance of any building permit. 1. Recordation of conditions of development order. Prior to the submission of an application for a building permit, all documents required to be submitted as a condition of the development order for which a building permit is requested, shall be recorded. These documents may include, but shall not be limited to final plats, any improvement agreements, any other agreements, and any deed restrictions which are required by the development order. 2. Submission of application for building permit. a. Submission to chief building official. An application for a building permit shall be submitted to the chief building official. Attached to the application shall be an improvements survey performed within one (1) year of the date of application which the applicant shall certify represents current site conditions and a topographic survey for the property certified by a registered land surveyor. The improvements survey shall include a site plan which conforms to the requirements set forth at section 11-5.2(b)(2) for a tree removal permit. b. Review by planning agency staff. Upon its receipt, the chief building official shall forward the application to the planning agency staff who shall review the application to ensure that the proposed development: 1. Complies with the Uniform Building Code; 2. Has obtained any appropriate environmental and utility permits, including but not limited to water, sewage, and tree removal permits; and 3. Complies with all relevant. portions of this chapter. 2 I"e', ~ ~ e' 11, '1:. '< ~ ~- -- -.... c. Certificate of zoning compliance. If the planning agency staff determines the proposed development for which an application for a building permit is sought complies with all applicable requirements of this chapter, and with the commitments, representations and conditions of the development order, then the chief zoning official shall issue a certificate of zoning compliance, which certificate must be attached to the application for building permit prior to the issuance of any building permit by the chief building official. Section 3 The Municipal Code of the City of Aspen, Colorado, is hereby amended by adding article V to chapter 11 which said article shall read as follows: ARTICLE V. TREE REMOVAL PERMITS Sec. 11 - 5.1 Legislative intent and purposes. TIle city council finds that trees provide important environmental, aesthetic, and health benefits to the residents and guests of the City of Aspen which extend beyond the boundaries of the property upon which trees may grow. The city council further finds that trees enhance the real estate values of property upon which trees grow and neighboring properties. Large trees are a resource which cannot be fully replaced if injured, damaged or removed. Property development and construction activities can result in injury or loss of valuable trees in the City of Aspen. It is the intent of this article to preserve to the fullest extent possible existing trees considered desireable by the Director of Parks as hereinafter set forth. Sec. 11 - 5.2. Removal of trees; permit required; valuation. (a) Applicability of Section and definition. The terms and provisions of this Article shall apply to all private and public real property situated in or subsequently annexed to the corporate limits of the City of Aspen. The term tree shall include, for purposes of this Article, all deciduous trees having a trunk diameter of six (6) inches or more, Querus gambelli (Gambles Oak) with a trunk diameter of 3 inches or more, coniferous trees having a trunk diameter of four (4) inches or more ahd all coniferous trees having a height of sixteen (16) feet or more. Trunk diameters shall be measured in inches measured as close to 4 1/2 feet above ground as possible. 3 I~e ~, ,+ '~~ (b) Removal or damage to trees prohibited without permit. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person, wit;hout first obtaining a permit as herein provided, to remove or cause to be removed any tree. This section is (2) It shall be unlawful for any person, without first obtaining a permit for tree removal as herein provided, to dig, excavate, turn, compact, or till the soil within the dripline of any tree in such a manner as to cause material damage to the root system of the tree. For purposes of this subsection, the "dripline" of a tree is a cylinder extending from grade level down to a depth of ten feet below grade, having a radius equal to the length of the longest branch of the tree, with the center of the cylinder located at the center of the trunk of the tree. ,." '. (3) It shall be unlawful for any person in the construction of any structure or other improvement to park or place machinery, automobiles, or structures; or to pile, store or place, soil, excavated material, fill, or any other matter within the dripline of any tree. During construction the building inspector or the Director of Parks, or his designee, may require the erection of suitable barriers around all trees, including trees not included in the definition set forth at subsection (a) above, to be preserved. Roots must be protected from exposure to the elements with a landscape fabric. In addition, during construction, no attachments or wires other than protective guy wires shall be attached to any tree. (4) It shall be unlawful for any person, without first obtaining a permit for tree removal as herein provided, or approval from the Director of Parks of a project site plan, to pave, with any non-porous material, more than ten jlerc,ent of the area within the dripline of any tree. --.---- "--- n (5) It shall be unlawful for any person, without first obtaining a permit for tree removal as herein provided, to intentionally top, damage, girdle, or poison any healthy tree. For purposes of this section "topping" a tree is the removal of more than ten percent of the height from the top of any deciduous tree or the removal of the terminal bud from a coniferous tree. The terminal bud of a coniferous tree is the highest bud on the tree. (6) It shall be unlawful for any person, without first obtaining a permit as herein provided, to relocate any tree. If a relocated tree dies within two years of relocation and is not replaced with a tree of equal value, the death of the relocated tree shall be deemed an unpermitted tree removal. This section shall not apply to the initial planting of tr~ obtained from nursery stock. ~ - 4 ,. 'y (7) It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to provide the Director of Parks, or his designee, with written notice, delivered at least 3 working days in advance, of the time and date on which removal of any tree will occur. Written notice pursuant to this section is required even if a permit for tree removal, as herein provided, has been obtained. (8) Each violation of the above subsections (b)(1-7) shall be a separate offense. (b) Penalty . Any person convicted of violating any provision of this Article V of Chapter 11 shall be subject to punishment as set forth in Section 1-8 of this Code. (c) Tree Removal Permits (1) Any person wishing to obtain a permit to remove or relocate a tree shall file an appropriate application with the Director of Parks, or his designee. Such application shall contain such information as the Director of Parks, or his designee, shall require to permit adequate enforcement of this section. fA,. ~,- (2) On request of the Director of Parks and when necessary to adequately apprise the Director of Parks of the intended tree removal, said application shall include a site plan showing the following: (A) Location of proposed driveways and other planned areas of structures on said site; CB) Location of all trees four (4) inches or over identified by trunk diameter and species; (C) Designation of all diseased trees and any trees endangering any roadway pavement or structures, and trees endangering utility service lines; (D) Designation of any trees proposed to be removed, retained, and relocated, and areas which will remain undisturbed. (E) Any proposed grade changes which may adversely impact any trees on the site. (3) After filing said application, the Director of Parks, or his designee, shall , review the application (and site plan if required) and determine what effect the tit, Jd' '\,,~ 5 fA, ~. intended removal or relocation of trees will have on the natural resources of the area. More specifically, the Director of Parks, or designee, shall consider: (A) Whether the trees intended for removal or relocation are necessary to minimize flood, snowslide, or landslide hazards; (B) Whether retention of the trees is necessary to prevent excessive water runoff or otherwise protect the watershed; (C) Whether the removal or relocation of the trees will cause wind erosion or otherwise adversely affect air quality; (D) The condition of the trees with respect to disease, danger of falling, and interference with utility lines; (E) The number and types of trees in the neighborhood, the contribution of the trees to the natural beauty of the area, and the effect of removal or relocation on property values in the area; (F) The necessity, or lack thereof, to remove the trees to allow reasonable economic use and enjoyment of the property; and, -- (G) The implementation of good forestry practices, including consideration of the number of healthy trees that the parcel of land in question can support. (H) The adequacy of the methods proposed to be used to relocate any trees. Based on review of these factors, the permit shall either be granted or denied by the Director of Parks. (4) Where construction of structures or improvements on any property necessitates the removal or relocation of any trees, the Director of Parks may, as a condition for the approval of the removal or relocation, require that the owner replace any removed or relocated trees with a tree or trees of comparable value on the affected property. When in the opinion of the Director of Parks replacement of removed or relocated trees cannot reasonably be accommodated on the affected property, the applicant shall pay a cash-in- lieu amount equal to the comparable value of the aggregate of all trees removed. Comparable value for purposes of this section shall mean a tree or ,trees of equal aggregate value and species to the replacement cost of the tree to be removed or relocated. '-, .. 6 -".. ~. e', " ~\~ Ii. ~ 't<~ (5) No trees shall be removed from city property except in accordance with Article V of Chapter 19 of this Code. (6) The removal of dead trees shall require prior notice to the Parks Department, as set forth in paragraph (a)(7) and a permit from the City of Aspen. (7) In case of an emergency caused by a tree being in a hazardous or dangerous condition posing an immediate threat to person or property, such tree may be removed without resort to the procedures herein described; provided, however, that evidence of such an emergency is provided to the Director of Parks within 24 hours. (d) Valuation of trees. When, in accordance with this section, the value of a tree must be determined the Basic Value shall equal $36.00 per square inch of the cross sectional area of the tree at the point where the diameter of the tree is measured. In calculating the Basic Value, the following equation shall be used: Basic Value = $36.00 x 3.14 x (D12)2 Where: D = the diameter of the tree in inches. Section 4 This ordinance shall not have any effect on existing litigation and shall not operate as an abatement of any action or proceeding now pending under or by virtue of the ordinances repealed of amended as herein provided, and the same shall be construed and concluded under such prior ordinances. 7 -' \'"." f "'I "'~ .,. ;;"', \,~ ,~ ~- Section 5 If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional in a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. A public hearing on the ordinance shall be held on the "fli day of ~ ~ t/ 1995, in the City Council Chambers, Aspen City Hall, Aspen, Colorado. INTRODUCED, READ AND ORDERED PUBLISHED as provided by law by the City Council of the City of Aspen on the /0 day of n/ , 1995. ~{5~ I John S. Bennett, Mayor A lTEST: X:~.d~ Kathryn S. och, City Clerk 8 t",' ~.. .;',," \,\:, .' Wi,'." ';'~, ., FINALLY adopted, passed and approved this ~ day of ~ ATTEST: tree.ord ,1995. f4 !$~~ John S. Bennett, Mayor 9