HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 337 Tree Permit
ORDINANCE NO. 337
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING
PERMITING PROCEDURES FOR AND PROHIBITIONS AGAINST REMOVAL OR DAMAGE
OF TREES GROWING ON REAL PROPERTY WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS; CONFLICTS,
SEVERABILITY, AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Winter Springs, in order to preserve the quality of
its environrrent, desires to protect the natural features of the land for the
enjoynent of present and future residents; and
WHEREAS, trees are an imreasurable resource that once destroyed are
lost for the decades it takes a seedling to grow to a specimen equal to the
original.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Comnission of Winter Springs, Florida, hereby
ordains that:
SECTION I. Chapter 14 of the Winter Springs Cbde of Ordinances is
hereby arrended and augrrented to read as follows:
CHAPTER 14. LAND DEVELOPMENT
ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
Sec. 14.7 - 14.9. Reserved.
Sec. 14 .10 . Tree Preservation.
Sec. 14.10.1. Intent and Purpose. These arboreal standards of the City
of Winter Springs declare the tangible and intangible value of trees and
plants to the citizens and the community, in that they play a vital role in
the natural ecosystem of the City, benefitting the air, water, soil, wildlife,
and other vegetation of the environrrent, and in that greenery as well contri-
butes to the esthetic aspects of life.
Therefore, PRECEDENT TO ANY AC1'IVITY which requires alteration of the
natural vegetation on the land, an application shall be presented to the City
for review of the extent and necessity of removal or destruction of trees.
NO ACTIVITY shall proceed until a permit has been acquired from the appropriate
City office, as prescribed hereinafter in this Article. ALL ACTIVITY under- .
taken without such pennit shall cease and desist imrediately upon issuance of
notice by the City.
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Sec. 14.10.2. Scope of Applicability. The regulations enacted
hereinafter shall apply to all real property within the City limits. For
emphasis and to avoid doubt these lands are designated hereinbelow:
(a) All publicly owned property
(b) All private rights-of-way
(c) All undeveloped property
(d) All vacant property
(e) All property to be redeveloped or renovated
(f) All property on which structures are to be altered
or enlarged.
(g) The greenspace, open space, and yard areas of all
developed property.
(h) All corrrrercial property after construction.
(i) All residential lots before and after horre
a:mstruction.
Sec. 14.10.3 Definitions. As used in this Chapter, the words and
phrases listed shall be construe d according to the meaning specified herein.
I. Bona Fide logging Operation: The good-faith operation of the
business of felling trees of merchantable size for lumber,
cutting them into suitable-length logs, and hauling said logs
to some point for transportation to and/or manufacture at saw-
mills and markets.
2 . Buildable Area: That portion of a site within the yard area on
which a structure of inproverrents, including driveways and
parking lots, may be erected.
3. City Forest: The aggregate of all street trees and all park trees.
4. Drip Line: The vertical line running through the outermost
portion of the tree crown extending to the ground.
5. Encroachrrent: The protrusion of a vehicle into a vehicular
accessway, pedestrianway, or required landscape area.
6. Green Area: Any portion of the site which is planted and
maintained in grass, shrubs and trees or maintained as a
natural drainage area (exclusive of concrete or asphalt or
other paving material).
7. Landscaping: landscaping shall consist of, but not be limited
to, grass, ground covers, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees, benns,
and conplerrentary structural landscape architecture features,
such as rock, fountains, sculpture , decorative walls and tree
wells.
8. Landscaped Dividing Strips: landscaped areas containing
ground cover, shrubs, and trees or other landscaping used to
partition parking areas into individual bays.
9. Park Trees: Trees, shrubs, bushes, and all other woody
vegetation in public parks and all open areas owned by the
City, or to which the public has free access.
10. Parking Areas: Any area, excluding public right-of-way, used
for the purpose of driving, maneuvering, parking, storing, or
display of rrotor vehicles, boats trailers, mobile homes, and
recreational vehicles including new and used automobile lots,
other parking lots uses, and paved outdoor sales areas.
11. Parking Spaces: A parking area used for the temporary storage
of a single vehicle to serve a primary use; groups of spaces
and the abutting accessway are called parking lots.
12. Shrubs: A self-supporting woody species of plants characterized
by persistent stems and branches springing from the base.
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13. Single-Family lot: An area of land developed for and restricted
to a single-family residence.
14. Street Trees: Trees, shrubs, bushes, and all other woody
vegetation on land lying between property lines on either
side of all streets, avenues, or ways within the City.
15 . Tree: Any living, self-supporting perennial plant which has
a trunk dianeter of at least three (3) inches rreasured three
(3) feet above grade (at the base of the tree) and nonrally
grows to a minimum overall height of fifteen (15) feet.
16. Trees Planted for Harvest: All trees which have been planted,
or shall be planted, with the bona fide intention at the t:i.rre
of said planting to commercially harvest said trees in the
future. Said trees shall include, by way of illustration and
no limitation, Christmas trees, slash pines, and pulpwood.
17. Vine: Plants which normally require support to reach
mature form.
18. Yard Area: An open space on the same lot with a building,
said space being unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground
upward, with the exception of trees and other natural vege-
tation.
Sec. 14.11. City Forestry Office
Sec. 14.11.1. Establishment of Office. There is hereby created within
the Department of Public Works, the Office of City Forestry. The Director
shall head this office and shall appoint an enployee of the Department to be
the City Forester for Winter Springs.
Sec. 14.11.2. Scope of Authority. The City Forester shall be charged
with the responsibility and authority to review and oversee all activities
ithin the City limits of Winter Springs which cause rerroval or create danger
to any trees.
Sec. 14.11.3. Responsibilities. The role of the City Forester shall
be dual:
(a) To preclude removal of trees from private property prior to
review and approval of development proposals.
(b) To augnent the City forest by the planting or approval of plant-
ing of additional trees on public property.
Sec. 14.12. Regulations Applicable to Privately Held Property.
Sec. 14.12.1. Pemit to Alter Natural landscape. Application for a
pemit to disturb natural vegetation shall be submitted PRIOR to the
following activities:
(a) Cutting down, removing, or effectively destroying through damag-
ing any tree growing on property located within the City limits.
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(b) Land-clearing, land-removing, or land-filling operations includ-
ing use, operation, or propulsion of a bulldozer, payloader, front-end loader,
backhoe, dragline, power shovel, road grader, dump truck, dredge, fill spreader,
or other heavy-duty equipment.
None of the preceding activities shall proceed until review of the
request by the City Forester and issuance of a permit prescribing the extent
of operations being approved.
Sec. 14.12.2. Scope of Review. The permit application may be supported
by drawings, plans, or photographs as necessary to depict to the City Forester
the present nature of the land, the proposed alteration, and the objectives
that may justify the removal of trees.
These submittals shall include depictions of any of the following in-
formation pertinent to the stage of development under review:
(a) Property map describing all present trees with inventory of
types and sizes.
(b) Sites of investigatory activities such as surveying, soils studies.
(c) Proposed location of streets, parking areas, utility or drainage
structures, buildings, and any other physical inproverrents an-
ticipated.
(d) Specific location of all living trees within these areas to be
:renoved along with their oormon narres and current sizes.
(e) Proposed grade changes of rrore than one foot depth outside of the
building sites which may adversely affect any trees.
(f) Proposed protective barriers to preclude damage to uninvolved
trees prescribed in Florida Division of Forest:ry guidelines (as
arrended from time to time) .
Sec. 14.12.3. Permit to Be Specific to Stage of Development.
The City Forester shall review the above-prescribed submittals and act upon
the request under the following authority either iridependently or as agent
of a Staff-wide review, depending on the development stage of a project.
(a) Pre-Development Stage. The City Forester unilaterally may re-
view and issue pennits for land alteration incident to surveying, soils in-
vestigations, and preparation of initial development plans.
(b) Perliminary Plan/Perliminary Engineering. The City Forester
shall act as advisor of the City Staff in review of preliminary development/
engineering plans to recommend the extent of land clearing to be authorized
with approval of such plans. The City Forester shall subsequently issue a
permit prescribing the alteration developrrent/engineering plan.
(c) Final Engineering Stage.
The City Forester shall consider requests for additional tree
:renoval ooincident with final engineering plan review only when a developer
shall show that unexpected or unanticipated factors preclude any reasonable
altemative solution than destruction of further trees. The City Commission
must sanction these requests along with final engineering approval before the
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City Forester may issue a further permit for tree removal from the subject land.
(d) Site Plan. The City Forester shall act as advisor to the Site
Plan Review Board during its review of plans for commercial or multi-family
site developrrent proposals, for either initial construction or expansion or
alteration of a site. A permit which specifies exactly which specimens or
stands of trees may be removed to develop a site must be acquired before any
modification of a site may take place.
Sec. 14.12.4. General Criteria for Issuance of Permits to Remove Tree.
Trees may be authorized to be removed only if they fit into one of the following
categories. The validity of the status of a tree as eligible for removal shall
be verified on site by the City Forester prior to issuance of a permit.
(a) Trees located on building and construction sites as shown on
approved plans.
(b) Trees within six feet of proposed structures or improvements so
that they restrict approved construction.
(c) Trees severely diseased, injured, or in danger of falling.
(d) Trees which will interfere with provision of above-ground utility
installations.
(e) Trees which have been approved to be replaced elsewhere on the
property by trees equivalent to those to be removed.
(f) Trees so dense as to require thinning to allow for sun light.
Sec. 14.12.5. Public Removal of Trees on Private Property. Only under
the following circumstances may City employees prune or remove trees growing on
private property:
(a) Any dead or damaged or diseased tree which constitutes a hazard
to life and property or danger to the City forestry disease shall be removed
by the property owner upon notification and justification by the City Forester.
The property owner must have the tree removed within fifteen days or show: cause
why it has not been removed. If no action is taken within fifteen days of notice
City employees may remove such trees, and bill the property owner. Unpaid bills
become a lien on the property.
(b) Tree limbs and shrubs overhanging any public right-of-way so that
such branches obstruct the light from any streetlight or so that such branches
obstruct the view of, any street intersection and create a hazard to vehicular
or pedestrian traffic.
Sec. 14.13. Official Green Plan for Public Property.
Sec. 14.13.1. Initial Plan. The City Forester under the guidance of
the Director of Public Works, shall develop an official Winter Springs Green
Plan which provides to the City Commission the Following information:
(a) Documentation on the current nature of the City Forest consisting
of parks, right-of-way, easements, and public facilities.
(b) Proposals for the care, preservation, replacerrent, and new plant-
ing of trees and plants on City land.
(c) Projected budgetary data for at least the subsequent five years.
Sec. 14.13.2. Annual Report Each year the City Forester shall sub-
mit to the City Manager a written report on the progress toward implementation
of the Green Plan, including suggestions for additions and revisions to the
plan. When ratified by the City Conmission, these modifications shall become
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incorporated into the official plan.
Sec. 14.13.3.
Interin Reports. Whenever requested by the
City Manager, the City Forester shall investigate or analyze a site or concern
and file a report on findings on the matter.
Sec. 14.13.4.
Implementation of City Green Plan. The City
Forester shall cause the official Green Plan to be irrplerrented to adhere to the
following guidelines.
(a) Street Tree Species to Be Planted. The official Street
Tree species for Winter Springs, Florlda is presented below. No species
other than those included in these lists shall be planted as Street Trees with-
out written pennission of the City Forester. Upon recommendation from the local
State Division of Forestry, this list may be revised with approval from the
Commission.
SMALL TREES
MEDIUM TREES
LARGE TREES
Dahoom Holly
Hop Hornbeam
Jerusalem Thom
Chickasaw Plum
Bottlebrush
Pindo Palm
Cherry laurel
Dogwood
Cabbage Palm
Redbud
Cblden Rain Tree
Arrerican Holly
Bay loblolly
Purrpkin Ash
Bald Cypress
Winged Elm
Hackberry
Red Maple
laurel Oak
Live Oak
washington Palm
Sycarrore
Sweetgum
Date Palm
Magnolia
(b) Spacing. Trees shall be spaced at least at the dis-
tance specified:Small Trees, 30 feet; M:dium Trees, 40 feet; and Large
Trees, 50 feet.
(c) Distance from CUrb and Sidewalk. The minimum distance
trees may be planted from curbs or curblines and sidewalks shall be; Small
Trees, 2 feet; .Medium Trees, 3 feet; large Trees, 4 feet.
(d) Distance from Street Corners and Fireplugs. No
street tree shall be planted nearer than 20 feet to any street comer, measured
from the point of nearest intersecting curbs or curblines. No street tree shall
be planted within 10 feet of any fireplug.
(e) Proximity of Street Trees to utilities. No street
trees other than those species designated Small Trees shall be planted under
or within 10 lateral feet of any overhead utility wire, or over or within 5
lateral feet of any underground water line, sewer line, transmission line, or
other utility installation.
Sec. 14.13.5. Protection of City Forest.
(a) Tree Topping. It shall be unlawful as a normal practice
for any person, firm, or City department to top any street tree, park tree, or
other tree on public property. Topping is defined as the severe cutting back
of limbs to stubs larger than 3 inches in diameter within the tree's crown to
such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.
(b) Damaged Trees. Trees damaged by natural causes and
trees under utility wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices
are impractical may be topped with approval of the City Forester.
Sec. 14.13.6 Interference with City Forester. It shall be unlawful
for any person to prevent, delay, or interfere with the City Forester or any
designated agents while engaging in and about the planting, cultivating, mulch-
ing, pruning, spraying, or rerroving of any street tree or park tree.
Sec. 14.14. Enforcement.
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Sec. 14.14.1. Monetary Fine for Willful Destruction. Any person who
willfully destroys a tree shall be assessed a fine of up to but not exceeding
twenty five thousand dollars (25,000). In assessing the fine; the City shall
consider, among other things, the size, age, health, and number of trees
damaged or removed. This fine shall be in addition to the replacement
requirerrents set forth below, in Sec. 14 .14.2 .
Sec. 14.14.2. Reforestation. Any person violating any of the arboreal
provisions set forth herein shall be required to appear before the City
Commission, which shall be enpowered to specify the number and types and sizes
of trees to be replanted by the individual to compensate the public for the
loss of existing trees. The guidelines in Sec. 14 .14 .3. below shall apply to
reforestation of land illegally cleared.
Sec. 14 .14 . 3. Reforestation Point Standards.
A. Minimum Points Required per Acre
The minimum number of tree points required in each zoning category
per acre of land (excluding areas dedicated for rights-of-way for
streets) are as follows:
1. Residental (Including residential PUD)
25 Points per acre
2. Neighborhood Commercial Districts (Including commercial PUD)
20 Points per acre
3. General Commercial and Industrial Districts (Including industrial PUD
15 Points per acre
B. Tree Point Standards.
No. of Points
5
4
2*
1. Speciman Tree (as designated by City Forester)
2. Large Tree (40 ft. high or 35 ft. crown)
3. Medium Tree (18 ft. high or 12 ft. crown)
4. Small/Nonjuvenile Tree
(8ft. high and 2 in. in caliper)
5. Small/Juvenile (8 ft. high and 1 in,. caliper)
1
0.75
* Plus 0.5 point for each 5 ft. of additional height after 20 ft.
C. Native Species Bonus.
This bonus is awarded in addition to the tree points listed above.
1. Specimen Tree
2 . Large Tree
3. Medium Tree
4. Small/Nonjuvenile Tree
5 . Small/Juvenile Tree
NA
1
0.5
0.25
0.1
D. Minimum Number of Small, Medium, and Large Trees.
A minimum of 15 percent of all the number of trees counted toward
these tree point standards must come from each of the three size
categories of small, medium, and large. To determine the number
of trees which will be needed to meet this 15 percent requirement,
the following rules of thumb may be used.
1. Determine the total points on the site as follows:
T = No. of Acres x Points Required per Acre
2 . Determine the minimum number of mediun or large trees needed
for 15 percent requirenent as follows:
Minimum No. = T x 9 percent
3. To minimize the nunber of new small trees to be planted, retain
the following number of medium plus large trees:
Mediurn + Large No. Total = T x 30 Percent
Sec. 14.15 - 14.22. Reserved.
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SECTION II. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith
are hereby repealed.
SECTION III. If any section or portion of a section or subsection of
this ordinance proves to be invalid, unlawful, or unconstitutional it shall
not be held to invalidate or impair the validity, force or effect of any other
section or portion of a section or sub-section or part of this ordinance.
SECTION IV. This ordinance shall take effect upon final passage and
adoption.
Passed and Adopted this 27th day of January, 1986.
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
JOHN V. TORCASO, MAYOR
ATTEST:
Mary T. Norton
CITY CLERK
First Reading:11/28/85
Posted 11/28/85
Second Reading & Public Hearing 1/27/86
, The Orlando Sentinel
Publiahed Daily
Altamoote Springa, Seminole County, Florida
$26.56
ADVERTISING CHARGE
~htte of JFIori~m} SS.
COUNTY OF ORANGE
Before the undersigned authority personally appeared
Nancy A. Puglia
Sworn to and subscribed before me this
6th
day
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the
City Commission of the City of Winter
Springs, Florida, that said Commission
will hold a Public Hearing on an ordi-
nance entitled as follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 337
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
WINTER SPRINGS. FLORIDA, ES-
TABLISHING PERMITTING PRO-
CEDURES FOR AND PROHIBI-
TIONS AGAINST REMOVAL OR
DAMAGE OF TREES GROWING
ON REAL PROEPRTY WITHIN
THE CITY LIMITS; CONFLICTS,
SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This Public Hearing will be held at
7:30 p.m. on Monday, January 27,
1986, or as soon thereafter as possi-
ble in the Commission Chamber, City
Hall, 1126 East S. R. 434, Winter
Springs, FI. 32708.
Copies of the proposed ordinance are
available in lhe office of the City Clerk
for inspection. Interested parties may
appear at this hearing and be heard
with respect to this proposed
ordinance.
Persons are advised that if they de-
cide to appeal any decision made at
this .meeting, they will need a record
01 the proceedings and for such pur-
pose, Ihey may need to ensure that a
verbatim record of the proceedings is
made which record includes the testi-
::'~;U7~ t':,"ig:ng~s~~~e~hS;~tl~~
286.0105 Florida Statutes.
Dated this 10th day of December,
1985.
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
FLORIDA
Is/Mary T. Norton
Mary T. Norton,
City Clerk
LS-699(6S) Jan.5,1986
who on oath says that
she is the Legal Advertising Representative of the Orlando Sentinel, a Daily newspaper
published at Altamonte Springs, in Seminole County, Florida; that the attached copy of ad-
vertisement, being a Not ice 0 f Pub 1 i c He a r in g in the matter of
Ordinance No. 337
in the
Court,
was published in said newspaper in the issues of
,T,qnll,qry 5, 1986
Mfiant further says that the said Orlando Sentinel is a newspaper published at Altamonte
Springs, in Seminole County, Florida, and that the said newspaper has heretofore been contin-
uously published in said Seminole County, Florida, each Week Day and has been entered as
second-class mail matter at the post office in Altamonte Springs, in said Seminole County,
Florida for a period of one year next preceding the first publication of the attached copy of ad-
vertisement; and affiant further says that he/she has neither paid nor promised any person,
firm or corporation any discount, rebate, commission or refund for the purpose of securing this
advertisement for publication in the said newspaper.
n""'''jA.. ~
of
Januar
Notary Public, State of F\oridaNQ~elic
My Commission Expires March 4. 1989
Th Brown & Scown, 111(;"
Bonded ru
FORM NO. AD-264
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