HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 451 Tree Preservation
ORDINANCE NO. 451
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA,
REPEALING SECTIONS 14-10 THROUGH 14-22 OF ARTICLE 1.5
TREE PRESERVATION AND PROVIDING FOR NEW SECTIONS 14-10
THROUGH 14-22 OF ARTICLE 1.5 TREE PRESERVATION;
PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS the City Commission of the City of Winter Springs,
Florida, has determined it to be in the best interests of the safety, health,
and welfare of the citizens of the City of Winter Springs to provide for the
adoption of arboreal standards, and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to make changes from time to time.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA:
SECTION I - That Section 14-10 through 14-20 of Article 1.5 Tree
Preservation be deleted in its entirety, and~the following replaced therefore:
Sec. 14-10. Intent and purpose; applicability; definitions.
(a) 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 playa vital role in the
natural ecosystem of the city, benefitting the air, water, soil, wildlife,
and other vegetation of the environment, and in that greenery as well con-
tributes to the esthetic aspects of life. Therefore, precedent to any
activity 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 undertaken without such permit
shall cease and desist immediately upon issuance of notice by the City.
(b) 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:
(1) All publicly owned property:
(2) All private rights-of-way;
(3) All undeveloped property;
(4) All vacant property;
(5) All property to be redeveloped or renovated;
(6) All property on which structures are to be altered or
enlarged;
(7) The greenspace, open space, and yard areas of all developed
property;
(8) All commercial property after construction;
(9) All residential lots before and after home construction.
(c) Definitions. As used in this article, the words and phrases
listed below shall be construed according to the meaning specified herein:
(1) 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
sawmills and markets.
(2) Buildable area: That portion of a site within the yard area
on which a structure or improvements, including driveways
and parking lots, may be erected.
(3) Caliper: Measurement of tree at base.
(4) City forest: The aggregate of all street trees and all park
trees.
(5) D.B.H.: Diameter at breast height.
(6) Drip line: The vertical line running through the outermost
portion of the tree crown extending to the ground.
(7) Encroachment: The protrusion of a vehicle into a vehicular
accessway, pedestrian-way, or required landscape area.
(8) 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).
(9) Landscaping: Landscaping shall consist of, but not be limited
to, grass, ground covers, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees,
berms, and complementary structural landscape architecture
features, such as rock, fountains, sculpture, decorative walls
and tree wells.
(10) Landscaped dividing strips: Landscaped areas containing
ground cover, shrubs, and trees or other landscaping used to
partition parking areas into individual bays.
(11) 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.
(12) Parking areas: Any area, excluding public right-of-way, used
for the purpose of driving, maneuvering, parking, storing, or
display of motor vehicles, boats, trailers, mobile homes, and
recreational vehicles including new and used automobile lots,
other parking lots uses, and paved outdoor sales areas.
(13) 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.
(14) Shrubs: A self-supporting woody species of plants character-
ized by persistent stems and branches springing from the base.
(15) Single-family lot: An area of land developed for and restricted
to a single-family residence.
(16) Specimen Trees: Trees of significant size, age or historical
value (to be determined by City Forester).
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(17) 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.
(18) Tree: Any living, self-supporting perennial plant which has a
trunk diameter of at least three (3) inches measured at D.B.H.
(at the base of the tree) and normally grows to a minimum
overall height of fifteen (15) feet.
(19) Trees planted for harvest: All trees which have been planted,
or shall be planted, with the bona fide intention at the time
of said planting to commercially harvest said trees in the
future. Said trees shall include, by way of illustration and
not limitation, Christmas trees, slash pines, and pulpwood.
(20) Yard area: An open space on the same lot with a building, said
space being unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground up-
ward, with the exception of trees and other natural vegetation.
Sec. 14-11. City forestry office.
(a) 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 one or more employees of the depart-
ment to act in the capacity of forester for Winter Springs.
(b) Scope of authority. The city forester shall be charged
with the responsibility and authority to review and oversee all activities
within the City limits of Winter Springs which cause removal or create danger
to any trees.
(c) Responsibilities. The role of the City forester shall be
dual:
(1) To preclude removal of trees from private property
prior to review and approval of development proposals.
(2) To augment the City forest by the planting or
approval of planting of additional trees on public property.
Sec. 14-12. Regulations applicable to privately held property.
(a) Permit to alter natural landscape. Application for a
permit to disturb natural vegetation shall be submitted prior to the following
activities:
(1) Cutting down, removing, or damaging during construc-
tion any tree growing on property located within the City limits.
(2) Land-clearing, land-removing, or land-filling
operations including 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.
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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.
(b) 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 all the
following information pertinent to the stage of development under review:
(1) Proposed location of streets, parking areas, utility or
drainage structures, buildings, and any other physical improvements antici-
pated;
(2) Specific location of all specimen trees within these
areas to be removed along with their common names and current sizes; (within
reason, plans should be modified to save these trees);
(3) Proposed grade changes of more than one (1) foot depth
outside of the building sites which may adversely affect any trees;
(4) Proposed protective barriers to preclude damage to un-
involved trees prescribed in Florida Division of Forestry guidelines (as
amended from time to time).
(c) 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 independently or as agent of a
staff-wide review, depending on the development stage of a project:
(1) Predevelopment stage. The City forester unilaterally may
review and issue permits for land alteration incident to surveying, soils
investigations, and preparation of initial development plans.
(2) Preliminary plan/preliminary 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 development/engineering plan.
(3) Final engineering stage. The City forester shall consider
requests for additional tree removal coincident with final engineering plan
review only when a developer shall show that unexpected or unanticipated
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factors preclude any reasonable alternative solution than destruction of
further trees. The City Commission must sanction these requests along with
final engineering approval before the City forester may issue a further permit
for tree removal from the subject land.
(4) Site plan. The City forester shall act as advisor to
the Site Plan Review Board during its review of plans for commercial or mu1ti-
family site development 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.
(d) General criteria for issuance of permits to remove trees.
Trees may be authorized to be removed only if they fit into one (1) 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:
(1) Trees located on building and construction sites as
shown on approved plans;
(2) Trees within ten (10) feet of proposed structures or
improvements so that they restrict approved construction;
(3) Trees severely diseased, or injured.
(4) Trees which will interfere with provision of above-
ground utility installations.
(5) Trees which have been approved to be replaced elsewhere
on the property by trees equivalent to those to be removed.
(e) Public removal of trees on private property. Only under the
following circumstances may City employees prune or remove trees growing on
private property:
(1) 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 (15)
days or show cause why it has not been removed. If no action is taken
within fifteen (15) days of notice, City employees may remove such trees and
bill the property owner. Unpaid bills become a lien on the property.
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(2) 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. (All limbs will be removed following
standard arboricultural standards).
Sec. 14-13. Official green plan for public property.
(a) 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:
(1) Documentation on the current nature of the City forest
consisting of parks, right-of-way, easements, and public facilities;
(2) Proposals for the care, preservation, replacement, and
new planting of trees and plants on City land;
(3) Projected budgetary data for at least the subsequent five
(5) years.
(b) Annual report. Each year the City forester shall submit 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 Commission, these modifications shall become in-
corporated into the official plan.
(c) Interim 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.
(d) Implementation of City green plan. The City forester shall
cause the official green plan to be implemented to adhere to the following
guidelines.
(1) Street tree species to be planted. The official street
tree species for Winter Springs, Florida, is presented below. No species
other than those included in these lists shall be planted as street trees
without written permission of the City forester. Upon recommendation from
the State Division of Forestry, this list may be revised with approval from
the Commission.
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Small Trees
Medium Trees
Large Trees
Dahoom Holly
Hop Hornbeam
Jerusalem Thorn
Chickasaw Plum
Pindo Palm
Cherry Laurel
Dogwood
Cabbage Palm
Redbud
Golden Rain Tree
American Holly
Bay Loblolly
Pumpkin Ash
Bald Cypress
Winged Elm
Hackberry
Red Maple
Laurel Oak
Live Oak
Washington Palm
Sycamore
Sweetgum
Date Palm
Magnolia
(2) Spacing. Trees shall be spaced at least at the distance
specified: Small trees, thirty (30) feet; medium trees, forty (40) feet; and
large trees, fifty (50) feet.
(3) Distance from curb and sidewalk. The minimum distance
trees may be planted from curbs or curb lines and sidewalks shall be: Small
trees, two (2) feet; medium trees, three (3) feet; large trees, four (4) feet.
(4) Distance from street corners and fireplugs. No street
tree shall be planted nearer than twenty (20) feet to any street corner,
measured from the point of nearest intersecting curbs or curb1ines. No street
tree shall be planted within ten (10) feet of any fireplug.
(5) Proximity of street trees to utilities. No street trees
other than those species designated small trees shall be planted under or
within ten (10) lateral feet of any overhead utility wire, or over or within
five (5) lateral feet of any underground water line, sewer line, transmission
line, or other utility installation.
(e) Protection of City forest:
(1) 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 three (3) inches in diameter within the
tree's crown to such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure
the tree.
(2) 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.
(f) 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, mulching, pruning,
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spraying, or removing of any street tree or park tree.
Sec. 14-14. Enforcement.
(a) Monetary fine for willful destruction. Any person who will-
fully destroys a tree shall be assessed a fine of up to but not exceeding
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00). 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
requirements set forth in subsection (b) below.
(b) Reforestation. Any person violating any of the arboreal pro-
visions set forth herein shall be required to appear before the City Commission
which shall be empowered 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 subsection (c) below shall apply to re-
forestation of land illegally cleared:
(c) Reforestation point standards:
(1) 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:
a. Residential (including residential PUD)-twenty-five
(25) points per acre.
b. Neighborhood commercial districts (including
commercial PUD)-twenty (20) points per acre.
c. General commercial and industrial districts
(including industrial PUD)-fifteen (15) points per acre.
(2) Tree point standards:
Number of Points
a. Specimen tree (as designated by City forester) . .5
b. Large tree (40 feet high or 35 foot crown) . .5
c. Medium tree (18 feet high or l2-foot crown) .2*
d. Small/nonjuvenile tree (8 feet high and 2 inch
caliper) .1
e. Small/juvenile (8 feet high and l-inch caliper) 0.75
f. Native shrubs material
. .0.1
*Plus five tenths (0.5) point for each five (5) feet
of additional height after twenty (20) feet.
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(3) Native species bonus. This bonus is awarded in addition
to the tree points listed above:
a. Specimen tree NA
b. Large tree 1.0
c. Medium tree 0.5
d. Small/nonjuvenile tree 0.25
e. Small/juvenile tree 0.1
(4) Minimum number of small, medium, and large trees. A
minimum of fifteen (15) percent of all the number of trees counted toward
these tree point standards must come from each of the three (3) size cate-
gories of small, medium, and large. To determine the number of trees which
will be needed to meet this fifteen (15) per cent requirement, the following
rules of thumb may be used:
a. Determine the total points on the site as follows:
T = Number of acres X Points required per acre
b. Determine the minimum number of medium or large trees
needed for fifteen (15) per cent requirement as follows:
Minimum Number
T X 9 per cent
c. To minimize the number of new small trees to be planted
retain the following number of medium plus large trees:
Medium + Large Number Total = T X30 per cent
(5) All plant material must be properly planted and pro-
tected from construction damage to be eligible for tree points.
SECTION II - 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 seciton or subsection or part of this ordinance.
SECTION III - That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in
conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
SECTION IV - This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its
passage and adoption.
Passed and Adopted this 27th day of March, 1989.
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
LEANNE M. GROVE, MAYOR
ATTEST:
Mary T. Norton
CITY CLERK
First Reading 2/13/89
Posted 2/16/89
2nd Reading & P.Hearing 3/27/89
The Orlando Sentinel
Publiahed Daily
A1tamonte Springl, Seminole County, Florida
$34.84
ADVERTISING CHARGE
~tate of .1flori~m} SS.
COUNTY OF ORANGE
, who on oath says that
she is the Legal Advertising Representative of the Orlando Sentinel, a Daily newspaper
Before the undersigned authority personally appeared
Sylvia Hazy
in the
Court,
NOTICE OF PUBUC ;4EARING
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORtDA
NOnce IS HEREBY GIVEN ~ the City
Co!"mission of th. City of Winter
~~~~~
nenc:e entilled as fQIIows:
ORDINANCE NO; 451
AN ORQlNANCt: OF THE CIlY OF
WINTER SPRINGS, flORIDA, RE-
PEALING SECTIONS 14-10
THROUGH 14-22 OF ARTICLE 1.5
TREE PRESERVATION AND PR0-
VIDING FOR NEW SECTIONS 14-
10 THROUGH 14-22 OF ARTICLE
1.5 TREE PRESERVATION' PRO-
VIDING SEVERABILITY.' CON-
FLICTS, AND EFFECTIVE DATE
.Thia Public ~ wltI be heklat 7:30
p.m. on ~ 21, 1989. or as soon"
Iher88fter es poaSIbIe in the Commis- ~
_on C/lamfJ8r. City Hall. 1126 Eest S. R.
434,.Wi" Springs, Fl. 32708.
Copies of the prOIlolled ordinance are
aveIIabIe in lhli otIioe of the City Clerk
I for inspection. Interested parties may
! lII;lPU/" at lIlis '-ing and be ~
. with reepecllo lIlis projlosed ordinance.
Persons are advited lhal W they decide
to lI{lPS8I any' decision made at this
~~u~~~..:
may need to .... lhal a verbetim re-
cord of the proceedlngs is made wIIich
record includes the testimony and evi-
dence upon wIIich the appeal is to be
based per Section 286.0105 Florida
Statutes.
Dated this.2Oth n.: Feb. 1989. -
~~ NTER SPfIINGS.
/s/Maty T. Norton
Maty 1. Norton
City CIeri<
LS-635(6s) ... Mar.5,1989
published at Altamonte Springs, in Seminole County, Florida; that the attached copy of ad-
vertisement, being a publ ic Hear ing in the matter of
Ordinance No. 451
was published in said newspaper in the issues of
March 5, 1989
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.
r~
7 th
Sworn to and subscribed before me this
day
M.'trch
of___
89
A.D., 19
'"
~
Notary Public, State of Florida at large
My Commission Expires February 9, 1993
Bonded thru Brown & Brown. Inc.
f:.~
..~
Notary Public
FORM NO. AD-264