Ord 93-187
ORDINANCE NO.
93-187
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, ESTABLISHING A NEW
CHAPTER 15.30 REGARDING REMOVAL OF VEGETATION
IN PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY, DEFINING TERMS,
ESTABLISHING PERMIT AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS,
ESTABLISHING APPROVAL OR DENIAL CRITERIA,
EXEMPTIONS, PENALTIES AND ESTABLISHING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the Federal Way City Council, based on public
testimony and other evidence presented to it, finds that the
unregulated maintenance, removal and planting of vegetation in
public rights of way contribute to unsafe public travel for
pedestrian, wheelchair and vehicular traffic;
WHEREAS, the Federal Way City Council finds that the
regulations set forth in this ordinance are necessary to protect
the public health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Way city council finds that this
ordinance and the regulations contained herein are enacted pursuant
to the authority granted by RCW Chapter 35.21.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. A new chapter of the Federal Way city Code
("FWCC") entitled "Article VII Right-of-Way Vegetation" is created
as follows:
Sec. l3-201. Purpose.
implemented in a manner to:
This chapter shall be interpreted and
1. Facilitate the planting, maintenance,
replacement, and survival of desirable trees,
groundcover within public rights-of-way;
2. Protect the public from personal injury and property
damage caused or threatened by the improper planting, maintenance,
or removal of vegetation;
restoration,
shrubs, and
3. Promote the use of drought tolerant vegetation and the
reduction in the use of irrigation systems; and
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COpy
4. Provide a process for the enhancement of views so long as
such private view enhancement is not detrimental to the general
public interest.
Sec. 13-202. Definitions. For purposes of this chapter and
unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms
have the following meanings:
1. "Abutting property" means all property having a frontage
upon the sides or margins of any public right-of-way.
2. "Applicant" means any person filing a right-of-way permit
application.
J. "City" means the City of
municipal corporation.
Federal Way,
a Washington
4. "ci ty Council" means the City of Federal Way Council
acting in its official capacity.
5. "Curb" means a cement, concrete or asphaltic concrete
raised structure designed to delineate the edge of the street and
to separate the vehicular area of the public right-of-way from the
area provided for pedestrians.
6. "Director" means the Director of the city's Public Works
Department or his or her designee.
7. "Emergency" means a condition of imminent danger to the
health, safety, and welfare of property or persons located within
the City including, without limitation, fallen branches or fallen
trees within public rights-of-way, or damage to vegetation from
natural consequences, such as storms, earthquakes, riots or wars.
8. "FWCC" means the Federal Way City Code adopted by the
City Council.
9. "Maintain or maintenance" means mowing, trimming, pruning
(but not including topping or tree removal), edging, root control,
cultivation, reseeding, fertilization, spraying, control of pests,
insects and rodents by nontoxic methods whenever possible,
watering, weed removal, and other actions necessary to assure
normal plant growth, performed in accordance with the standards of
the Right-of-Way Vegetation Plan.
10. "Occupant" means a person who is occupying, controlling or
possessing real property, or his or her agent or representative.
11. "Owner" means a person who has legal or equitable title to
real property, or his or her agent or representative.
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12. "Person" means a person, firm, association, partnership,
corporation or individual.
13. "Public right-of-way" means the land owned, dedicated or
conveyed to the public or a unit of government, providing for the
movement of vehicles, wheelchair and pedestrian traffic, access to
abutting property, the location of utility lines, appurtenances and
other facilities benefitting the public.
14. "Removal" means the act of cutting down or removing any
vegetation, or causing the effective removal through damaging,
poisoning or other direct or indirect actions resulting in the
death of vegetation.
15. "Replacement vegetation" means vegetation of equal
species, size, quality and number to that which has been removed in
conformance with the Right-of-Way Vegetation Plan.
16. "Right-of-Way Vegetation Plan" means the plan adopted by
the City containing the standards and specifications which
prescribes the vegetation to be planted, maintained, preserved, or
replaced within the City's public rights-of-way, the methods for
planting, trimming, pruning and other maintenance activities, and
the overall planting plan for the city.
17. "Sidewalk" means that property between the curb and the
abutting property, set aside and intended for the primary use of
pedestrians but may include mixed uses such as pedestrians and
bicyclists, improved by paving with cement concrete or asphaltic
concrete, including all driveways.
18. "street" means any street, road, boulevard, alley, lane,
way or place, or any portion thereof.
19. "Street trees" means any trees located on any street or
public right-of-way.
20. "Topping" means the severe cutting of the top of a street
tree resulting in stubs beyond the branch collar in the crown or
severe cutting which removes a substantial portion of the normal
canopy, disfigures the street tree, and reduces the height.
21. "Vegetation" means all trees, plants, shrubs, groundcover,
grass, and other vegetation.
Sec. 13-203-220.
Reserved.
Sec. 13-221. Application permits required. Any person
wishing to perform any vegetation work in a public right-of-way
must file a right-of-way application with the city and obtain a
right-of-way permit prior to commencing any work; provided,
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however, that owners or occupants of abutting property may maintain
such property other than plant replacement without obtaining a
permit; provided, further that the city and its employees, agents
and representatives may perform such work without obtaining a
permit. Permit fees will not be charged in connection with right-
of-way applications made pursuant to this chapter except for
applications requiring public notice under section 13-224.
Sec. 13-222. criteria. The Director may grant any vegetation
permit application submitted pursuant to section 13-221, if he or
she finds all of the following criteria exist:
1. The proposed vegetation work is consistent with achieving
the purposes of this chapter pursuant to section 13-201;
2. The proposed
Comprehensive Plan;
work
is
consistent
with
the
City's
3. The proposed work is consistent with the city's intended
use of the public right-of-way;
4. The proposed work is consistent with the FWCC, the Right-
of Way Vegetation Plan and all other applicable statutes, laws,
rules, policies and regulations;
5. The granting of the permit will not constitute a grant of
a special privilege;
6. If the proposed work is located wi thin a designated
environmentally sensitive area, all necessary environmental and
sensitive area approvals have been granted pursuant to Chapter l8
of the Federal Way City Code, the state Environmental Policy Act as
adopted by the City, and all other applicable environmental
regulations, as now existing or hereafter amended or adopted;
7. The granting of the permit will not be materially
detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property or
improvements located in the area surrounding the abutting property;
and
8. The proposed vegetation work is consistent with the
character of the neighborhood.
Sec. 13-223.
Reserved.
Sec. l3-224.
Public notice - Director's decision.
(a) General. The Director shall distribute, by regular mail,
a public notice of any vegetation right of way permit application
to persons receiving the property tax statements for all property
within one hundred (100) feet of the affected vegetation, whenever
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such application covers the removal or significant pruning of
vegetation that is four (4) inches in diameter measured at four and
one-half (4 1/2') feet above the ground; provided, however, that
such public notice shall not be required for applications covering
red alder, cottonwood, poplar, big leaf maple, or willow trees
regardless of the tree size.
(b) Contents.
information:
The public notice shall contain the following
1.
The name of the applicant;
2 . The street address of the abutting property which is
adjacent to the affected vegetation, or if this is not available,
a locational description other than a legal description. The
notice must also include a vicinity map that identifies the
location of the vegetation;
3.
A citation of this chapter of the FWCC;
4.
A brief description of the proposed vegetation work;
5.
A statement of the availability of the official file;
6. A statement of the right of any person to submit written
comments to the Director; and
7. A statement that only persons who submit written comments
to the Director within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of
the notice may appeal the Director's decision.
The Director shall attach a proposed vegetation restoration
plan to the public notice providing for the replacement or
restoration of the vegetation which is proposed to be removed
pursuant to the application.
(c) Decision. The Director shall issue a written decision to
either grant or deny the application and shall attach a final
vegetation restoration plan to such decision. The Director shall
use the decisional criteria set forth in this chapter and shall
consider all public comments in deciding upon the application. The
Director shall issue the decision within fourteen (14) calendar
days after the close of the time period for public comments. The
Director shall include in the written decision any restrictions and
conditions that he or she determines are reasonably necessary to
eliminate or minimize any undesirable effects of granting the
application. The content of the Director's decision and the
distribution thereof shall comply with the requirements of section
22-394 of the FWCC.
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Sec. 13-225. Illeqal veqetation. No illegal or illegally
manufactured, collected or delivered vegetation, as codified by the
Revised Code of Washington or other applicable laws, rules and
regulations, as now existing or hereafter adopted or amended, or
carrying harmful diseases, such as worms, insects, caterpillars, or
larvae shall be permitted within the City.
Sec. 13-226. Emerqencv. In the event of an emergency, any
person may take all reasonably necessary actions involving the
maintenance, removal or cutting of any vegetation or street tree in
order to prevent injury to persons or damage to property without
prior permit approval. The Director must be notified in a written
report within three (3) working days as to the nature and location
of the emergency, and the action taken by the person.
Sec. 13-227. Interference. It shall be unlawful for any
person to prevent, delay or interfere with the City in designing,
planting, maintaining, treating, cul ti vating, mulching, or removing
any vegetation, or any other activity authorized by this chapter or
other applicable law.
Sec. 13-228 - 244.
Reserved.
Sec. l3-245. Veqetation replacement. No person shall remove
or plant vegetation within a public right-of-way without replacing
the removed vegetation in accordance with the Right-of-Way
Vegetation Plan. The replacement vegetation shall be equivalent in
number, size, quality, species, and placement as the removed
vegetation, unless otherwise approved by the Director. An
exemption from the requirements of this section 13-245 may be
granted by the Director if he or she finds that the proposed
exemption is consistent with the criteria set forth in section 13-
222. The cost of such removal and replacement shall be borne by
the person removing or causing the removal of such vegetation.
Sec. l3-246. Abuse or mutilation of veqetation prohibited.
No person shall intentionally damage, destroy or mutilate any
vegetation located in any public right-of-way or other public
place, or attach any rope or wire (other than used to support a
young or broken tree), nail, sign, poster, handbill or other item
to such vegetation, or allow any gaseous liquid, or solid substance
which is harmful to such vegetation to come in contact with the
vegetation, or set fire or permit any fire to burn when such fire
or the heat thereof will injure any portion of such vegetation;
provided, however, that nothing in this section shall preclude
either the owner or the occupant from removing or maintaining such
vegetation as required by section 13-242.
Sec. l3-247. Toppinq. No person may top any street tree
located in public rights-of-way. The Director may exempt the City
and other persons from the provisions of this section when the
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street tree to be topped has been severely damaged by storms or
other natural causes, or the street tree is located under utility
wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices are
impractical, or where the topping is necessary to preserve the
public safety and welfare.
Sec. l3-248. Tree-root damaqe - Liabilitv. Any person who
owns any tree or vegetation within private property, the roots of
which cause injury to the public right-of-way or other public
place, including without limitation, damage to utilities located in
the public right-of-way, sidewalks, or paved areas, shall be liable
for any damage to public rights-of-way, or other public places, or
utilities located therein by said trees or vegetation.
Sec. l3-249 - 250.
Reserved.
Sec. l3-251. Violations deemed misdemeanor. Any person
violating any of the provisions of this chapter, which results in
a hazard to the public health, safety and welfare is guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided by law. Damage to
each item of vegetation shall be deemed a separate violation. The
value of damaged vegetation shall be calculated pursuant to the
International Society of Arboriculture Tree Replacement Guide.
Sec. 13-252. Violations deemed nuisance. The violation or
failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall be
considered a nuisance. Any person failing to abate the nuisance
within the time period specified by the Director's notice shall be
subject to a fine of up to Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250) for
each offense. Each day any person fails to abate such nuisance
after notice shall constitute a separate violation.
Sec. 13-253 - 256.
Reserved.
Section 2. Ratification. Any act consistent with the
authority and prior to the effective date of this ordinance is
hereby ratified and affirmed.
Section 3. Severabilitv. The provisions of this ordinance
are declared separate and severable. The invalidity of any clause,
sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or portion of this
ordinance or the invalidity of the application thereof to any
person or circumstance, shall not affect the validity of the
remainder of the ordinance, or the validity of its application to
other persons or circumstances.
section 4. Effecti ve Date. This ordinance shall be effective
thirty (30) days after passage as provided by law.
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PASSED by the city Council of the City of Federal Way at a
regular meeting thereof, held this 21st day of September, 1993.
CITY OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON
~~/~
MAYOR, ROBERT STEAD
(~
CiTY ATTORNEY, CAROLYN A. LAKE
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK:
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
PUBLISHED: September 25, 1993
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 21, 1993
ORDINANCE NO. 93-187
September 15,1993
September 21,1993
KA THLI!!!RIORDINIALTMA YOR. YEa
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