The Dalles City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the noxious vegetation ordinance Monday that authorizes removal of dead or dangerous trees on private property.
The new code was declared an emergency, which made it go into effect immediately, due to a problem with a diseased or dying tree on a lot in the 1600 block of 13th Place.
Gene Parker, city attorney, recommended adoption of the ordinance because it would allow the city to resolve the issue. He said the Veterans’ Administration owned the repossessed property, but he had been unable to gain a response from the agency’s property management company.
He said some cities did not take action with trees located on private property out of the belief it was a civil matter. However, he said many other cities did have regulations in place to address the problem to trees that were unstable.
The language for the code, said Parker, was modeled after an ordinance from West Linn and allowed the city to put a lien on property for any costs incurred in treating or removing a tree.
“It’s not our intent to start having issues with neighbors complaining about trees,” he said. “We want to look at trees that are truly having problems.”
He said the city was likely to incur a couple thousand in costs each time a certified arborist had to be hired to determine the health of a tree.
“I think we want to do that so we know the tree is dead or dying,” said Parker. The issue was brought before the council after a citizen complained in late January about the unstable tree on the vacant 13th Place property.
Parker said Feb. 23 that the ordinance would allow the city to deal with a diseased or dying tree that affected the safety, health and welfare of citizens.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.