35.130 Injuring Public Trees

A. Abuse or Mutilation of Trees. It shall be unlawful for any person to: 1. damage or kill any Public Tree unless authorized by the City as part of an approved tree care or tree maintenance project; 2. attach any rope, hammock, straps, wire, nails, advertising poster, or other contrivance to any Public Tree; 3. allow or to place in or upon any Public Right-of-Way any gaseous, liquid, or solid substance which is harmful and damaging to the soil or vegetation and may come in contact with any Public Tree or vegetation. 4. negligently, intentionally or maliciously injure or destroy any vegetation in any Public Right-ofWay, except as authorized by the Parks Department. B. City Property – Placing Materials Thereon. No person shall deposit, place, store, or maintain upon any Public Right-of-Way any material which may prevent the passage of water, air, or nutrients to the roots of any Public Tree growing therein, other than decorative rock gardens or other planned and approved landscaping materials. No unsightly materials shall be placed, stored, or kept on the Public Right-ofWay. C. Tree Topping. Topping of any Public Tree shall be prohibited. Public Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes or certain trees under utility wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical may be exempted from this section of the Chapter through a determination of the Urban Forester. D. Replacement – Compensation. In the event any person removes, destroys, or damages any Public Tree except as otherwise required by Lehi Development Code Sections 35.089, 35.100 or 35.110, that person shall be required to replace such tree with a tree of equivalent dollar value unless otherwise determined by the Urban Forester. If no suitable location exists in the vicinity of the tree removed or if the replacement tree is of lesser value, the person causing the tree to be removed shall make a Page 35-7 3510-10 Community Forestry Adopted 04/22/08 compensatory payment to the City equal to the difference in value between the tree removed and any replacement tree. E. Devaluation. Any Public Tree that is determined by the Urban Forester to be damaged, but not sufficiently damaged to justify removal, shall be considered to be devalued. The amount of devaluation as determined by the Urban Forester in accordance with Lehi Development Code Section 35.140 and shall be paid to the City by the person causing the damage.