Subject: 9662/Tree Advis.Commission Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1991 13:45:00 -0500 ORDINANCE NO. 9662 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHATTANOOGA CITY CODE, PART II, SECTIONS 26-204(a), AND 26-105(C)(4), ESTABLISHMENT OF A TREE ADVISORY COMMISSION, SO AS TO CHANGE THE NUMBER OF COMMISSION MEMBERS FROM (5) TO (7) AND TO CHANGE THE APPOINTED TERMS TO SERVE TO (3) FOR 2 YEARS; (3) FOR 3 YEARS; AND (1) FOR 4 YEARS, AND ADDING A NEW SUBSECTION (5) RELATIVE TO COMMISSION DUTIES, AND DELETING IN LIEU THEREOF A7 26-105(C) (4) RELATIVE TO APPEALS FROM DECISIONS OF THE MUNICIPAL FORESTER.. _________________________________ 09 SECTION 1. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, That Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 26, be and is hereby amended by changing Section 26-104 as follows: Sec. 26-104. Establishment of a Tree Advisory Commission (a) There shall be created a commission to be known and designated as "Tree Advisory Commission" composed of seven (7) persons, who shall be residents of the City of Chattanooga or of Hamilton County. Said members shall be appointed by the Mayor with approval of the Governing Body of the City. The Superintendent of the Division of Parks and Municipal Forester shall serve as advisors to the Commission. All members of the Commission shall serve thereon without pay. the members appointed by the Mayor shall be appointed as follows: Three (3) for two (2) years; (3) for three (3) years; and one (1) for four (4) years, and serve until their successors are duly appointed and approved by the Board of Commissioners. Successors to those members appointed by the Mayor shall thereafter be appointed for terms of four (4) years. Vacancies caused by death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as original appointments are made. 0C (b) Organization. Within a reasonable time after the appointment of said Commission and approval of the members thereof, upon call of the Mayor, the Commission shall meet and organize by election of a chairman and appointment of the Municipal Forester as secretary. The Commission shall then provide adoption of rules and procedures and for holding of regular special meetings as the Commission shall deem advisable and necessary in order to perform the duties set forth. (c) Duties. (1) The Commission shall study the problems and determine the needs of the City of Chattanooga in connection with its urban forestry program and report from time to time to the Governing Body of the City as to desirable legislation concerning the tree program and related activities for the City. (2) The Commission shall recommend to the Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings candidates for the office of Municipal Forester. (3) The Commission shall assist the properly constituted officials of the City, as well as the governing body and citizens of the City, in the dissemination of news and information regarding the selection, planting, and maintenance of trees within the corporate limits, whether they be on private or public property. 09 (4) The Commission shall provide regular and special meetings at which the subject of trees, insofar as it relates to the City may be discussed by the members of the Commission, officers and personnel of the City and its several divisions, and all other interested in the urban forestry program. 09 (5) The Commission shall hear and decide appeals from decisions of the Municipal Forester as set forth in Sec. 26-107. 0C SECTION 2. BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, That Section 26-105(c)(4), Part II, Chattanooga City Code be deleted in its entirety and replaced under the following new subsection in lieu thereof: SEC. 26-104(c)(5 Sec. 26-105. Establishment of the Position of Municipal Forester. (a) Appointment The Municipal Forester shall be appointed by the Governing Body of the City upon recommendation by the Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings after a competitive examination and interview given by the Tree Advisory Commission. He or she shall be a person skilled and trained in the arts and sciences of municipal arboriculture, and shall hold a college degree in urban forestry, arboriculture, ornamental or landscape horticulture, or other closely related field. He or she shall have had at least three (3) years experience in municipal urban forestry work or its equivalent. The office of the Municipal Forester shall be an administrative unit of the Department of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings. The position of Municipal Forester shall be an administrative unit of the Department of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings. The position of Municipal Forester shall be fully funded for a minimum of three (3) years. Should the office of Municipal Forester be vacant, the authority of that office shall be transferred to the Superintendent of Parks until such time as the Municipal Forester position is filled. (b) Salary. The Municipal Forester shall receive a salary commensurate with his or her training and experience as full compensation for all services rendered and in lieu of all fees. (c) Duties and Authority. (1) General. The Municipal Forester shall have the authority and jurisdiction of regulating the planting, maintenance, and removal of trees on streets and other publicly owned property to insure safety or preserve the aesthetics of such public sites. The Municipal Forester shall promulgate the rules and regulations of the Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice governing the planting, maintenance, removal, fertilization, pruning, and bracing of trees on the streets, parks and other public places in the City, and shall direct, regulate, and control the planting, maintenance, and removal of all trees growing now or hereafter in any public area of the City. He or she shall cause the provisions of this Article to be enforced. The Municipal Forester shall seek the advice of the City Traffic Engineer in matters concerning trees which may be a hazard to traffic safety. (2) Permit Authority. The Municipal Forester shall have the authority to issue or deny permits for planting, maintenance, or removal of trees as authorized. it shall also be his or her duty to supervise or inspect all work done under a permit issued in accordance with the terms of this Article. (3) Master Street Tree Plan. The Municipal Forester shall have the authority to formulate a Master Street Tree Plan with the advice and approval of the Tree Advisory Commission. The Master Street Tree Plan shall specify the species of trees to be planted on each of the streets or other public sites of the City. From and after the effective date of the Master Street tree Plan, or any amendment thereof, all planting of Public Trees shall conform thereto. The Municipal Forester shall consider all existing and future traffic, utility and environmental factors and urban design criteria when recommending a specific species for each of the streets and other public sites of the City. SECTION 3. BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, That this ordinance will become effective within 2 weeks from the date of adoption in accordance with Tennessee law. _/s/_________________________ CHAIRPERSON PASSED on Third and Final Reading January 21, 1991. APPROVED:____DISAPPROVED:____ 09 DATE:__________________, 199_. _/s/_________________________ MAYOR