APPENDICES - Laserfiche WebLink

Inspections Public and private trees within the City's WUI areas should be inspected annually for conditions or defects that will make the trees more likely to ignite, pose a high risk to public safety, or obstruct public and private roads. Annual inspections should be performed before the beginning of the fire season in May, ideally sufficiently early that there is adequate time before the fire season begins to complete any needed tree maintenance work. Annual inspections should be focused on identifying the following conditions or defects: • Large dead areas of the tree crown, large broken branches that are hanging within 10 feet of the surface, and significant accumulations of leaf litter in the crown. • Dead trees or dying trees with no hope of recovery. • Branches in contact with high-voltage electrical equipment. • Branches overhanging the roadway less than 14 feet above the road surface obstructing vehicle traffic on public and private roads. • Trees near buildings and roadways with root or trunk defects that are a high risk for whole tree failure and are likely to strike the building3 or land in the roadway. • New branch growth on trees within 10 feet of buildings, These above conditions and defects are generally readily detected by a short visual inspection. These annual inspections are expected to be incorporated into the routine inspections performed by property managers and by tree maintenance crews while performing routine tree trimming or removals. Tree Removal & Replacement Standards Tree Removals All trees in both urban and natural areas have a lifespan within the landscape that is partially dependent on the care and maintenance they receive. When a tree’s related costs (maintenance, watering, pruning, or hazard level) outweigh its benefits (aesthetics, energy conservation, air quality, etc.), tree removal should be considered with a replanting plan. Dead, declining, or diseased trees should be removed from the urban forest before they present a hazard. However, tree removals should be justified based on a condition assessment, a cost-benefit analysis, a hazard evaluation, or other fact-based methods that justify removal as the best approach. Removing large trees results in losing valuable environmental and economic benefits that are not easily or qu ickly replaced. For trees removed in the wildfire hazard area, replacement trees should be carefully selected to provide maximum benefits with minimum drawbacks. Tree Removal Priorities: 1. Trees with structural defects or conditions that make them an imminent risk to public safety and no less drastic means are available to reduce risk. 2. Dead trees 3. Trees with structural deficiencies or poor health where no less drastic means are available to reduce risk. 4. Fast-growing tree species growing beneath high-voltage power lines that have been repeatedly topped. 3 Including critical facilities such as water tanks, pump houses 19