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2005-066ORDINANCE NO. c,~t~-t~)~' AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AMENDING PORTIONS OF SUBCHAPTER 35.13 OF THE DENTON DEVELOPMENT CODE PERTAINING TO STREET TREE REGULATIONS; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE WITH A MAXIMUM FINE OF $2,000.00 PER DAY FOR A VIOLATION THEREOF: A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (SI04-0035). WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 2002-040, the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas adopted the Denton Development Code (the "Development Code"); and WHEREAS, as a part of a quarterly review of the Development Code, and after conducting a public hearing as required by law, the Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended certa'm changes to Subchapter 35.13 as it pertains to Street Tree Regulations; and WHEREAS, after conducting a public hearing as required by law, the City Council finds that the subject changes to the Development Code are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and are in the public interest; NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION 1. The findings and recitations contained in the preamble of this ordinance are incorporated herein by reference. SECTION 2. Subchapter 35.13 of the:Development Code is hereby amended in part as particularly described in Exhibit "A" attached hereto and made a part hereof by reference. All other provisions of Subchapter 35.13 not inconsistent with this amendment shall remain in full fome and effect. SECTION 3. Any person violating any provision of this ordinance shall, upon conviction, be' fined a sum not exceeding $2,000.00. Each day that a provision of this ordinance is violated shall constitute a separate and distinct offence. SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, phrase or word in this ordinance, or application there of to any person or circumstance is held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, and City Council of the City of Denton, Texas hereby declares it would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity. SECTION 5. This ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this ord'mance to be published twice in the Denton Record-Chronicle, a daily newspaper published in the City of Denton, Texas within ten (10) days of the date of its passage. Page 1 EULINE:BROCK, MAYOR ATTEST: JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: HERBERT L. PROUTY, CI/?Y ATTORNEY Page 2 Exhibit "A" 35.13.7. C Street Tree Requirements All development, with the exception of estate style single-family subdivisions, shall be required to plant street trees in accordance with the following standards and in accordance to the Site Design Criteria Manual. Estate style single-family subdivisions are those subdivisions having lot frontages equal to or greater than one hundred (100) feet wide and contain lots equal to or greater than one acre in size, and utilize barrow ditches as dra'mage along public or private streets. The Director of Planning and Development may approve alternative plans due to special site conditions, which may, for reasons such as safety, site conditions, or existing trees on the lot, affect the ability to meet these regulations. 1. Street Tree Plan. All development shall be required to submit a master street tree plan noting location, number, and species of trees to be used within the development. Location. Street trees shall be located between the street and sidewalk, except in cases where there is a designated planting strip in the right-of-way, or the sidewalk is greater than eight (8) feet wide and designed to accept trees in tree wells. 3. Number and Spacing. Street trees shall be planted by the following requirements: a. Spacing along street Single Family Residential - spacing of street trees wit}fro single-family residential developments shall be conducted as follows: (a) One (1) tree per lot, evenly spaced, for developments with lots less than 60 linear feet of street frontage. (b) Two (2) trees per lot, evenly spaced for developments with lots greater than 60 linear feet of street frontage. (c) Comer lots for all single-family developments shall require two or more street trees, evenly spaced, depending on the length of frontage on each street for such lots. Multi-Family Residential, Townhome and Non-residential Developments - spacing of street trees within multi-family residential, townhome or non- residential developments shall be one (1) tree for every 45 linear feet of street frontage. Comer lots - street trees on comer lots for all developments shall be located a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet fi.om the property comer adjacent to the street fight-of-way intersection. b. Spacing fi.om Utilities Water and Wastewater Service Lines - no trees shall be planted closer than nine (9) feet from any underground water or wastewater utility connection or main. The location of the water and wastewater utility line shall be considered, for distance purposes, to be the surface of the ground above the line. ii Fire hydrants - no trees shall be planted closer than ten (10) feet fi.om any fire hydrant. Street lighting - street lighting instruments shall be installed according to the design criteria of the electric utility. Individual street light instruments may be substituted in the place of individual street trees in order to reduce tree/instrument conflict. iv Within planting strip - all street trees shall be planted within the centerline of the planting strip running parallel between the curbline and sidewalk. Root Barrier System - spacing requirements from utilities may be reduced at the discretion of the Development Review Committee Chair with a street tree plan submitted and approved which would include the installation of root barrier systems approved of by the Water or Wastewater Department. Spacing from Driveways - no trees shall be planted closer than five (5) feet from any driveway. Tree Species a. Street Tree Species Type - tree species to be used for street trees will come from the City of Denton tree list and be of a medium or large tree variety. Species Diversity - street tree species shall be of the same variety along an individual block. The same species of tree shall not be used on streets which are generally parallel and within two (2) blocks apart. If a species of tree is approved to be installed on the dead-end street, the same species of tree should be used on the extension of the street into the new subdivision. M~mtenance a. Street trees shall be maint~tned by the adjoining property owner. It is the adjoining property owner's responsibility to thin, prune, spray, water and fertilize, and otherwise maintain street trees, as may be deemed necessary and feasible. All incurred costs are to be borne by the property owner. Tree Canopy height - The street tree shall be maintained by pruning, thinning and other necessary care by the adjacent property owner to ensure a minimum clearance of fiiteen (15) vertical feet from the eurbline to any intruding canopy branches. Removal of Trees or Plantings in Public Right-of-Way: The City may remove any planting which constitutes a hazard or may endanger the health, well-being or property of the public or which constitutes an obstruction to the vision of truffle. Tree Replacement: The City may replace an approved street tree or other planting which has died or may have been removed for any reason, or plant additional street trees deemed appropriate and consistent with available resources. Abuse or Mutilation: It shall be unlawful for any person to break, destroy, or mutilate any approved street tree, or to set fire or permit any fire to cause damage to any portion of any street tree, or to attach or place any rope or wire, sign, poster or other device on any street tree.