City will be Clearing Overhanging Trees in Southeast Area
By Vernon Quam, Jamestown City Forester
Starting December 3, the City Street Department Crews will out removing tree and shrub branches that are overhanging streets and alleys in the southeast area and specific locations in other parts of the city.
City Ordinances state that trees must be 16 feet high above the curb to curb. This includes not only boulevard trees but trees in yards that have branches extending over the street.
In alleys, overhanging branches of trees must be 16 feet high and a minimum of 20 feet wide to allow city access and garbage pickup equipment.
Tree branches interfering with the view of Traffic signs and signal clearance shall be removed so as to be easily viewed within a 100 feet of the sign or signal. Any tree or shrub branches affecting vision obstructions at street and alley corners.
Other things that City Crews will watch for include:
1. Any totally dead branches or partially dead branches above the clearance zones should be removed. Once the lower branches are removed these dead branches may lose support and fall later.
2. Any trees that have signs of hollowness in the trunk. These trees should be removed completely. The city forester will be notified to check out the tree and before the removal process.
3. Any trees with stubs left from prior pruning will be removed to a healthy crotch. These stubs maybe dead or dying back and /or have flushes of growth that are weakly attached to the branch and subject to easy breakage in wind or storm.
90% of the trees on the boulevard are American elm, green ash, boxelder, silver maple, linden, cottonwood or other poplar type. The above typical pruning policy will be followed, with the exotic trees that require significant pruning, the city forester will be notified to check out the tree and decide the course of action.
It is the homeowner’s responsibility to maintain the trees. When this responsibility is neglected, it becomes the duty of the city to clear overgrowth that threatens public safety. In some cases the only answer is the removal of the tree or shrub. This is a clearance procedure and should not be mistaken for a complete pruning of the tree. If this is what you expect, have your trees pruned by a local tree service.
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