Sec. 3.1801 Intent
The intent of this article is to preserve existing trees of certain species, and to provide for the replacement of trees that are necessarily removed during construction or development. No clear-cutting of land is allowed in the city or on land under the cityβs jurisdiction.
Sec. 3.1802 Applicability
This article applies to all tracts of land within the City of Oak Leaf and its extraterritorial jurisdiction area, as well as any area subsequently annexed by the city with the following exceptions:
(1) Previously platted residential lots.
(2) Any unplatted parcel, less than five (5) acres, that contains an occupied building which has a valid Certificate of Occupancy.
(3) All licensed tree nurseries only in relation to those trees planted and growing on the premises that are for sale or intended sale to the general public in the ordinary course of such licensed business.
(4) All easements and rights-of-way, other than drainage easements, that are on a recorded plat approved by the city and filed in the plat records of Ellis County.
Sec. 3.1803 Definitions
Caliper. The average diameter of the trunk of the tree as measured at 42″ above natural grade. On multi-trunk trees, the caliper of the largest trunk, plus 1/2 of each additional trunkβs caliper shall be added to determine the caliper.
Clear-Cutting. The indiscriminant removal of protected trees from a parcel or tract of land.
Critical Root Zone. An area extending five (5) feet beyond the outermost drip line of the tree.
Principal Building. For the purposes of this article, any building which is the first building permitted for construction on a lot or tract of land, or any subsequent building which shall serve as the primary residence or occupied building on the lot or tract of land.
Tree Survey Date. For purposes of establishing the age of the tree survey, the first date that field observations were made by the preparer.
Protected Tree.
(1) Any tree with a caliper of 12″ or greater of any species; or
(2) Any tree with a caliper of 6″ or greater of any species that is not one of the following: mesquite, bois dβarc, thorny honey locust, hackberry, cottonwood, cedar, chinaberry (common), native black willow, native red or white mulberry.
Sec. 3.1804 Tree Preservation and Protection
(a) No person, directly or indirectly, shall cut down, destroy, remove or move, or effectively destroy through damaging, any protected tree regardless of whether the protected tree is on private property or the abutting public right-of-way, as described in Section 3.1802, applicability, with the following exceptions:
(1) During a period of emergency, such as a tornado, storm, flood or other act of God, the requirements of this article may be waived as may be deemed necessary by the City of Oak Leaf designated emergency management coordinator (EMC) or, if unavailable, by the EMC equivalent from the Federal, State of Texas, or Ellis County Governments.
(2) If any protected tree is determined to be in a hazardous or dangerous condition so as to endanger the public health, welfare or safety, and requires immediate remove without delay, authorization for removal may be given by the Oak Leaf City Emergency Management Coordinator or other designee of the City, and such a protected tree may then be removed without obtaining a written permit as required in this article and the fees, restitution, and penalties will not apply.
(3) Utility service providers may do routine maintenance that is necessary for insuring reliable transmission and delivery service within their approved easements, and, or rights-of-ways.
(b) No clear-cutting of land is allowed.
(c) A tree preservation plan must be submitted with all request to plat new subdivisions or developments, and again with all requests for permits for any type of construction. If the site of development or construction does not contain any protected trees, a verification letter of no protected trees shall be submitted to the city that attests that protected trees are not on the property and that the person making this determination is qualified to do so. Persons who may prepare the tree preservation plan or verification letter include registered surveyors, professional engineers, architects, landscape architects, arborists, or other qualified licensed professional(s). The letter must contain a statement affirming the author is qualified to prepare such document and listing his/her state license number or other certificates of documentation. The tree preservation plan or verification letter of no protected trees must be submitted to and approved by the city prior to the removal of any trees on the site. If there are no trees present of any type in the area of construction on previously platted residential lots, making no expertise necessary for determining the type and size of trees, landowners may submit a verification letter of no protected trees on their own behalf.
(d) The tree preservation plan must include a site map including, but not limited to, the following information:
(1) Delineation of site boundaries.
(2) Location of all existing or proposed structures, construction activities and improvements (e.g., streets, alleys, easements, building lines, drainage ways, major grade changes, etc.).
(3) Location, species and caliper of all trees within 100′ of any proposed construction activities which have a caliper of 6″ or greater, except species may be omitted if all trees over 6″ will be protected.
(4) Trees proposed for preservation.
(5) Trees proposed for removal.
(6) Tree replacement proposal.
(7) Location of any existing or proposed utility lines.
The tree preservation plan must be based upon a tree survey, which is less than two years old at the time of submittal for platting and subdividing permits. Requests for building permits may use an existing city-approved tree survey, which is up to five years old at the time of the building permit application submittal, if available.
(e) Trees to be preserved must be protected during construction activities by the following measures:
(1) No grade changes, or trenching, shall be allowed within the critical root zone without prior city approval.
(2) For trees within 50′ of a construction area, temporary barriers shall be erected to protect the critical root zone.
(3) No construction or waste materials shall be stored, placed or disposed of within the critical root zone. This includes without limitation paints, oils, solvents, asphalt, concrete, mortar, lumber or other similar materials.
(4) No asphalt, concrete or other impervious material shall encroach within the critical root zone, except, when necessary, and with prior city approval, these materials may be placed within 5 feet of the trunk so long as at least 2/3rds of the critical root zone remains undisturbed.
(5) No parking or vehicular traffic shall be allowed within the critical root zone. This restriction does not apply to the clearing of underbrush or of approved construction activities within the critical root zone.
Sec. 3.1805 Removal, Maintenance and Replacement of Trees
(a) Dead trees may be removed at any time, and shall not be considered in the tree preservation plan. This shall not require city approval under this article.
(b) Any tree may be reasonably pruned for aesthetic, maintenance, disease control, or safety reasons. This shall not require city approval.
(c) No protected tree shall be pruned in a manner that significantly disfigures the tree or in a manner that would reasonably lead to the death of the tree.
(d) Trees, which are to be removed for disease or safety reasons, shall be approved by the city prior to cutting. Factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, the overall health of the tree, the potential for adverse impacts of both leaving and removing the tree, and aesthetic value. This requirement shall not apply to any trees included in the percentage of trees allowed to be removed in accordance with subsections (e) and (f) of this section.
(e) Up to 20% of the total caliper inches of existing, protected trees may be proposed for removal during the development process (i.e., the grading, road, drainage and utility construction of the subdivision) without replacing any trees. Any tree 12″ caliper or greater may not be included in the 20% exemption.
(f) Up to 20% of the total caliper inches of existing, protected trees on each lot may be proposed for removal during the construction of a new dwelling or other building without replacing any trees. Any tree 12″ caliper or greater may not be included in the 20% exemption.
(g) Removal of a greater percentage of trees than that allowed above shall require the planting of new trees on a 100% replacement rate. That is, for each caliper inch of protected trees removed (in excess of the allowed percentages), new trees with an equivalent aggregate total number of caliper inches must be replanted. Multiple trees may be used to achieve the required total number of caliper inches, but replacement trees must be at least 2″ each, except, when replacing a protected tree which had a caliper greater than 16″, at least two 5″ trees shall be included in the total. New trees must be chosen from the list of protected species in the Acceptable Replacement Tree Appendix, Section 3.1808 of this article. (All caliper measurements are at 42 inches above grade.)
(h) For the purpose of replacement trees, existing non-protected trees which meet minimum size requirements may be preserved instead of planting replacement trees. Species protected by this article which are between 3″ and 6″ shall count 100 % (i.e., inch-for-inch). Unprotected species shall be a minimum of 6″ caliper and count only 50% (i.e., a 6″ unprotected tree will count as a 3″ replacement tree).
(i) At the request of the applicant, replacement trees may be planted on city property in lieu of the property under construction/development, with prior city approval.
(j) A tree identified on the tree preservation plan that is replaced but dies within one year of the date it was planted must be replaced in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(k) All replacement trees must be of a species included in the Approved Replacement Tree List in Section 3.1808.
Sec. 3.1806 Fees and Implementation
(a) New Development. Review and verification of tree preservation plans shall be performed by the cityβs consulting engineering firm in conjunction with other portions of the application. Fees shall be billed to the applicant as per Appendix A, Fee Schedule. Any cost incurred by the city for review, oversight, and verification in excess of collected fees as established in the fee schedule, will be the responsibility of the applicant and must be reimbursed to the city. Final plat approval shall not be granted until all fees have been paid in full by the applicant and, if applicable, all penalties and any required restitution has been satisfied as well. The city may also withhold construction permits and occupancy permits if necessary until payment is made in full.
(b) Residential Building Permits. A fee, as prescribed in Appendix A, Fee Schedule, shall be assessed per individual platted lot for the cityβs costs incurred including the initial review and field verification of tree preservation plans required for the issuance of a residential building permit. Each subsequent revised submittal shall be charged a reduced fee equivalent to the βre-inspection fee.β Fees are due at time of submittal. If no trees are going to be affected by construction as defined in Section 3.1804, a letter certifying no trees will be affected may be submitted with the accompanied reduced fee equal to the βre-inspection fee.β
(c) Non-Residential Building Permits. A fee, as prescribed in Appendix A, Fee Schedule, shall be assessed per acre for non-residential building permits for the cityβs costs incurred including the initial review and field verification of tree preservation plans required for the issuance of a non-residential building permit. Each subsequent revised submittal shall be charged a reduced fee equivalent to the βre-inspection fee.β Fees are due at time of submittal. If no trees are going to be affected by construction as defined in Section 3.1804, a letter certifying no trees will be affected may be submitted with the accompanied reduced fee.
(d) Letters of No Protected Trees. Fees shall be assessed at the reduced fee rate shown in Article 2.000, Section 2.100(3)(J), for review and field verification of βNo Protected Tree Lettersβ when submitted.
Sec. 3.1807 Enforcement and Penalties
(a) No plat for new developments or subdivisions of property shall be approved, nor any building or construction permit issued, without an approved tree preservation plan or a verification letter of no protected trees. Permanent certificate of occupancy shall not be issued nor valid without all submittals, fees, and approval and, if applicable, all penalties and restitution being satisfied.
(b) Cutting down, destroying, removing, moving or pruning that significantly disfigures or pruning in a manner that significantly disfigures the tree in a manner that would reasonably lead to the death of any tree shall be subject to fines as established in Article 2.000, Section 2.400 Entitled Tree Preservation and Enforcement Related Fees.
(c) Each individual tree damaged or removed in violation of this article shall constitute a separate offense and restitution shall be made fully, as well as payment of penalties up to the applicable amounts in Article 2.000, Section 2.400 shall be required.
(Ordinance 0501 adopted 3/8/05)
Sec. 3.1808 Acceptable Replacement Tree List
The City of Oak Leaf Approved Replacement Tree List.
(*) Reflects trees and plants preferred due to their lower water demand and/or high pest resistance.
Large Trees:
Pine (Afgan*)
Bald Cypress
Maple (Caddo)
Black Walnut
Black Hickory*
Oak (Bur*, Live, Chinquapin*, Shumard Red*, and Texas Red*)
Elm (Cedar* and Lacebark*)
Chinese Pistachio*
Ash (Texas* and White)
Sycamore
Sweetgum
Sugarberry*
Southern Magnolia
Pecan
Western Soapberry*
Honey Locust (Thornless)*
Deodor Cedar
Ornamental Flowering Trees: Small Trees:
Pear (Aristocrat and Bradford) Juniper, Ashe*
Crepe Myrtle Buckthorn, Carolina*
Crabapple, Flowering Desert Willow*
Maple, Japanese Redbud (Eastern*, Forest and Oklahoma*)
Pansy* Mountain Laurel*
Plum, (Mexican* and Purple) Japanese Black Pine
Golden Raintree Yaupon Holly*
SmokeTree* Possumhaw*
Little Gem Magnolia Texas Persimmon*
Yaupon Holly*
(Ordinance 0501 adopted 3/8/05)
