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HomeMy WebLinkAbout74-10 ORDINANCE NO. 74-10: AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF DUTCH ELM DISEASE, OAK WILT DI. SEASE AND OTHER EPIDEMIC DI. SEASES OF SHADE TREES WITHIN THE CITY OF PRIOR LAKE. The City Council of the City of Prior Lake, Prior Lake, Minneosta, does hereby ordain as follows: Section I. DECLARATION OF POLICY: The Coun- cil of the City of Prior Lake has determined that the health of elm and oak trees within the City limits is threatened by fatal tree diseases commonly known as Dutch Elm and Oak Wilt diseases. It has further determined that the loss of elm and oak trees growing upon public and private property would substantially depreciate the value of the property withjn the City and impair the safety, good order, general welfare and convenience of the public. It is declared to be the intention of the Council to control and prevent the spread of these diseases and other epidemic diseases of shade trees, and this Ordinance is enacted for that purpose. Section II. FORESTER: A. POSITION CREATED: The powers and duties of the City Forester as set forth in this Ordinance are hereby conferred upon the persons or employees within the Administrator's Office of the City of Prior Lake whom the Council shall deem appropriate. B. DUTIES OF FORESTER: It is the duty of the forester to coordinate under the direction of the .Council all activities of the City relating to the control and prevention of Dutch Elm disease, Oak Wilt disease and other epidemic diseases of shade trees. He shall recommend to the Council the details of a program for the control of said diseases and shall perform the duties incident to such a program adopted by the Council. Section III. EPIDEMIC DISEASE PROGRAM: A. INTENT: It is the intention of the Council to conduct a program of plant pest control pursuant to the authority granted by Minnesota Statutes 1961, Section 18.022, as amended. This program is directed specifically at the control and elimination of the Dutch Elm disease fungus, elm bark bettIes and the Oak Wilt fungus, and it is undertaken at the recommendation of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Minnesota. The City Forester shall act as coordinator between the Commissioner of Agriculture and the Council in the conduct of this program. Section IV. NUISANCES DECLARED: A. PUBLIC NUISANCES: The following things are public nuisances whenever they may be found within the City of Prior Lake. 1. Any living or standing elm tree or part thereof infected to any degree with the Dutch Elm disease fungus. Ceratocystis ulmi (Buisman) Moreau, or which harbors any 'of the elm bark beetles Scolytus Multistriatus (Eichh) or Hylurgopinus rufipes (Marsh). 2. Any dead elm tree or part thereof, including, but not limited to logs, branches, stumps, roots, firewood or other elm material, which has not been stripped of its bark and burned or sprayed with an effective elm bark beetle insecticide. 3. Any living or standing oak tree or part thereof infected to any degree with the Oak Wilt fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum. 4. Any dead oak tree or part thereof, which in the opinion of the forester constitutes a hazard, including, but not limited to, logs, branches, stumps, roots, firewood or other oak material, which has not been stripped of its bark and burned or sprayed with an effective fungicide. S. Other shade trees with epidemic diseases. B. ABATEMENT: It is unlawful for any person to permit any public nuisance, as defined in Section 4, to remain on any premises owned or controlled by him within the City of Prior Lake. Such nuisances may be abated in the manner prescribed by this Ordinance. C. VIOLATIONS: Any owner of real estate in the City who is notified of the existence of diseased trees on his property as provided in Section 7 A (2) must within ten (10) days after receipt of said notice cut down said diseased trees and remove all parts, branches, stumps and brush there- from from the City, or take said parts, branches, stumps and brush to a place that may be designated from time to time by the City Council, if it is possible to obtain the use of such place. The Forester shall burn said parts, etc. Section V. INSPECTION AND INVESTIGATION: A. ANNUAL INSPECTION: The forester shall inspect all public and private places within the City which might harbor plant pests, as defined in Minnesota Statutes 18.46, Subdivision 13, as hereafter amend- ed as often as practicable to determine whether any condition described in Section 4 of this Ordinance exists thereon. He shall investigate all reported incidents of infection or infestation by the Dutch Elm fungus, elm bark beetles, Oak Wilt fungus, or any other epidemic diseases of shade trees. The term "private place" means every place except the private home. B. ENTRY ON PUBLIC AND PRIV ATE PLACES: The forester or his duly authorized agents may enter upon all public and private places at any reasonable time for the purposes of carrying out any of the duties assigned him under this Ordinance. C. DIAGNOSIS: The forester shall, upon finding conditions indicating Dutch Elm or Oak Wilt infestation, or other epidemic diseases of shade trees, immediately send appropriate specimens or samples to the Commissioner of Agriculture or to any qualified laboratory for analysis, or take such other steps for diagnosis as may be recommended by the Commissioner. Ex- cept as provided in Section 7, no action to remove infected trees or wood shall be taken until positive diagnosis. Section VI. ABATEMENT OF EPIDEMIC TREE DISEASE NUISANCES: In abating the nuisances defined in Section 4, the forester shall cause the infected tree or wood to be sprayed, removed, burned, or otherwise effectively treated so as to destroy and prevent as fully as possible the spread of epidemic diseases of shade trees, including but not limited to, the Dutch Elm disease and the associated elm bark beetles, and Oak Wilt disease. To prevent root graft transmission of the diseases, a barrier should be created between diseased and healthy trees, either by treating the soil surrounding the diseased trees with a fumigant, sodium N-Methyldithiocarba- mate (SMDC), presently sold under the trade names V AP AM and VPM or by digging a trench 30 inches deep in the soil surrounding the diseased trees. Such abatement procedure shall be carried out in accordance with current technical and expert opinions and plans as may be designated by the Commissioner of Agriculture. Section VII. PROCEDURE FOR REMOV AL OF INFECTED TREES AND WOOD: A. Whenever the forester finds with reasonable certainty that the infestation defined in Section 4 exists in any tree or wood in any public or private place in the City of Prior Lake, he shall proceed as follows: 1. If the forester finds that the danger of infestation of other elm or oak trees is not imminent because of the dormancy of the infected tree or trees, he shall make a written report of his finding to the City Council which shall proceed by a. abating the nuisance as a public improvement under Minnesota Statutes Ch. 429 or (b) abating the nuisance as provided in Section 7B hereof. 2. If the forester finds that danger of infestation of other elm or oak trees is imminent, he shall notify the abutting property owner by certified mail that the nuisance will be abated within a specified time, not less than 5 days from the date of mailing of such notice. The forester shall immediately report such action to the Council and after the expiration of the time limited by the notice he may abate the nuisance. B. Upon receipt of the forester's report, described in Section 7 A (l). the City Council shall by resolution order the nuisance abated. Before action is taken on such resolution, the Council shall publish notice of its intention to meet to consider taking action to abate the nuisance. This notice shall be mailed to affected property owners and published once no less than four days prior to such meeting. The notice shall state the time and place of the meeting, the streets affected, the action proposed, the estimated cost of the abatement, and the proposed basis of assessment, if any, of costs. At such hearing or adjournment thereof, t.he Council shall hear property owners With reference to the scope and desirability of the proposed project. The Council shall thereafter adopt a resolution confirming the original resolution with such modifica- tions as considered desirable, and the Council shall provide for the doing of the work by day labor or by contract. C. The forester shall keep a record of the costs of abatements done under this Ordinance and shall report monthly all work done to the City Administrator or other appropriate officer for which assess- ments are to be made, stating and certifying the description of the land, lots, parcels involved and the amount assess- able to each. D. On or before September 1 of each year, the Administrator shall list the t?tal unpaid charges for each abatement agamst each separate lot or parcel to which they are attributable under'this Ordinance. The Council may then spread the charges or any portion thereof against the property involved as a special assessment under Minnesota Statutes Section 429.101, Cis amended, and other pertinent statutes, for certification to the county auditor and collection the following year along with current taxes. Such assessment shall be payable in a single installment, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 429.101, Sub- division 2. Section VIII. SPRAYING ELM TREES: A. Whenever the forester determines that any elm tree or elm wood within the City of Prior Lake is infected with the Dutch Elm fungus, he may spray all nearby high value elm trees with an effective elm bark beetle insecticide. Spraying activities authorized by this Ordinance shall be conducted in accordance with technical and expert opinions and plans of the Commis- sioner of Agriculture and under the supervjsion of the Commissioner and his agents whenever possible. B. The notice provisions of Section 7 A (2) apply to spraying operations conducted under this Ordinance. Section IX. TRANSPORTING ELM WOOD PRO- HIBITED: It is unlawful for any person to transport on public roads within the City of Prior Lake any bark-bearing elm or oak wood without having obtained permission from the forester. The forester shall grant such permission only when the purposes of this Ordinance will be served thereby. Section X. INTERFERENCE PROHIBITED: It is unlawful for any person to prevent, delay or interfere with the forester or his agents while they are engaged in the performance of duties set forth in this Ordinance. Section XI. PENALTY: Any person, firm or corpora- tion, who violates Sections 4C, 9 and 10 of this Ordinance, is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punished by a fine of not to exceed $100 or imprisonment for 90 days. Section XII. SEVERABILITY: If any provision of this Ordinance shall be adjudged void or of no effect, for any reason whatsoever, such decision shall not affect the validity of any of the other provisions of this Ordinance. Section XIII. This Qrdinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days from date of publication. Adopted: Published: Isl Walter A. Stock Walter A. Stock, May~r Isl Michael A. McGuire Attest: Michael A. McGuire, City Administrator Published in the Prior Lake Nov. 6, 1974. American,