Other Considerations...Ordinances

The City of Stillwater has the right when necessary to spray, preserve, prune, trim or remove trees that are on city property or intrude upon the right-of-way. This is necessary to maintain visibility of traffic signals, insure safety near utility lines and avoid injuries or damage caused by dead or diseased trees.

The City of Stillwater, with guidance from the Tree Board, has developed some ordinances regarding the planting oftrees in the City of Stillwater. These rules were developed because trees planted without some guidance often had to be trimmed or even removed when they interfered with electrical lines and sewers. Trees are valuable to Stillwater, and a good choice when planting avoids trimming or removal later.

The City provides the public with general planning maintenance standards for both public and private property:

• Trees should be planted no closer to any public curb or sidewalk than 3 ft. for small, 4 ft. for medium or 5 ft. for large trees.
• Only those trees listed as small trees may be planted under or within 10 ft. of any overhead utility wire or over or within 5 ft. of any underground water, sewer, electric, telephone, cable or natural gas line. (See illustration below for utility line placing.)
• Any tree, which is planted within a dedicated easement, is subject to damage, pruning, and removal (as necessary) to allow full utilization of the easement and maintenance of the utilities located within it.
• Trees and shrubs should be planted to maintain clear vision at intersections and if planted in the right-oway should be of a type which will grow tall enough so that they will not block drivers' vision to other traffic, pedestrians, signage and traffic control devices.
• All plants should not obstruct access to a fire hydrant, utility meter or utility poles.
• The City has the right to spray or trim trees that are within the right-of-way or that need to be trimmed away from electric utility lines. Property owners should be notified 24 hours prior to the work if the trimming will remove more than branches or any one branch more than one and a half inches in diameter.
• If the City determines a tree on private or public property (often because of death, disease or decay) poses a safety threat, they can order it trimmed or wremoved. Owners of the tree will have 10 days by law to trim or remove the tree or appeal the order.
• Four different departments within the City of Stillwater have jurisdiction over trees, depending on where the tree is located. To reach the right department with a tree-related question or problem it is best to simply call the Tree Board at 742-8342. They will make sure the situation is referred to the proper place.

When planting trees both on private property and along streets the city Tree Board has a list of suitable trees in three size classes: small, medium and large. The list should give you some guidance as to eventual size and characteristics of your tree choice. The list is reprinted at the end of this Section. You must contact the City Forester at 742-8342 if planting a street tree not on the list. A street tree is defined by the city as "all trees and shrubs for which any portion of the trunk is located on street rights-of-way within the city."

In addition to the list of acceptable trees at the end of this chapter, the Tree Board has also developed aTop 12 list. The trees on this list are excellent selections not only to follow the ordinances, but also to grow and thrive in the Stillwater climate and soil.

For more information about trees and your property, contact the City of Stillwater Forester at 742-8342.