5746ORDINANCE NO. 5746
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM ADDING
CHAPTER 6.46 TO TITLE 6 OF THE ANAHEIM MUNICIPAL
CODE RELATING TO TREE TRIMMING AND REMOVAL FOR
OVERHEAD ELECTRICAL LINE CLEARANCE
WHEREAS, the California Public Utilities Commission has
promulgated an order establishing mandatory standards for the
separation required between overhead power lines and apparatus and
any trees, foliage or vegetation which may endanger the reliability
and safety of such wires and apparatus; and
WHEREAS, the Anaheim Public Utilities Department is charged
with enforcing the power line clearance standards set by the State of
California with the limited funds available to the City of Anaheim
for that purpose; and
WHEREAS, the public health, safety and welfare will be
protected and enhanced by incorporating the state power line
clearance standards as well as appropriate enforcement procedures
relating to those standards into the Anaheim Municipal Code;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 6.46 is hereby added to Title 6 to the Anaheim
Municipal Code to read as follows:
116.46 TRIMMING OF TREES FOR ELECTRICAL LINE CLEARANCE
6.46.010 The following definitions shall apply to this
Chapter:
A. "Director" shall be the Director of Community Services
or his or her designee.
B. "City" shall mean the City of Anaheim.
C. "Electrical Line" shall be any overhead conductor which
carries electrical current of 750 volts or more directly or
indirectly to electric utility customers, whether located over
private property or the utility right of way.
D. "Transformer" shall be any device placed or mounted on
any power pole for the purpose of altering the voltage or amperage of
an electrical line.
E. "Apparatus" shall be any device which is a part of the
electrical distribution system which is not otherwise defined in this
Chapter and is mounted either on a utility pole or an electrical
wire.
6.46.020 No person or entity that owns any lot or private
premises shall allow or permit any tree, vegetation or foliage to
endanger the public health, safety and welfare because of the
proximity of such tree, vegetation or foliage to any overhead
electrical line, transformer or apparatus. Trees, vegetation or
other foliage shall constitute a danger to the public health, safety
and welfare when any foliage or limb of any tree or other vegetation
is within eighteen inches (18") of an overhead electrical line,
transformer or other overhead apparatus under conditions of no wind.
6.46.030 Upon a determination by the Director that a
violation of Section 6.46.020 exists on any lot or private premises,
the City may, for the purpose of abating the danger to public health,
safety and welfare, trim or prune any tree, foliage or vegetation
maintained or allowed to exist upon said property in violation of the
provisions of this Chapter at the expense of the City. Trees, foliage
or vegetation in the immediate proximity of electrical wires carrying
less than 750 volts may also be trimmed to provide a reasonable
separation from such wires.
6.46.040 In the event the pruning or trimming at City
expense once in any period of twelve consecutive months as provided
for in this Chapter is insufficient to prevent any tree, foliage or
vegetation from creating a violation of this Chapter, and the owner
thereof does not sufficiently prune or trim said tree or vegetation
to prevent a violation of this Chapter, the City may, with the
written consent of the owner of such property and at the expense of
the City, enter and remove any tree or other vegetation which
endangers the public health, safety and welfare on any lot or private
premises which requires trimming by the City in excess of once per
consecutive twelve month period in order to maintain eighteen inch
(18") clearance from overhead electrical lines, transformers or
apparatus.
6.46.050 If the City is denied permission to remove a tree
or other vegetation which requires trimming by the City more than
once per consecutive twelve month period to meet the requirements of
this Chapter, the Director of Community Services may send written
notice to the owner of such lot or premises and posted on the lot or
private premises notifying the owner of the violation of this
Chapter. The notice provided hereunder shall require the owner to
trim or remove such tree or vegetation to provide sufficient
clearance to the overhead electrical line, transformer or apparatus
and advise such owner that if such removal or trimming has not been
completed within twenty one (21) days following the date of such
E
notice, the City or its authorized contractor may enter upon the
property with permission or under such warrant or other authority as
may be required and cause such tree or vegetation to be trimmed at
the expense of the property owner.
6.46.060 In the event that inclement weather conditions
including, but not limited to high winds, create a situation of
imminent peril to any overhead electrical line, transformer or
apparatus as a result of any tree or other vegetation upon a property
being within eighteen (18) inches of such overhead lines or
equipment, the notice period provided in Section 6.46.050 may be
waived or reduced at the discretion of the Director.
6.46.070 If the owner of any lot or private premises fails
to trim or remove, or refuses to permit the City to remove, any tree
or vegetation described in Section 6.46.040 within the twenty one day
period described in Section 6.46.050, and the City subsequently
causes such tree to be trimmed in excess of once in any consecutive
twelve month period, the actual cost to the City to trim such tree
for the second and subsequent times during a consecutive twelve month
period, inclusive of the City's usual and customary overhead and
indirect charges, shall constitute a debt owed by the owner thereof
to the City, and the owner shall be liable to the City in a civil
action brought by the City for the recovery of such amounts."
SECTION 2. SEVERABILITY
Should any section, paragraph, sentence or word of this
ordinance of the Code, hereby adopted, be declared for any reason to
be invalid, it is the intent of the Council that it would have passed
all other portions of this ordinance independent of the elimination
herefrom of any such portion as may be declared invalid.
SECTION 3. SAVINGS CLAUSE
Neither the adoption of this ordinance nor the repeal of
any other ordinance of this City shall in any manner affect the
prosecution for violations of ordinances, which violations were
committed prior to the effective date hereof, nor be construed as a
waiver of any license or penalty or the penal provisions applicable
to any violation thereof. The provisions of this ordinance, insofar
as they are substantially the same as ordinance provisions previously
adopted by the City relating to the same subject matter, shall be
construed as restatements and continuations, and not as new
enactments.
3
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE is approved and adopted by the City
Council of the City of Anaheim this 12th day of December ,2000.
ATTEST:
jk�A� a-,-4�
TY CLMK OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
33713.3
11
MAYOR OF TME CITY ANAHEIM
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF ANAHEIM )
I, SHERYLL SCHROEDER, City Clerk of the City of Anaheim, do hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance No. 5746 was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Anaheim, held on the 5th day of December, 2000, and that the same was duly passed and
adopted at a regular meeting of said City Council held on the 12th day of December, 2000, by the
following vote of the members thereof'
AYES:
NOES
ABSENT:
(SEAL)
MAYOR/COUNCIL MEMBERS:
MAYOR/COUNCIL MEMBERS:
MAYOR/COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Feldhaus, Kring, Tait, McCracken, Daly
None
None
zit,624 a 0)ck-'4zw 4.r
dTY CLERA OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM