Policy – Community Services Standardized Urban Forestry Policy The Council of the City of Dawson Creek directs that: To manage arboriculture and maintain and improve upon the City’s urban forests for the purpose of ecological, sociological and economical benefits, steps must be taken to protect the welfare of City’s trees in accordance with the following documentation. This policy applies to trees located on City owned property, including City owned property that is leased and/or operated by another person or another organization. 1. Pruning 1.1. Pruning of newly planted and young trees. 1.1.1. Pruning of newly planted and young trees shall only be performed by a certified arborist unless training is provided to a worker by the certified arborist and permission is granted to that worker by the City’s Parks Manager. 1.1.2. Pruning shall conform to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 regulations: a. remove broken, dead, dying, diseased or damaged branches; b. select and establish a central leader; c. select and establish the lowest permanent branch; d. select and establish scaffold branches; e. select temporary branches below the lowest permanent branch. 1.2. Yearly Routine Pruning of all trees. 1.2.1. Pruning of all trees shall only be performed by a certified arborist unless training is provided to a City worker by the certified arborist and permission is granted to that worker by the City’s Parks Manager. 1.2.2. Pruning shall conform to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 regulations: a. remove broken, dead, dying, diseased or damaged branches; b. remove any crossing or rubbing branches; d. prune for tree hazard management; c. prune to accommodate for clearances. Policy – Community Services 1.3. Pruning equipment shall be sterilized with methyl alcohol or other proven sterilizing chemicals between trees and if a tree shows signs of infection, between each cut. 1.4. No tree shall be topped unless permission is given by the Parks Manager. 1.5. Pollarding shall not be considered recommended practice. 1.6. No climbing spurs or leg irons shall be used on any tree unless it is to be removed. 1.7. No tree shall have a wound dressing applied to an injury. 1.8. No tree shall be pruned for view enhancement (vista pruning), satellite reception, organic deposits (leaves, fruits, and other parts of a tree), tree shading, honey dew drippings from aphids, tree shaping, or to accommodate a view for commercial signage. 2. Tree support systems 2.1. Tree support systems including cabling, bracing, guying, propping and lightning protection shall conform to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 regulations. 2.2. No tree support system shall interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic. 2.3. Tree support systems shall be inspected yearly and a written report will be provided, recognizing the system’s efficacy and safety, from which action will be taken if necessary. 2.4. Tree support systems shall only be installed by a certified arborist. 3. Ice Melting Agents 3.1. Ice melting agents such as, but not limited to, ammonium, calcium chloride and sodium chloride, shall be considered toxic and precaution shall be taken to avoid its use around trees and other non-toxic forms of traction aids shall be used in its place. 3.2. No ice melting agent shall be applied within a minimum of three metres (3 m) from the outer edge of a tree well and not within five metres (5 m) from the dripline of trees that are not planted in a tree well such as green spaces and boulevards, unless written permission in given by the City’s Parks Manager. Policy – Community Services 3.3. It shall be recognized that in an area that permission is granted in regards to the use of ice melting agents within the minimum requirements of the allowable area, trees that have died due to soil toxicity will not be replaced in the particular area that toxicity has occurred from ice melting agents. 4. Fertilizer 4.1. Fertilization of trees shall conform to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 regulations. 4.2. Fertilizer shall not be applied within two years from the original planting date. 4.3. Fertilizer shall not be applied until a fertilizer analysis is completed through a reputable laboratory. 5. Irrigation 5.1. Irrigation installation and maintenance shall conform to the Irrigation Association of British Columbia (IABC) Standards for Landscape Irrigation Systems. 5.2. Newly planted trees in their first year after being planted shall be irrigated least once per week, unless rain fall has proven to be sufficient enough that irrigation is not required, and trees in their second year after being planted should be irrigated at least once per month. 5.3. Minimum irrigation practices shall be used to maintain established ornamental trees. 5.4. Trees that have sustained significant root removal shall be recognized as requiring extra water management. 6. Tree Hazard Management 6.1. Trees in maintained areas within the City limits shall be assessed for hazards once (1) per year in the spring by a certified tree risk management assessor or certified arborist, and findings shall be documented in a Tree Hazard Management Program 6.2. Three (3) major components shall be recognized when assessing a tree for hazards including: the trees potential to fail, an environment that may contribute to that failure and if there is a target. A target shall be considered any person or object that may be injured or damaged by a tree’s failure. Policy – Community Services 6.3. A tree risk hazard consultant may be called in to assess tree hazards if seen fit. 6.4. It shall be recognized that an “act of God” is an occurrence due to natural causes that could not have been prevented by ordinary skill or foresight and it is not the fault of management, the certified tree risk management assessor, or the certified arborist conducting the hazard evaluation if such an “act of God” is to occur. 7. Tree Removal 7.1. Only trees that are suffering from decay or have been damaged to the point where, for safety reasons, they should be removed: and further, that the City shall inform property owners who are having difficulty with root problems in their sewer lines that the only reliable cure is to install a plastic line in place of clay tile pipes. 8. Tree Replacement and New Plantings 8.1. Trees shall be planted in accordance to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 standards. 8.2. Priority shall be given to the replacement of existing tree stock as trees die from decay or have been damaged to the point that safety is an issue, unless replacement is not seen as a benefit for that particular area, in which case a written explanation as to why a tree is not beneficial to that area will be provided by a Certified Arborist and approved by the City’s Parks Manger. 8.3. Secondary priority shall be given to streets and green spaces without trees. 8.4. Any tree that has been removed shall be replaced in an existing location or other location as seen fit by the City’s Parks Manager, provided funding has not been allocated to another project. 8.5. Trees that are suitable for planting shall be shown to be reliable to the Dawson Creek area with good vigor and vitality and show resistance to disease and pests as well as demonstrating good aesthetics and meet with the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) standards. 8.6. The City’s Parks Department shall keep a list of tree species suitable to the Dawson Creek area and review this list every three years in conjunction with the City’s Tree Evaluation Program to determine if a tree species, variety or cultivar should be removed from the list of suitable trees for the Dawson Creek area. Policy – Community Services 8.7. Tree stakes shall be removed one (1) year after the planting date, unless harm will come to the tree from the stakes removal. 8.8. All newly planted trees shall be free of insects, disease and mechanical damage. 8.9. All soil used to back fill planting holes shall be free of invasive and/or noxious weeds recognized by the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands. 8.10. Transgenic (genetically modified) trees shall not be planted within the city limits and no non-indigenous trees that have the potential to naturalize shall be planted within city limits. 8.11. No more than 10% of a species, 20% of a genus, and 30% of a family shall make up the urban tree population to minimize single event decimation. 9. Tree Clearances and Setbacks 9.. Tree clearances for pruning shall conform to the Table 1 as follows: Table 1. Minimum Clearances From To Over Clearance Tree base Scaffold branches Sidewalks and 2.5 m walkways Tree base Scaffold branches City streets 3.5 m Tree base Scaffold branches Truck routes 4.5 m Branches Structure (building) N/A 75 cm Branches Street light N/A 75 cm Branches Street signage N/A 75 cm Stop bar Roadway N/A Line of site Note: Pruning for clearances shall only be completed if it does not drastically affect the natural habit of the tree. Policy – Community Services 9.2. Tree setbacks for planting shall conform to Table 2 as follows: Table 2. Minimum Setbacks From To Setback Fire hydrants, light Trees and shrubs 5 m standards, and street signage. *Above ground electrical Large trees 20 m wires, telephone wires, and Medium trees 10 m (12 m max.