§ 15-301. Required; application.

(a)

No land clearing, mass grading, fill or excavation shall occur in the county without first obtaining all applicable development approvals, including tree removal permits, preliminary subdivision plan or development plan approval with concurrent tree removal approval. Tree removal permits shall be obtained from the zoning manager, except as provided in section 15-279. The zoning manager may issue a tree removal permit for specific trees as requested on the application.

(b)

As a condition of approval of a tree removal permit the project site shall not be left in a barren, undeveloped state without commencement of construction within ninety (90) days of land clearing activities or the appropriate buffers shall be provided in accordance with section 15-301(c). If construction plan, preliminary subdivision plan or development plan approval is not obtained with concurrent tree removal approval, undisturbed buffers shall be maintained in accordance with section 15-301(c). In all circumstances, adequate wind and water erosion control measures, including seeding and/or sodding are required per applicable county code.

(c)

As a condition of a tree removal permit that is not concurrent with a preliminary subdivision plan, development plan or building permit, protection zones A and B (see section 15-301(e) shall remain undisturbed and in their natural state (trees, shrubs or ground cover cannot be removed) with the exception of an approved area for ingress and egress. Except for approved areas for ingress and egress, no protected trees shall be removed from the protected zones. If there is not sufficient existing vegetation to provide a visual screen of interior tree removal, a landscape screen shall be installed. This screen shall consist of a minimum of ten (10) feet tall, three (3) inch caliper canopy trees planted twenty-five (25) feet on center and shrubs a minimum of thirty-six (36) inches in height at the time of planting, planted thirty (30) inches on center. At the discretion of the zoning manager, an eight (8) foot tall opaque fence or a combination of said fence and landscape screen could be allowed to provide this visual barrier. All such vegetation shall be irrigated. Permittee must ensure survival until development occurs.

(d)

An application for tree removal shall be obtained from the zoning manager.

(1)

For tree removal requests concurrent with PSP, development plan or building permit: The PSP submittal or building permit submittal shall not require a separate tree removal application, but will be required to include all information per Section 15-301(e). The number of copies of the submittal documents shall equal the number of copies required by the concurrent building permit or preliminary subdivision plan application.

(2)

For other tree removal applications (except as described in section 15-304): Tree removal permit applications that do not accompany a concurrent preliminary subdivision plan, development plan or building permit application, shall include two (2) copies of the tree survey and two (2) copies of the submittal documents.

(e)

Complete applications shall include the following information:

(1)

A sealed or certified tree survey prepared by a professional surveyor (as defined in section 15-277) consisting of a drawing (one (1) inch equals three hundred (300) feet or better). The tree survey shall have been completed within two (2) years from the date of the application. Each survey shall indicate the following information:

a.

Property boundaries.

b.

Protected trees, as identified in the following protection zones: (These requirements apply to parent tracts.)

1.

Protection Zone 'A' the area of the site located adjacent to any existing and opened public right-of-way. The depth of this area for parcels larger than ten (10) acres shall measure two hundred (200) feet; for parcels five (5) to ten (10) acres it shall measure one hundred fifty (150) feet; for parcels equal to or greater than one (1) acre and less than five (5) acres it shall measure one hundred (100) feet; and for parcels less than one (1) acre it shall measure fifty (50) feet. Protected trees in this area shall include all trees, on the recommended stock list, which are eight (8) inches DBH or greater. (For the purpose of meeting the requirements of section 15-301(c) of this article, Zone 'A' shall remain a minimum of two hundred (200) feet.

2.

Protection Zone 'B' the area of the site located along the side and rear property lines not including any portion of Protection Zone 'A.' The depth of this area for parcels larger than ten (10) acres shall measure one hundred (100) feet; for parcels five (5) to ten (10) acres it shall measure seventy-five (75) feet; for parcels equal to or greater than one (1) acre and less than five (5) acres it shall measure fifty (50) feet; and for parcels less than one (1) acre it shall measure twenty-five (25) feet. Protected trees in this area shall include all trees, on the recommended stock list, which are ten (10) inches DBH or greater. (For the purpose of meeting the requirements of section 15-301(c) of this article, Zone 'B' shall remain a minimum of one hundred (100) feet.

3.

Protection Zone 'C' the area of the site not located within protection Zones 'A' or 'B.' Protected trees in this area shall include all trees, on the recommended stock list, which are twenty-four (24) inches DBH or greater.

c.

All protected trees described in the protection zones above and preserved trees, as defined in this article, shall be identified with the following information:

1.

Location.

2.

DBH.

3.

Common name.

4.

Identification of specimen trees, if appropriate.

(2)

In addition to the tree survey, each tree removal application or request shall indicate the following information:

a.

An indication of the surveyed trees proposed for removal.

b.

An indication of the trees to be preserved and protected.

c.

Identification of existing and proposed easements.

d.

Identification of waterbodies, wetland and other conservation areas.

e.

An indication of existing and proposed improvements to the site, including proposed grading plan (if not part of a preliminary subdivision plan or development plan).

f.

Removal and replacement calculation, including a schedule of trees to be planted indicating species, size, caliper, and location per section 15-283.

(Ord. No. Code 1965, § 19A-46; Ord. No. 85-33, § 6, 12-9-85; Ord. No. 91-29, § 2(Exh. A), 12-10-91; Ord. No. 2001-19, § 9, 11-6-01)