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City of San Mateo Municipal Code.

13.40.030 Definitions

Terms used in this chapter shall be defined as follows:

(a) Administrative Guidelines means Director-approved regulations implementing this Chapter.

(b) Best Management Practices means the current edition of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) "Best Management Practices" publications.

(c) Certified Arborist means an arborist certified by the ISA.

(d) City Arborist means any Certified Arborist designated by the City to perform arborist functions on behalf of the City.

(e) City Manager means City Manager or his or her designee.

(f) Commission means the Park and Recreation Commission of the City.

(g) Construction Activity means any construction work associated with or requiring a permit for any new building, building addition, building demolition, grading, excavation or paving. This includes the necessary related activities which may or may not be shown on site plans, including but not limited to: storing/staging of materials, site access, parking, placement of temporary structures, debris disposal, additional excavation and landscaping.

(h) Damage means any act inconsistent with Best Management Practices, without prior approval from the City Arborist. "Damage" includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Removal of bark greater than 3" across;

(2) Breaking, splitting or dislocation of the main trunk;

(3) Cutting, ripping, or tearing of roots greater that 2 inches in diameter;

(4) Grade changes or soil compaction beneath the Dripline;

(5) Any act compromising its future health or structural integrity;

(6) Any act detrimental to its overall aesthetics;

(7) Pruning a tree incrementally within any three-year period for the purpose of staying below the 25% threshold, with a cumulative effect that harms the condition or aesthetics of the tree; or

(8) Any act inconsistent with Best Management Practices.

(i) Director means the Director of Parks and Recreation or his or her designee.

(j) Dripline means the area underneath the tree's canopy and defined by the outermost spread of the tree's canopy.

(k) Heritage Tree means any of the following:

(1) Any oak (Quercus spp.) tree with a trunk that has a diameter of ten inches or more (31.4 inches in circumference) measured at 54 inches above natural grade;

(2) Any other tree with a trunk diameter of fifteen inches (47.1 inches in circumference) or more, measured at 54 inches above natural grade.

(3) Multi-stem trees. Trees with more than one stem (arising at or below 54 inches) shall be measured at the smallest diameter point below the main union of all stems unless the union occurs below grade, in which case each stem shall be measured as a stand-alone tree. For oak trees, if one stem is ten inches or more in diameter, the tree will constitute one Heritage Tree. For all other species, if one stem is fifteen inches or more in diameter, the tree will constitute one Heritage Tree.

(4) Any tree or stand of trees designated by resolution of the City Council to be of special historical value or of significant community benefit; or

(5) A stand of trees, the nature of which makes each dependent on the others for survival.

(l) Major Pruning means any Pruning of a Street Tree or removal of more than 25% of the crown or existing foliage of the Heritage Tree, or any root cutting within a radius of six times the trunk diameter, topping, or any other Pruning that has the potential to negatively affect the condition of a tree as determined by the Managing Arborist in accordance with the current editions of the American National Standards Institute A-300 Best Management Practices.

(m) Managing Arborist means a Certified Arborist appointed by the Director to manage the City's tree programs.

(n) Project Arborist means an ISA Certified Arborist designated to evaluate the potential impacts of Construction Activity on Protected Trees, write specifications for tree preservation, oversee Construction Activity within the Dripline of Protected Trees and other necessary activities as determined by the City Arborist.

(o) Protected Tree means a Heritage Tree, a Street Tree, or a tree designated as protected as part of an approved Planning Application that is subject to Chapter 27.71.

(p) Prune means to remove any limb, branch, foliage, or root of a tree.

(q) Removal means:

(1) Cutting to the ground, complete extraction, or killing by spraying, girdling, or any other means; or.

(2) Major Pruning not done in conformance with a Major Pruning Permit.

(r) Replacement Value means the cost to replace a tree as determined by the City Arborist, utilizing the most recent edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal, published by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers.

(s) Street means "Public Right of Way" or all the land which has been dedicated, or condemned, or established by use for a public thoroughfare whether paved or unpaved, in whole or in part, except state highways and freeways.

(t) Street Tree means any woody perennial plant having a single main axis or stem capable of achieving ten feet or more in height, growing along or within public right of way or planted within public right of way or a designated planting easement.

(u) Street Tree Master Plan means the document which designates species of trees which may be planted on each street by block.

(v) Tree Protection Plan means a written plan for the preservation of Protected Trees approved by the City Arborist in compliance with this Chapter.

(w) Tree Protection Zone (TPZ) means the area surrounding a tree to be protected based upon tree species, age, health, soil, and proposed construction. The TPZ shall have a radius measured from the trunk equal to ten times the diameter of the trunk measured at 54" above grade or as otherwise specified by a Project Arborist and approved by the City Arborist.