HomeMy WebLinkAboutCHAPTER 49 CHAPTER 49. VEGETATIVE SIDEWALK & ROADWAY ENCROACHMENTS
Updated 2018 49-1
49. VEGETATIVE SIDEWALK & ROADWAY ENCROACHMENTS
49.01 Legislative Intent. It is declared to be the purpose and intent of this chapter
to protect and preserve this City’s neighborhoods and the public health, safety and welfare
of those who live there. The Rochester Common Council determines that keeping the City’s
public sidewalks & roadways free of encroachments from trees, shrubs, bushes and other
vegetation allows unobstructed use of the sidewalk & roadway and improves the quality of
life of City residents by improving the aesthetics of the City by eliminating obstructions to
travel.
49.02 Nuisance Declared. It shall be unlawful and a public nuisance for any person
having control of any property in the City of Rochester to permit or maintain on such property
any tree, shrub, bush or other vegetation that encroaches over a sidewalk at a height of less
than eight feet or encroaches over a roadway less than a height of fourteen feet or blocks
views related to safe operations. No owner shall permit such encroachments to be a public
nuisance, but shall abate the nuisance by cutting the encroaching trees, shrubs, bushes and
other vegetation and removing the limbs, branches or other clippings.
49.03 Inspections by City Staff . Staff from the City’s Park, Public Works, or Building
Safety Departments shall make such inspections as are necessary to determine whether any
tree, shrub, bush or other vegetation constitute a public nuisance as defined in this chapter.
Upon finding such public nuisance, notice shall be mailed or personally served upon the record
owner of the property ordering such owner to abate the nuisance by removing the
encroachment within 10 days of the mailing of the notice. The notice shall also state that if the
owner fails to do so, the City will cause the vegetation to be cut and the expense thereof, if
unpaid by the owner, to be levied against the benefited property as a special assessment.
Refusal to accept such notice by the owner of the property shall not constitute a defense that
the notice was not received.
49.04 Abatement by City. If such nuisance is not abated within the time permitted in
the notice, the City may remove the encroachment or order the work done by contract in
accordance with the law. City staff shall keep a record of the total cost of the abatement
attributable to each parcel of property and report such information to the City Clerk and other
appropriate staff.
49.05 Owner Liability for Cost. The owner of property on which the encroachment
removal work has been performed shall be liable for the actual cost of th e work, plus such
sums as determined by the City Council to reimburse the City for its costs of inspection. As
soon as the service has been completed and the cost determined, the City shall prepare a
bill and mail it to the owner and thereupon the amount shall be immediately due and payable.
CHAPTER 49. VEGETATIVE SIDEWALK & ROADWAY ENCROACHMENTS
Updated 2018 49-2
If the owner fails to pay the bill, the total charges may be levied as an assessment against
the benefited property under the procedure found in Section 72.11 of this Code.
(4355, 9/17/18)