Clearfield City Tree Planting Guidelines

The Shade Tree Committee is working hard throughout the City to enhance the community forestry program so that the citizens of Clearfield may all enjoy the benefits of a healthy urban forest. If you have any questions about any of the information found within this brochure, please contact Tracy Heun, Clearfield Parks & Recreation Director at 525-2790.

Caring for a tree involves keeping up a good watering and pruning program, and making sure disease and insects don't riddle it. The result will be a healthy and vigorous tree that is less likely to become a hazardous tree.

How to Prevent the Planting of a Hazardous Tree

1. Use your local nurseries to give you wise information, but know what questions to ask: a) How tall, how wide do they grow? b) What re the problems: For instance, root problems in the lawn, disease, insects, branch breakage, wind damage, how far away from fences or structures, will it tangle with electric lights or lines, etc.

2. Avoid construction and trenching which can weaken trees and cause future toppling or decline.

3. Don't allow the tree to be topped. Find a certified pruning company or get proper pruning instructions. Have the tree pruned properly when it is young and maintain a regular pruning program. Always prune outside the branch collar.

4. Avoid planting brittle species where falling limbs can injure people or property, even when a tree does not look like it would ever loose a limb, storms can make that decision final. Some examples: (Silver Maple, All Willows, Box Elder, Elms, Ash Trees, Tulip Tree, Poplars, Cottonwoods and Zelkova.

5. Plant the right tree in the right place. If you are not sure what tree is best, ask your local nursery or county extension agent. If you are in question about city tree ordinances such as planting certain trees in park strips, contact Tracy at 525-2790.

6. In the Spring and Fall, trees should be fertilized with mixed tree fertilizers. Early spring, midsummer, and late fall, trees need to be deep watered. Water deeply for several hours at a slow trickle, moving the hose every hour so that a broad area is watered all the way around the tree. This may need to be done more often during times of drought or with sandy soil. The deeper the root system, the healthier the tree.

7. Insects can weaken trees and make them susceptible to disease, and either problem can create a hazardous tree. The most common insect which makes a tree hazardous is the borers. Borers are larvae which bore into the trees and tunnel throughout the tree creating weakened trees. Appropriate Street Trees (good for park strips) are: Flowering Plum, Golden Chain Tree, Flowering Pear, Golden Rain Tree, Flowering Cherry, Crape Myrtle, Flowering Crabapple, May Day Tree, Flowering Peach, European Mountain Ash, Almond Tree, Hornbeam Tree, Amur Maple, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Japanese Maple, Linden Tree, Eastern Redbud, Honey Locust, Kentucky Coffee Tree.

Keep in mind that if you have utility wires overhead, tree height is important to consider. Also, many of these trees may give off messy fruit on the sidewalk. Ask your nursery for help in choosing varieties with smaller fruit. A good example of messy fruit is some varieties of crabapple. This list is not all-inclusive and there may be other trees that can be planted with careful consideration. If in doubt, stop by the City for a list of trees that cannot be planted.

Trees Not Allowed Under Clearfield City's Ordinance

The following trees may NOT be planted within fifteen (15) feet of any public sidewalk or curb and gutter, as well as in any park strip: Silver Maple, Box Elder, All Willows, All Poplars, Tree of Heaven, Mulberry, All Elms, Zelkova , All Cottonwoods, Dawn Redwood, Idaho Locust, All Ash Trees, Sycamore Trees, Larger Pines.

These trees are known to raise sidewalks, curb and gutter, invade sewers and water lines with their roots. When many of these trees age they present hazards of broken limbs. Even whole trees can blow over. These hazardous trees are dangerous to people and property.

Other trees not recommended for planting due to their thorns and low branches are as follows: Russian Olive and Hawthorne Trees.

All trees should be such that there is seven (7) feet of distance between the ground and the lowest tree branch to allow for pedestrians to safely pass on sidewalks.

Key Areas of the City's Tree Ordinance:

11-19-18.6: Public Tree Care-the City shall have the right, as determined by its sole discretion, to plant, prune, maintain and remove trees, plants, and shrubs within right-of-ways, streets, and public property as may be necessary to ensure public safety or to preserve or enhance public grounds.

11-19-18.7: Illegal to cut, Injure, or Top Trees-it shall be unlawful for any person to remove trees situated on City property, including streets and roadways of the City, without obtaining permission from the Forestry Manager for that purpose. It shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person, firm, or City department to top any tree.

11-19-18.8: Pruning, Corner Clearance-every owner of any tree or shrub overhanging any street, sidewalk, or right-of-way within the City shall prune the branches so that such branches shall not severely obstruct the light from any street lamp, obstruct the view of any street intersection, or obstruct and create a hazard on a sidewalk. Said owners shall remove all dead, diseased, or dangerous trees and shrubs, or broken or decayed limbs which constitute a menace to the safety of the public. The City shall have the right to prune any tree or shrub on private property when it interferes with the visibility of any traffic control device, sight or sight triable at intersections, or constitutes a hazard on a sidewalk. Any costs incurred by the City will be collected from the adjacent property owner.

11-19-18.9: Removal of Dead and/or Hazardous Trees/Plantings on the City's Right-of- Way-Property Owner's Responsibility. This is just a summary of some of the important areas of the Shade Tree Ordinance.

If you would like a copy of the full ordinance, please call 525-2790.