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2 <br />The December 20, 2010, ROW discussion centered on the following questions: <br />1. Who is responsible for dead, damaged, or diseased trees /vegetation in the <br />ROW? <br />2. Should residents be allowed to plant /place things in the ROW adjacent to their <br />homes? If so, should a permit be required to do so? <br />3. What items, if any, should be allowed to be planted or placed in the ROW by <br />residents? <br />4. What responsibility or authority should the City have for items placed or <br />planted in the ROW? <br />5. As a policy, should the City ever plant trees in the ROW? <br />The consensus of the Council at the work session was that the maintenance of the right of <br />way should be the responsibility of the adjacent property owner, and that residents should <br />be allowed to improve the ROW adjacent to their homes, under certain circumstances, <br />without the need for a permit. <br />Discussion <br />Since the December work session, Staff has researched the policies and regulations of other <br />communities, interviewed staff of other communities, met with the City Attorney and the <br />City's Public Works Department. Based on this work, Staff has drafted a possible ROW <br />Maintenance Ordinance that meets the direction given by Council and the goal of clarifying <br />the City's ROW regulations. There are three components to the Code revisions related to <br />the ROW Maintenance Ordinance: <br />1. Create language within Chapter 3 to address the maintenance of the ROW; <br />2. Remove or relocate language that pertains to maintenance of the ROW from other <br />areas of the Code and consolidate it into Chapter 3; <br />3. Update the City's Shade Tree Ordinance within Chapter 7 to clarify the abatement <br />procedures and more effectively deal with the removal of diseased trees. <br />While the revisions to Chapter 7 are important, they are relatively minor, and are separate <br />from the purpose of this discussion, which is to discuss the revisions to Chapter 3 and the <br />ROW Maintenance Ordinance. The ROW Maintenance Ordinance involves three key <br />aspects: <br />1. Defining the Right of Way; <br />2. Outlining the responsibilities of residents in terms of maintaining the boulevard <br />adjacent to their property; <br />3. Clarifying the City's responsibilities in terms of ensuring the safe and efficient use <br />of the right of way. <br />Staff has included a draft ROW Maintenance Ordinance for Council review (Attached). <br />July 18, 2011, City Council Work Session <br />I (Metro -inet. usl ardenhills\Planning\Planning Cases12011111 -018 - ROW Management Ordinance <br />(Pending)107-18-11 - CC Work Session - Memo. doc <br />