Property owners responsible for tree damage

If a tree root — whether city or privately owned — damages an abutting sidewalk or driveway, whose responsibility is it to pay for and coordinate a timely repair? If the tree root is in La Cañada Flintridge, the responsibility falls on the homeowner, regardless of who owns the tree.

That responsibility issue was clarified in the city’s municipal code Monday night as the City Council followed the trend of several area cities and passed an ordinance, upon its first reading, to make property owners responsible for the repair or reconstruction of any damaged sidewalk or curb constructed on any road, boulevard, street, lane or alley.

With few audience members present at Monday’s City Council meeting, the last scheduled meeting of the summer, there was no public comment on this, or any other issues discussed at the meeting. However, Public Works Director Edward Hitti said the ordinance passed was a clarification of existing law.

“This gives us teeth if somebody reports a damaged sidewalk,” Hitti said, adding that, “It’s only a clarification. In the past, the ordinance only covered curb, gutter and sidewalk repairs to the center line of the street, but it didn’t say how the [property] was damaged. Now, it’s more clear that any improvement abutting the resident’s property line is always, by state law, the resident’s responsibility.”

This applies even if the tree that damages the sidewalk, curb, or even the street up to the centerline, is owned by the city. And, despite the fact that according to city laws, the resident is not allowed to prune or otherwise maintain the tree and its roots, Hitti said.

That’s a problem, since some trees in front of businesses and residences tend to cause a buckling of their enclosures of surrounding ground cover as the roots of the trees grow, said local business owner John Yeghiaian, of Berge’s Sandwiches.

“I understand the city saying we benefit from the beauty of the tree, but so does the whole community. And, if it’s a community problem, then the community should help pay for it. With this kind of liability from having a tree in front of your place, some people are going to think they are better off without a tree,” Yeghiaian said.

Hitti contends that nothing has really changed, since residents previously had the same responsibility, it just wasn’t clearly defined prior to Monday night.

In accordance with the ordinance, if a tree root is lifting the sidewalk, fence, or otherwise disturbing the street, Hitti said, the city will send a letter to the homeowner, giving the resident a specific amount of time to obtain a permit and make the necessary repairs.

“We look at this on a case-by-case-basis,” he said. “We don’t go there right away and say fix that,” Hitti said. “We look at options and see what can be done to fix the problem.

“This is about solutions. We’ll work with our residents and see if there’s a solution. We look at things on a case-by-case-basis. And, we give ample, reasonable time to fix the problem,” he added.