"Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler plans to quash an effort by city bureaucrats to quietly expand homeowners' responsibilities to care for trees on city-owned land.The proposed new rule would have required Portland property owners to cut down dangerous trees on city property adjacent to their land, even if the trees were located far from the private property...The change would have, for instance, cost at least three Southwest Portland homeowners as much as $3,500 by making clear that they are responsible for cutting down trees more than 50 feet away and inaccessible from their property Current code requires property owners to take care of dying or dangerous trees on their own property, "any adjacent sidewalks, planting strips and trees fronting or upon such private property." The changes would have added "adjacent unimproved or partially-improved rights-of-way" to the places where private property owners are required to remove problem trees."
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I have always found it interesting that city governments impose on homeowners the responsibility to maintain public property. It is common to require them to shovel snow from sidewalks, for example. But dealing with dangerous trees is a much bigger responsibility. It is expensive and requires judgment. And extending that responsibility to adjacent areas is quite a step.
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