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Copyrighted by SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.

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Sec. C16-17. Penalties and remedies.

Any violation of the provisions of this chapter is hereby declared to be unlawful and shall constitute a public nuisance and/or a misdemeanor, subject to the following civil and/or criminal penalties and remedies:

(a) Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall incur a civil penalty in the amount of $5,000.00 per individual tree cut, destroyed, killed, removed, or adversely pruned. Such civil action shall be brought in the name of the County of Santa Clara by the office of County Counsel.

(b) In addition to any civil penalty, any person who engages in the removal or adverse pruning of a tree without a permit or failure to comply with the noticing requirements set forth in Section C16-9 is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 and/or six months in the County jail, and for restitution. Such criminal action shall be brought in the name of the County of Santa Clara by the office of the District Attorney.

(c) Any person violating the provisions of Section C16-11 of this chapter, relating to heritage trees, shall incur a civil penalty in an amount from $10,000.00 to $200,000.00 per heritage tree thus cut, destroyed, killed, removed, or adversely pruned. The amount of the fine shall take into account whether the removal was intentional and whether the trees were rare, ancient, of exceptional size or age, or of exceptional historical significance to the community. Such action shall be brought in the name of the County of Santa Clara by the office of County Counsel. In addition to any civil penalty, any person violating the provisions of Section C16-11 of this division shall incur a criminal penalty in an amount from $10,000.00 to $200,000.00 per heritage tree thus cut, destroyed, killed, removed, or adversely pruned.

(d) In addition to any other remedy, the County of Santa Clara may seek to enjoin such unlawful activity, immediately upon receiving notification that any person is engaged in the act of removing or pruning a tree in violation of this chapter. The cost of such injunction shall become a lien on the property where such unlawful activity took place.

(e) In addition to any other applicable penalties, any person unlawfully removing or pruning a tree without a permit may be required to replace the unlawfully removed tree with ten trees of a like kind and species where feasible, or of a kind and species to be determined by the Planning Department.

(f) Any person obtaining a permit to remove any tree subject to the provisions of this article through the intentional use of misinformation or by intentionally providing misinformation to the Planning Department shall be in violation of this chapter and shall incur the criminal and/or civil penalties provided for in Subsections (a) through (e) above.

(g) All civil and criminal penalties and restitution assessed and collected pursuant to Subsections (b) and (c) shall be placed in a tree preservation fund, to be used for planting trees anywhere in the unincorporated areas of the County of Santa Clara. The tree preservation fund will be administered by the County of Santa Clara or its designee.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.107, § 1, 2-11-97)

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