NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1977 SESSION

CHAPTER 328
HOUSE BILL 163

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF WILSON TO ENACT AND ENFORCE ORDINANCES REGULATING THE PLANTING, MAINTENANCE, AND REMOVAL OF TREES ON PUBLIC AREAS AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND FOR THE PRUNING, TREATMENT AND REMOVAL OF TREES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WHICH ENDANGER PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE WITHIN THE CITY OF WILSON, AND THE CITY OF GREENVILLE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. Article 8 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes is amended by inserting a new section therein as follows:
"§ 160A-196. Regulating trees. – A city may by ordinance regulate the planting, maintenance, and removal of trees on public property and rights-of-way. In order to protect and conserve trees on public property and rights-of-way, a city may by ordinance provide for the treatment or removal of diseased trees and shrubs on private property and may regulate the digging of trenches or other activities on private property that endanger such trees. A city may also by ordinance provide for the trimming or removal of trees on private property when they obscure street lights, interfere with utility lines, or constitute a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Ordinances adopted under authority of this section must be the subject of a public hearing before final action is taken."
Sec. 2. This act shall apply to the following cities and towns: Wilson, and Greenville.
Sec. 3. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 9th day of May, 1977.