The Mailbag: Who is responsible for trees in the boulevard? UPDATED

Q: Who's responsible for maintaining trees in the boulevard, the area between the sidewalk and the curb? If you notice a tree in this area is old, rotten and obviously dying, can you petition the city to remove it? Keith in SanduskyA: Sandusky's legal code puts responsibility on property owners for maintaining pretty much everything between the curb and the property line that isn't the sidewalk. Specifically it says: The owner, occupant, or any other person, firm, or corporation whether lessee, agent, or tenant, having the charge or care of any lot or land adjacent to a street or alley shall be responsible for the area between the curb and sidewalk, or between the edge of the street and the property line where there is no curb or sidewalk, and the area between the centerline of the alley and the property line or the centerline of an unimproved street and the property line. (Ord. 03-072. Passed 3-10-03.)So if there's a tree on your section of a boulevard, you're responsible for trimming it, especially if it hangs onto or impedes a sidewalk. All I found about dead plants is a section saying the city can declare a plant to be a nuisance if it is interfering with the use of a public area, infected with an infectious plant disease or endangering the life, health or safety of persons or property. So if you have a man-eating plant growing in your section of the boulevard, you'll probably get a letter telling you to remove it. If you don't, the city reserves the right to do so at your expense.UPDATE: When this Mailbag ran last week, a commenter expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the answer, insisting that the city takes care of boulevard trees and is responsible for doing so. I took that statement to Scott Miller, Sandusky's superintendant of general services, who told me that although the legal code credits property owners with the responsibility, the city has helped out people who requested tree maintenance or removal, as the commenter suggested. Miller called this a "past practice," however, saying there's a lack of resources and no room in the budget to trim and remove private trees for the entire city. Like it or not, it seems Sandusky will probably trend back toward enforcing the code as it is written rather than continue to provide the unstated, increasingly-requested service to property owners.The Mailbag is a daily feature on SanduskyRegister.com. Every weekday at noon, we will post one question-and-answer from a resident. To ask a question, send a letter to The Mailbag at 314 W. Market St., or e-mail mailbag@ sanduskyregister.com. Please include your first name and a location in the e-mail, e.g. "John from Decatur Street."