A. Crown Cleaning shall include the removal of dead, dying, diseased, crowded, splitting, weakly attached, low-vigor branches, and water sprouts from a tree’s crown. (1) Remove the above described branches and all stubs greater than ½” in diameter. (2) Remove all suckers or water sprout growth on the main trunk, including the base of the tree, from ground level up to the lowest crotch. (3) Remove one of two or more crossed and/or rubbing branches greater than ½” in diameter. B. Crown Raising is the removal of lower branches in order to provide clearance. (1) Raise all lower branches and hanging branches to a minimum height of 14’ over sidewalks and street where practicable. Balance tree evenly. (2) Where practicable, remove lower branches from trees that are over 12’ tall so that the lowest crotch is at least 6’ above the ground. (3) In some cases a tree extends over the street and sidewalk, but its overall height is too small to allow raising to 14’ entirely around the tree. In such cases the necessary clearances may be achieved by using thinning cuts to remove downward growing laterals from the street side to completely clear the roadway up to 14’, and by raising the tree over the sidewalk to 8’. In these cases the tree may be left unbalanced.
