RaftIslandRight‐of‐WayVegetationandTreeManagementPlan

October13,2010

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Introduction

With the advent of underground utilities executed on the Island some 10 years ago,

cessation of power line right of way clearing and maintenance created a general lack of

maintenance for our roadway’s vegetation and treegrowth. Since that time,the right of way

formanyofourroadwayspathsandright‐of‐wayshasbeenencroachedtothepointwherethe

usable roadway allows only single car access or prevents the use of some of our designated

pathways. Driving, jogging, and strolling on our roadways has become difficult and in many

areasclearlyunsafeorimpossible duetotheencroachingvegetationand treegrowth.Drivers

not familiar with the island turns and roadway intersections many times get lost due to

obscured street signs or overgrown roadways. It is apparent that regular right of way

vegetationandtreeclearingnecessarytopreventaccidentsorlossoflifeduetopoorvisibilities

needstobemanaged.Inmanyareas,designatedpathshaveovergrowntosuchanextentthat

they are not known to many. Recently, poorly maintained vegetation  and trees have

encroachedorfallenonourroadways,preventingpassageofanyvehicle,creatingpotentiallife

threatening situations should emergency vehicle traffic need to pass or falling on the

unsuspectingpassersby.

The goal of the roadway vegetation and tree management plan is to preserve the

natural beauty and environmental integrity of our right‐of‐way while providing a safe and

efficientroadsystem.

Right‐of‐WayandRoadSurfaceDesignation

The roadway right‐of‐way width varies from location to location sometime by tens of

feet. Ingeneral, for ourentire road system,the treesand vegetation within afew feet ofthe

roadway arelocated withinthe right‐of‐way,need to betrimmed back toallow safe passage.

The road system on Raft Island is clearly outlined on the Raft Island Plot map as shown in

AppendixI.

Over the years the environment, vehicle use, construction and landscaping projects

havealteredtheoriginalwidthofourroads.Roaddrainagehasfilledwithdebrisandvegetative

growth encroached onto the roadway in many

 cases preventing clear delineation of the road

way, itsshoulders and right‐or‐way.Where roadsurface and shouldersare not clearlyvisible,

areaswillbe delineatedwithin reasonablelimitsfromwhere theroad andshoulder areas are

clearlyvisible.

FromRaftIsland’sCOVENANTS,CONDITIONS,ANDRESTRICTIONS:

ARTICLEV:Maintenance

andUtilityEasements

(b)

RenovationandrepairofthewalkwayeasementslocatedalongthefollowingLots:

Lots18,20,22,and24;Lots60,62,64,and66;andLots94,96,98,and100

ARTICLEVI:ProtectiveCovenants

(d)Set‐backsandSightDistances.Nostructureofanytype,fence,wall,hedgeorshrub



plantingmaybeplacedorpermittedtoremainclosertotheRaftIslandroadsthanis

permissibleunderthePierceCountyZoningCodeandBuildingOrdinance,norshallany

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structure,fence,wall,hedgeorshrubplantingbeplacedinsuchamannerthatit

obstructssightlinesalongroadsinamannerimpermissibleunderPierceCountyCode

requirementsregardingroadapproachdistancesandstoppingdistances.

VegetationManagement

Vegetationandtreesalongroadwayscanposeapublicnuisanceand/orposesariskto

pedestrian or vehicular safety. Managing our right‐of‐way  vegetation and trees reduce soil

erosion, stabilize roadsides, and are aesthetically pleasing without compromising vehicle

operations.

Many propertieshave vegetation,privacy hedgesorothersuch plantingsthat arewell

maintainedbutatmanydifferentdistancesfromtheroadway.Itisimportanttohavetheright‐

of‐ways along the shoulder of the roadway clear of vegetation and debris to allow the safe

passageofvehiclesinbothdirectionsandallowproperdrainage.Thiswouldincludelineofsite

ofour streetsigns,properclearanceofexistingoverheadelectricallines,cornervisibility,mail

boxesandaddresssigns.

Ifyouareconsideringlandscaping,theparticularmethod(s)chosenshouldbebasedon

a variety of factors to establish an easily maintainable, stable plant population that will not

interferewithvehiclesorpedestrians. Emphasisshouldbe givento thecontrol tacticthat will

address the vegetation problem  in the most environmentally sound manner and in a way to

minimize vegetation control in the long term. The method chosen for a given vegetation

problem should attempt to achieve a long term, low maintenance  vegetation management

program,minimizingitsimpactonpedestriansandvehiclepassage.

Roadwayvegetationmanagementinvolvesmechanicalmethods(handcutting,selective

trimmingandmowing).Insome casesourright‐of‐waydrainagehasbecomefilledwithdebris

from neglectorinappropriately dumping oftrimmingsfrom other locations.Inmany of these

casesdebrishasblockedroadwaydrainageandcontaminatedrunoff.Insomecasesmowingor

trimming cannot completely remove the problem debris requiring digging to remove the

offensivedebrisorblockage.Areaswhichinterferewithtraffic,obscuresigns,impedetheflow

of water or divert water from drainage structures are not considered maintained until the

vegetationhasbeenremovedfromthedesignatedareas.

Many property owners on Raft Island already perform regular vegetation and debris

removalfromtheright‐of‐wayshelpingintheeffortstokeepourroadwayssafeandrunofffree

ofcontaminatingdebris.Forthosewhodonotcurrentlyhelpmaintaintheright‐of‐ways,these

areaswillbeincorporatedintothe

annualright‐of‐wayvegetationmanagementorasnecessary

to maintain safe conditions of our roadways and right‐of‐ways. Successful management of

encroaching vegetation helps maintainourroadways and right‐of‐ways clear, allowing proper

drainage, runoff and open space for safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians within our

roadways.Allareasbeingmaintained willstaywellwithintheright‐of‐waysasprovidedinthe

RaftIslandCovenants,ConditionsandRestrictions.

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TreeManagement

Trees along roadways can pose a public nuisance and/or poses a risk to pedestrian or 

vehicular safety. Managing our right‐of‐way treesreducesoil erosion, stabilize roadsides, and

areaestheticallypleasingwithoutcompromisingvehicleoperations.

Tree management, is a necessary part of providing a complete road system. The

removalofdeadorhazardoustreesandthepruningofyoungtreesareimportant.Keepingthe

right‐of‐way clear and free of hazards allow for the safe passage of vehicles, including

emergencyvehiclesandpedestrians.

Trees should not be placed where their mature height or spread will interfere with

utilities or encroach on travel lanes. Visibility of oncoming traffic is important to the safe

travel of vehicles entering intersections. Visibility also applies to other safety features

including road way corners, signs and driveways.

Many of the Island trees have overgrown

theroadway,blockedsigns,preventedclearviewofoncomingtrafficatcornersortwovehicle

passage and due to lack of proper tree maintenance have encroached on existing overhead

power lines. Due to personnel safety, no trimming will be performed on trees within safety

zonessurroundingexistingoverheadutilitypolesorlines,unlessprovidedbytheutility.Itisthe

property owner’s responsibility for seeing that proper safety zones are maintained for their

existing utility poles and lines. For further information regarding overhead utilities please

contactyourlocalutilityprovider.



Roadway tree management will involve mechanical methods (hand cutting, selective

trimmingandremoval)anddoneinaccordancewiththeInternationalSocietyofArboriculture

guidelines, taking into account suchfactors as trees speciesand growth characteristics.Many

property owners on Raft Island perform regular pruning helping in the efforts to keep

our

roadways safe. For those who do not maintain the adjacent right‐of‐ways including  the

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overheadcanopies,currentmanagementpracticeisnecessary,trimmingtreesatselectedareas

withintheroadright‐of‐waythathavefallenorobstructtheroadway.Thishelpsmaintainright‐

of‐ways, clearing to an open space for safe movement of vehicles within our roadways. This

wouldincludelineofsiteof

ourstreetsigns,cornervisibility,mailboxesandaddresssigns.The

placementofplantmaterialintheright‐of‐wayisofcriticalimportancebecauseofitspotential

effectondriverandpedestriansafety.

Maintainsafesight‐distances.



To successfully manage the encroaching trees, pruning will be performed along all

roadway right‐of‐ways. The areas being maintained will stay well within the right‐of‐ways as

providedintheRaftIslandCovenants,ConditionsandRestrictions.

Streetright‐of‐ways shouldhave avertical clear zoneof 14feet above theroadway to

allow safe passage of vehicles including emergency vehicles. Due to the increasing volume of

treesthat needpruned throughoutRaft Islandroadways, itis notalways possiblefor theRaft

Island Managementto contacteach individualproperty owner concernedaboutthetrimming

operations.Ifyounoticebranchesfromtreesonyourpropertyoverhangingintotheclearzone

ofthe Island’sright‐of‐way, youmaywant toconsiderhaving thesetreestrimmed yourselfor

byanarboristofyourchoice,elsetheymaybetrimmedasnotedabove.

Inpartduetopoormaintenance,hazardoustrees

existwithintheRaftIsland’sright‐of‐

ways. A hazard tree is defined as a tree that has structural defects in the roots, stem, or

branches that may cause the tree or tree part to fail, where such failure may cause personal

injuryorpropertydamage(target).Adefectmaybecausedbyaninjuryordisease.Thesetrees

needtoberemovedbeforetheycausebodilyinjuryandpreventvehiclepassage.

Summary

While certainly lack of regularmaintenancehas led to some of the problems, and the

growing numbers of trees and vegetation have impacted our roads and right‐of‐

ways, many

improvements have been made by many of the Island residences. Trees along roadways can

pose a public nuisance and/or poses a risk to pedestrian or vehicular safety. Managing our

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right‐of‐wayvegetationandtreesreducesoilerosion,stabilizeroadsides,andareaesthetically

pleasingwithoutcompromisingvehicleoperations.

While we would all prefer it to be otherwise, the roadside is not a kind place for

vegetation or trees and, quite frankly, we are fortunate to have so many trees that

 are in as

goodofaconditionastheyare.Still,wedostriveformoreandplantoseetheoverallhealthof

ourroadwaysanditsright‐of‐waysimproved.

GeneralGuideforVisualImpedimentstoSafeRoadUse

Raft Island Property owners and Island Management should not allow any of the

following things to exist on or in the road right‐of‐way, including intersecting corners, that

abuts property s/he owns or occupies, or on property that abuts a road, or in the airspace

above a road, if the  thing obstructs the view necessary for safe operation of

 motor vehicles

upontheroad,orifitcausespotentialdangertothepublicthatusestheroad:

1.Trees;

2.Shrubs;

3.Hedges;

4.Anyvegetation;

5.Projectingoverhanginglimbsofvegetation;

6.Temporaryorpermanentstructures;

7.Fences;

8.Berms;

9.Naturalorman‐madeobjects.

Page6of6

AppendixI:RaftIslandPlot

Map

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