Due to tree growth on the boundary of the plots
We would like to kindly remind residents to trim trees on their own properties, as we have received numerous reports of vegetation encroaching onto pavements and roads, obstructing both visibility and traffic.
The Building Control Officer and the Horticultural Manager of Hafnarfjörður would like to kindly remind residents to trim the trees on their own plots of land. There have been numerous reports of vegetation growing well onto pavements and roads, obstructing both visibility and traffic. This can cause inconvenience and a hazard for those passing by. The following points should be borne in mind:
- Traffic signs must be visible.
- Do not obstruct street lighting with vegetation.
- Pedestrians and cyclists should have free passage on footpaths.
- As mechanical sweepers and snowploughs operate, the minimum height of vegetation over paths must be no less than 2.8 metres.
- Vegetation over motorways must not exceed a height of 4.2 metres, and this height restriction also applies where refuse lorries, fire engines and ambulances need to access a kerb or path.
Tree growth is to be kept within the plot boundaries.
Building regulations place a duty on garden owners to keep vegetation within the boundaries of their plot. Regulation no. 112/2012, section 7.2.2, states: „The occupier of a plot is obliged to keep the growth of trees or shrubs on the plot within the plot boundaries. If he fails to do so, and where the growth of trees or shrubs extends beyond the boundary with a street, pavement or open space, the highway authority or manager of the area is permitted to remove the part that causes a nuisance or is unsightly, at the landowner's expense, following prior warning“.
Hildur Bjarnadóttir, building officer, and
Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir, Gardener-in-Charge of Hafnarfjörður.