05/24/2026
We would like to remind Village of Morrill residents about dead trees and branches with the owners responsibilities to have these removed.
§ 130.04 INJURY TO TREES.
It shall be unlawful for any person purposely or carelessly and without lawful authority to cut down, carry away, injure, break down, or destroy any fruit, ornamental, shade, or other tree or trees standing or growing on any land belonging to another person or persons or on any public land in the corporate limits. Any public service company desiring to trim or cut down any tree, except on property owned and controlled by it, shall make an application to the Board of Trustees to do so, and the written permit of the Board of Trustees in accordance with their decision to allow such an action shall constitute the only lawful authority on the part of the company to do so.
Penalty, see § 10.99
§ 92.24 DEAD OR DISEASED TREES.
(A) It is hereby declared a nuisance for a property owner to permit, allow, or maintain any dead or diseased trees within the right-of-way of streets within the corporate limits of the municipality.
(B) It is hereby declared a nuisance for a property owner to permit, allow, or maintain any dead or diseased trees on private property within the corporate limits of the municipality. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section, the municipal police shall have the authority to enter upon private property to inspect the trees thereon.
(C) Notice to abate and remove such nuisance and notice of the right to a hearing and the manner in which it may be requested shall be given to each owner or owner's duly authorized agent and to the occupant, if any, by personal service or certified mail. Within 30 days after the receipt of such notice, if the owner or occupant of the lot or piece of ground does not request a hearing or fails to comply with the order to abate and remove the nuisance, the municipality may have such work done and may levy and assess all or any portion of the costs and expenses of the work upon the lot or piece of ground so benefitted in the same manner as other special taxes for improvements are levied or assessed.
Cross-reference:
Overhanging branches prohibited, see § 93.006
Statutory reference:
Authority to regulate and abate dead and diseased trees, see Neb. RS 17-555
Authority to regulate and abate nuisances, see Neb. RS 18-1720
Nuisances prohibited, see Neb. RS 28-1321
§ 93.003 OBSTRUCTIONS.
(A) Trees and shrubs growing upon or near the lot line, or upon public ground, and interfering with the use or construction of any public improvements shall be deemed an obstruction under this chapter. Such trees and shrubs and their roots may be removed by the municipality at the expense of the owner of the property upon which the tree is located should the owner fail, or neglect, after notice, to do so. It shall be unlawful for any person, persons, firm, or corporation to obstruct, or encumber, by fences, gates, buildings, structures, or otherwise, any of the streets, alleys, or sidewalks. The public ways and property shall be considered to be obstructed when the owner or occupant of the adjacent property shall permit or suffer to remain on any premise owned or controlled by him or her any hedge, shrubbery, bush, or similar growth within two feet adjacent to the lot line whether there is a sidewalk abutting or adjoining such premise or not. It shall be the duty of owners and occupants to at all times keep trimmed and pruned all such similar growth. Whenever any such growth is allowed to grow within two feet of the lot line contrary to the provisions of this chapter, the Board of Trustees may pass a resolution ordering the owner or occupant to remove such obstructions within five days after having been served with a copy of the resolution by the municipality stating that the municipality will do so and will charge the costs thereof to the owner or occupant as a special assessment for improvements as herein provided, or shall collect the same by civil suit brought in the name of the municipality against the owner or occupant. It shall be the duty of an owner or occupant engaged in construction of any building or improvement upon or near the public ways and property to have all excavations or exposures of any kind protected and guarded by suitable guards or barricades by day and by warning lights at night. In the event of failure, neglect, or refusal to comply with the provisions of this subchapter, it shall be the duty of the municipality to stop all work upon the buildings and improvements until suitable guards are erected and kept in the manner aforesaid. Trees and shrubs growing upon the lot line partially on public ground and partially upon the abutting property, or wholly upon the abutting property, but so close to the lot line as to interfere with the making of any public improvement or so that the roots thereof interfere with any utility wires or pipe shall be deemed an obstruction, and such trees, shrubs, and roots may be removed by the municipality pursuant to the procedure prescribed above. In the event the property owner is a nonresident of the county in which the property lies, the municipality shall, before levying any special assessment against that property, send a copy of any notice required by law to be published by means of certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the nonresident property owner. The last known address shall be that address listed on the current tax rolls at the time such required notice was first published.
(B) Persons engaged in the er****on, construction, reconstruction, wrecking, or repairing of any building, or the construction or repair of a sidewalk along any street, may occupy the public street space with such building material and equipment as long as is necessary if such persons shall make application to and receive a permit in writing from such village employee as is designated by the Board of Trustees to do so, provided that no permit for the occupancy of the sidewalk space and more than 1/3 of the roadway of the public space adjacent to the real estate on which the building is to be constructed, erected, reconstructed, wrecked, or repaired shall be granted, and provided further that a suitable passageway for pedestrians shall be maintained within the public space included in the permit which shall be protected and lighted in the manner required by such village employee as is designated by the Board of Trustees.
Penalty, see § 10.99
Statutory reference:
Authority to remove obstructions, see Neb. RS 17-555
Authority to regulate and abate obstructions, see Neb. RS 17-557 and 17-557.01
§ 93.006 OVERHANGING BRANCHES.
The owner or occupant of any lot, piece, or parcel of ground abutting or adjacent to any street or sidewalk over which there extends the branches of trees shall at all times keep the branches or limbs thereof trimmed to the height of at least eight feet above the surface of the walk and at least 14 feet above the surface of the street. Whenever the limbs or branches of any tree or trees extend over streets or sidewalks contrary to the provisions herein so as to interfere with the lighting of the street from street lights or with the convenience of the public using the street or sidewalk, the Board of Trustees at any regular or special meeting may pass a resolution ordering the owner or occupant to cut or remove the obstructions within five days after having received a copy thereof from such village employee as is designated by the Board of Trustees stating that the municipality will remove the branches and charge the costs thereof to the owner or occupant as a special assessment for improvements as herein provided, if the resolution is not complied with. In the event the property owner is a nonresident of the county in which the property lies, the municipality shall, before levying any special assessment against that property, send a copy of any notice required by law to be published by means of certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the nonresident property owner. The last known address shall be that address listed on the current tax rolls at the time such required notice was first published.
Penalty, see § 10.99
Statutory reference:
Authority to regulate, see Neb. RS 17-557 and 17-557.01
