The following notice has been issued in a press release by the Chania council:
“The Municipality of Chania advises all legal owners of property that they are obliged to proceed immediately with cutting back branches, shrubs and trees which because of their length, inclination, condition, etc project from their roadside properties (private building sites and land) along the length of the existing public road network, hindering the free movement of vehicles along the streets, the safe passage of pedestrians where pavements are present, as well as vehicular access (for fire services, etc).
“In the case of non-compliance and after the expiry of a reasonable interval from the publication of this notice, the Municipality of Chania, without further notice or compensation for any damage which may be caused, will proceed with the necessary work of cutting any branches which hinder the passage of pedestrians and vehicles according to article 290 of the Penal Code, and may apportion the cost of cutting and removal of branches to the owners.
“It is emphasised that the hindering of the passage of vehicles by trees within private building plots, whose branches project onto the roadway and hinder transport safety, constitutes a criminal offence and is punished according to article 290 of the Penal Code ‘Dangerous interference in road transport’, even if committed through negligence.”
Like the previous post from the Platanias council, this is one of a number of regular notices which are issued by municipalities, which may differ according to local circumstances, the season, etc, but which all have the aim of facilitating free access on roads and pavements, and preventing the spread of fire during the summer season.
The text of the relevant article of the Penal Code runs as follows:
Article 290 – Penal Code (Law 4619/2019) – Dangerous interference in road transport.
1. Whoever hinders the safety of transport on the roads:
a) by destroying, damaging or moving installations or vehicles,
b) by placing or maintaining obstructions,
c) by the alteration of signs or markings or the placing and maintenance of erroneous signs or markings, or
d) with other practices equally dangerous for the safety of transport,
will be punished:
aa) by imprisonment of up to 3 years if the action could cause common danger to other people’s property,
bb) by imprisonment of at least 1 year if the action could cause danger to humans;
cc) by imprisonment of up to 10 years if the action has resulted in severe bodily harm to another person or caused significant damage to public installations;
dd) by imprisonment of at least 10 years if the action has resulted in the death of another person. If the death of a large number of people has been caused, the court may impose life imprisonment.
2. Whoever in the aforementioned cases negligently causes hindrance to the safety of transport which could result in common danger to other people’s property will be punished by up to 2 years’ imprisonment or fined.
The new Penal Code came into force on 1st July 2019.