How Salt Lake City Handles Landscaping Rules: A Practical Guide

Salt Lake City maintains 165 local ordinances across all categories, and 6 of those deal specifically with landscaping rules. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Salt Lake City falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Tree Trimming

Salt Lake City requires trees and landscaping to keep 7 feet of clearance above sidewalks and 10 feet above streets, with street tree pruning controlled by Urban Forestry.

Key details: Sidewalk clearance: 7 feet above grade. Street clearance: 10 feet above grade. Street tree work: Requires Urban Forestry approval. Enforcing division: Salt Lake City Urban Forestry.

Landscaping that fails to keep required clearance, blocks sight-distance triangles, or forms a hedge barrier between sidewalk and street violates § 21A.48.040. Pruning, cutting, or removing a street tree without Urban Forestry approval violates § 21A.48.040.D and § 2.26.210.

Artificial Turf

Salt Lake City's zoning code bans artificial turf in any area where landscaping is required, including park strips, parking lot buffers, and other regulated landscape zones under Title 21A.

Key details: Rule: Artificial turf banned in required areas. Citation: § 21A.48.080.B.4. Applies to: Park strips, buffers, parking lot landscaping. Enforced by: Planning Division landscape plan review.

Installing artificial turf in a required landscape area violates § 21A.48.080; zoning enforcement can require removal and replacement with approved planting, mulch, or hardscape at the property owner's expense.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Salt Lake City actively enforces its artificial turf requirements.

Native Plants

Salt Lake City requires nearly all required shrubs, perennials, and groundcover to be drought-tolerant, adapted, or native species, and bans turf grass in park strips citywide.

Key details: Native/drought-tolerant share: 100% of required shrubs & groundcover. Turf banned: park strips, buffers, narrow/steep areas. Reference list: SLC Plant List and Hydrozone Schedule. Applies to: all properties citywide.

Zoning administrator enforces; landscaping must stay in the plan-approved native/drought-tolerant mix. No section-specific penalty is listed, so the citywide default under § 1.12.050 applies: up to a class B misdemeanor, fined up to $1,000 and/or 6 months jail.

Weed Ordinances

Salt Lake City caps weeds and grass at 6 inches on any real property, with noxious species like puncturevine and poison ivy removed regardless of height.

Key details: Max height: 6 inches (15.2 cm). Enforcing agency: Division of Building Services. Notice period: 10 days minimum. Zero-tolerance species: Puncturevine, poison ivy, bindweed. Penalty class: Class B misdemeanor.

Class B misdemeanor per § 9.16.110; city can cut the weeds itself and bill costs, or certify unpaid costs to the County Treasurer as a property tax lien.

Water Restrictions

Salt Lake City's mayor can proclaim mandatory water-use restrictions during drought or supply shortages, activating a graduated water shortage contingency plan enforced by the public utilities department with civil fines for violations.

Key details: Enforcing agency: Dept. of Public Utilities. Mandatory-limit trigger: Supply at 60% or less of average. First violation penalty: Written warning, then $100 fine. Repeat violation cap: $1,000 (4th violation and beyond). Who declares restrictions: Mayor, by proclamation.

First violation of a mandatory water use restriction draws a written warning; repeat violations bring civil fines of $100, $250, $500, then $1,000 for a fourth violation and beyond within a 12-month period.

Tree Removal & Heritage Trees

New development in Salt Lake City must preserve city forester-designated specimen trees or pay into the tree fund and replant at a 2-caliper-inch-per-dbh-inch ratio before removing one.

Key details: Governing section: SLC Code § 21A.48.090. Replacement ratio: 2 caliper inches per dbh inch removed. Discretion modifier: Setbacks/height flexed up to 20%. Protection fencing: Chainlink, 4 ft min, before grading. Applies to: New development applications only.

Violations are enforced under the city's zoning and development enforcement codes; unauthorized removal, damage, or fencing violations can hold up permits and trigger the mitigation/replacement requirements.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Salt Lake City actively enforces its tree removal & heritage trees requirements.

The Bottom Line

Salt Lake City is tougher than many cities when it comes to landscaping rules. Out of the 6 rules covered here, 2 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Salt Lake City, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

Keep in mind that Salt Lake City can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.