Shreveport's Tree Protection: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles tree protection a little differently. In Shreveport, Louisiana, there are 2 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Heritage & Protected Trees

Shreveport designates no heritage, landmark or specimen trees. Neither the Unified Development Code nor Chapter 98 creates a protected-tree list, a diameter-based designation on private lots, or a heritage tree permit. Preservation runs through voluntary credits instead.

Key details: Heritage tree list: None adopted. Preservation credit threshold: Eight inches caliper or greater. Credit ratio: One-to-one, once per tree. Credit cap: 50 percent of required trees. Caliper measured at: Four and one-half feet high.

No heritage tree penalty exists. Damaging any tree in a public right-of-way violates UDC Section 10.5.C, and UDC violations carry city fines with each day a separate offense.

If you are coming from a city with tighter rules, you will find Shreveport gives residents more flexibility on heritage & protected trees.

Parkway Planting

Want to plant a tree in the parkway strip between the curb and the sidewalk? Shreveport's UDC requires notifying the Public Works Department or the Parks and Recreation agency, SPAR, first, and the species and placement have to match the standards set out in the Code's landscape article.

Key details: Notice required to: Public Works or SPAR. Applies to: Street rights-of-way, public grounds. Species guide: UDC § 10.12 Tree and Plant Palette. Removal permit trigger: 30 in. or larger caliper (§10.5.B). Governing section: UDC § 10.5.A.

Planting a tree in the parkway or another public right-of-way without notifying Public Works or SPAR, or planting a species inconsistent with Article 10's standards, is a violation. Damaging, topping, or cutting back an existing right-of-way tree is a separate violation under Section 10.5.C and D, enforced through the Zoning Administrator's Article 19 process with a fine for continued noncompliance.

The rules around parkway planting in Shreveport lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

The Bottom Line

Compared to many U.S. cities, Shreveport gives residents more room on tree protection. 2 of the 2 rules here are rated permissive. But permissive does not mean unregulated. There are still requirements, and the city does enforce them when violations are reported.

Keep in mind that Shreveport 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.