Landscaping Rules in Allegheny County, PA (2026)
2 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Allegheny County caps how much woodland a subdivision or land development can clear, no more than 50% of mature woodland or 75% of total woodland, and bars any removal before final plan approval.
Allegheny County Woodland Clearing Limits
Significant RestrictionsAllegheny County Code § 780-506.A
Not more than 50% of the total area of mature woodlands and not more than 75% of the total area of woodlands on a development site shall be removed in conjunction with a subdivision or land development. The remaining woodlands shall be protected as open space. No area of any existing woodland shall be removed prior to the granting of final approval of the proposed subdivision or land developmen...
Native Plants
Allegheny County's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance encourages developers to plant hardy indigenous species when landscaping new subdivisions and land developments, though it stops short of requiring native planting.
Allegheny County Encourages Native Landscaping
Light RestrictionsAllegheny County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance § 780-512.B(2)
The planting of hardy indigenous species is encouraged. C. Landscaping defined. Landscaping shall be understood to include the provision of street trees, buffer yards, replacement woodlands, and other new planted areas. Landscaping shall also be understood as the provision of undisturbed ground, where such is fully integrated into the design and layout of the subdivision or land development ...
Landscaping Rules by City in Allegheny County
2 cities in Allegheny County have their own landscaping rules rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All Allegheny County ordinances
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