Lubbock, TX Invasive Plant Rules: Tree-of-Heaven Removal (2026)

002(b) of the Code of Ordinances lists tree species prohibited from being planted as street trees along thoroughfares within the City of Lubbock, and tree of heaven appears by name alongside mimosa, hackberry, ash, fruitless mulberry, sycamore, cottonwood, willow, American elm, Siberian elm, maple, magnolia and poplar. 001, may grant an exception to the prohibition only upon a written request detailing the basis for the exception; there is no automatic waiver. The same subsection separately prohibits conifers, evergreens and pines as street trees unless they are pruned to a six-foot clearance from the adjacent walk and curb at installation.

The prohibited list, like the recommended list in subsection (a), governs only planting along the public right-of-way and parkway of a thoroughfare street; it does not reach trees on private yards away from the street frontage. The rule was adopted by Ordinance 10130 on January 14, 1999, and renumbered into its current section by Ordinance 2011-O0021 on March 2, 2011. A tree of heaven planted in the parkway in violation of this section is a nuisance the city can order removed under the notice-and-abatement procedure in Chapter 14, with costs chargeable to the property owner.