Canton, OH Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Canton Codified Ordinances Section 917.06 gives the City discretionary authority to remove trees on private property within the City when they are found to constitute a hazard to life and City property outside the property, or to harbor insects or disease that threatens other trees citywide. The Director of Public Service and/or Engineering Department notifies the owner in writing, and the owner has thirty days from service of notice to remove the tree at their own expense. If the owner fails to comply, the City removes the tree itself and charges the cost on the owner's property tax notice; the Director may set up a repayment plan when circumstances merit it.

A companion duty runs to trees overhanging public ways under Section 917.05: any owner abutting a street, lane, alley or highway must prune branches so the lowest limb clears at least twenty feet above the pavement, twenty feet above state routes and twenty feet above the sidewalk, and must remove dead trees along the tree lawn. If the owner neglects that duty, the City gives ten days' written notice by certified mail, removes or prunes the trees itself, and bills the owner for inspection, record search, notification and billing costs; unpaid bills after thirty days are certified to the County Auditor as a lien on the land, collected like other taxes and assessments.

Anyone adversely affected by an enforcement action may appeal to the Director of Public Service within ten days under Section 917.11, triggering a hearing within thirty days and a written decision within ten days of the hearing. Enforcement runs through the Engineering Department, Director of Public Service, Park Commission and other designated City officials or law enforcement officers under Section 917.10. Chapter 917's general penalty, Section 917.99, fines any violation of the chapter up to one hundred fifty dollars, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense.