Lawrence, KS Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 18-104 puts the department of parks, recreation and culture, through its director, in charge of planting, caring for and removing every tree located in the city's public rights-of-way and parks. An owner of property abutting a right-of-way can prune, spray, plant or remove trees in the part of that right-of-way not used for public travel, so long as the work follows the article's rules; no separate street tree permit is required for that ordinary compliant work. A permit is required only when the owner wants to deviate from the planting, spacing and clearance standards set in § 18-105, or when the owner asks the city to plant a right-of-way tree, in which case the owner must sign the permit agreeing to care for the tree afterward.

Beyond removal by the abutting owner, § 18-107 separately bars anyone from intentionally damaging, cutting or removing a right-of-way tree without authorization, and requires a ten-foot buffer around any tree before excavating a ditch, trench, drive or walk without a director-issued permit. The director can also order removal of a right-of-way tree that is unsafe, injurious to sewers or other public improvements, or affected by an injurious fungus, insect or other pest under § 18-109, and can exempt certain trees from protection under § 18-108 when removal is needed for public improvements like utility work, citing poor spacing, poor condition, or an undesirable tree type.