Ames, IA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Ames's clearance standard for overhanging trees sits inside Chapter 30, Public Nuisances, which Sec. 30.2 applies to all properties within the City of Ames. Sec. 30.5(9) declares it a nuisance when vegetation located on private property hangs over a public street with less than 16 feet of clearance above the public street, or hangs over or into a public sidewalk with less than 8 feet of clearance above the sidewalk, and the section warns that sidewalks tied to funding or contract obligations can require even more clearance.

Because the standard sits in the nuisance chapter rather than a stand-alone tree ordinance, the same enforcement and abatement machinery used for other nuisances applies: under Sec. 30.6 the property owner, agent, lessee, or occupant is responsible for correcting the condition without delay, and under Sec. 30.7 the enforcement officer can serve written notice setting a deadline to trim; if the owner does not comply the City can enter the property, cut back the branches, and assess the abatement costs against the property in the same manner as property taxes.

Sec. 30.3 authorizes enforcement by municipal infraction, carrying a $50 penalty for a first violation and $100 for each repeat violation, on top of any assessed abatement cost. An owner who disputes whether a clearance violation actually exists can request a hearing before the seven-member Public Nuisance Appeals Board under Sec. 30.8, and must do so in writing by the date stated in the City's notice or the nuisance is conclusively presumed to exist.