Appleton, WI Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 23-601(f) of the Appleton Municipal Code, the landscaping and screening standards every new landscape plan must satisfy before the City issues a building permit, fixes the tree-clearance numbers for property along streets and sidewalks. Subsection (f)(2)b requires six feet of clearance from the ground to the bottom of the first branch for any tree planted in a front setback, a required vision corner, or within ten feet of a private driveway; shrubs in the same zone are capped at three feet. Subsection (f)(13) governs mature trees citywide: a seven-foot underclearance is required over off-street parking spaces, loading spaces and drive aisles, and a ten-foot underclearance is required wherever a tree overhangs a public right-of-way, a standard the code ties explicitly to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) sightlines.

The same subsection directs that trees be planted as far from the public sidewalk as possible in the first place, to avoid the problem at maturity. The Community Development Director reviews landscape plans for compliance under subsection (d) and may waive or modify the standards for good cause under subsection (j), but absent a waiver the clearance numbers are fixed, not advisory. Property owners with an established tree that has grown below these clearances are expected to prune to the ordinance minimums; the City's Forestry Division separately maintains trees within the street right-of-way itself under Chapter 21.