Bannock County, ID Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- MPC zoning district projects only
- Walkway/sidewalk clearance
- 6 to 8 feet
- Vehicular/parking clearance
- 8 to 10 feet
- Shrub height cap
- 2 to 3 feet maximum
- Trigger
- Only if MPC selects CPTED landscaping best practice
Summary
Master planned communities (MPCs) in unincorporated Bannock County that choose the 'Reduction of Crime Through Landscaping' best practice under Bannock County Code Section 17.46.070(A)(1)(b) must keep six to eight feet of clearance above sidewalks and walkways and eight to ten feet above vehicular travel lanes when planting street trees.
A.Each MPC shall select a minimum of three best practices from the list below to implement into the development. Alternative best practices may be approved upon review of the planning director. Best practice design options include:1.Reduction of Crime Through Landscaping. ... b.CPTED landscaping guidelines shall be used, including planting shrubs with a maximum height of two to three feet and trees with a proper ground clearance of six to eight feet above walkways and sidewalks and eight to ten feet above vehicular travel and parking lanes.
Full Breakdown
Bannock County Code Section 17.46.070 requires every master planned community (MPC) approved under Chapter 17.46 to select at least three best-practice design options from a list the county maintains, though the planning director can approve substitute practices. One option, 'Reduction of Crime Through Landscaping,' applies Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to promote natural surveillance, access control, and territorial reinforcement. When an MPC selects that option, Section 17.46.070(A)(1)(b) sets the specific clearance the county wants: shrubs capped at a maximum height of two to three feet, and trees pruned to a clearance of six to eight feet above walkways and sidewalks and eight to ten feet above vehicular travel and parking lanes, so sightlines stay open.
The standard is reviewed as part of the master development plan process under Section 17.46.030, before the board of county commissioners rezones land to the MPC district, and again at each phase's site plan stage. Because it is one of several optional best practices rather than a blanket rule, it binds a development only once that MPC's plan lists CPTED landscaping among its chosen practices; an MPC that instead picks urban heat island reduction, xeriscaping, energy efficiency, or low-impact development need not meet this clearance figure.
The same chapter separately requires tree wells for street trees under Section 17.46.100(G)(3) and encourages parkstrips with street trees under Section 17.46.110(B), so tree clearance and street tree planting are treated as related but distinct MPC design obligations.
Violations & Fines
An MPC that lists CPTED landscaping as one of its three chosen best practices but fails to prune trees to the six-to-eight-foot walkway clearance or eight-to-ten-foot vehicular clearance in Section 17.46.070(A)(1)(b) is out of compliance with its approved master development plan, which Planning and Development Services enforces at each site plan review. Title 17 enforcement under Section 17.56.030 escalates from a fifty-dollar first infraction to a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail or a three-hundred-dollar fine, after repeat violations within twenty-four months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every development in Bannock County have a tree clearance rule?
Why does Bannock County set a tree clearance height for MPCs?
Who checks whether an MPC meets the clearance standard?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bannock County
Compare Bannock County to another location·View the Idaho landscaping rules overview
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