Dallas, TX Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Under Sec. 1 of the Dallas City Code, an owner, occupant, or person in control of private premises abutting an alley, street, or sidewalk commits an offense if vegetation on the property, including trees, shrubbery, bushes, and vines, grows across the property line and projects over or into that right-of-way. The code sets specific clearance defenses rather than a flat ban: growth is not a violation if it is weeds or grass no taller than 12 inches, if no part of it hangs over the alley or street lower than 15 feet above ground, or if no part of it hangs over the sidewalk lower than 8 feet above ground.

Even within the 8-foot sidewalk clearance, the defense fails if the vegetation blocks visibility of a traffic control sign, signal, or device, or interferes with garbage or trash collection along the sidewalk, so a tree that otherwise clears 8 feet can still be cited if it hides a stop sign. Vegetation growing in violation of Sec. 1 is declared a nuisance. If the owner does not correct it, Sec. 18-17 lets the city's code compliance director have the noncomplying vegetation cut, trimmed, and removed after giving the owner seven days' written notice to comply, served in person, by mail to the address on file with the appraisal district, or, if personal service fails, by newspaper publication or posting on the property.

Enforcement of this article falls to the director of the department the city manager designates, per Sec. 18-15. This sits within Chapter 18's Article II on weeds, grass, and vegetation, separate from the parkway tree-planting permit rules of Chapter 48, which cover trees planted in the public right-of-way itself rather than private vegetation encroaching into it.