Dearborn, MI Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

00 of the Dearborn Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance 93-553) governs landscaping citywide, and Sec. 02(B)(3) targets the specific hazard of trees and shrubs growing into the public right-of-way. New landscaping adjacent to roads and rights-of-way must meet minimum lateral clearances, measured from the center of the tree: five feet to the edge of the road, five feet to the edge of a fire hydrant, and five feet to the edge of any vehicular accessway or sidewalk. Vertical clearance, measured from any horizontal projection such as limbs and branches, must be at least 14 feet over roadway surfaces, 7 feet over sidewalk surfaces, and 10 feet over bicycle path surfaces.

Shrubs get lighter lateral clearances of five feet to the road and hydrant but only one foot to a sidewalk or multi-use trail, and trees planted in the public easement between the street and sidewalk are exempt from the lateral clearance figures. Subsection (B)(3)(d) makes the maintenance duty explicit and ongoing: trees and shrubs shall be cut or trimmed to not obstruct the public right-of-way or obscure vehicular and pedestrian sightlines, a duty that runs alongside Sec. 02(G)'s cross-reference to the unobstructed sight-distance rules of Sec.

09. Sec. 02(H) separately bars planting species whose roots are known to damage roadways, sewers, or utilities within 15 feet of them, and requires a 5-foot setback from overhead utility lines. Landscaping within the right-of-way itself, including street trees, is also cross-referenced to Code of Ordinances Sections 17-241 through 17-257, and must be kept so no grass area encroaches more than two inches onto pavement. 00.