Durham, NC Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

City Code § 26-221(a) places an affirmative duty on the owner or agent of any real property bordering a street where trees grow: the trees must be maintained so they do not interfere with or endanger use of the public streets, obstruct or interfere with illumination of street lights, obscure sight distance or create a traffic hazard, interfere with visibility of a traffic-control device or sign, obstruct or impair free passage of pedestrians on sidewalks, project into or overhang city sidewalks or rights-of-way at a vertical clearance of less than seven feet, or otherwise endanger the life, health, safety, or property of the public.

Under § 26-221(b), the city manager may declare any such obstruction a public nuisance, notify the owner or agent by certified mail, and allow up to 30 days to correct or remove it. If the owner does not act within that window, the city manager may enter the property to correct the condition according to the city's tree planting and maintenance specifications and standards. This clearance duty sits within the broader trees article, §§ 26-219 through 26-236, which the city council adopted to protect city trees and shrubs and to define when trees on private property become a public nuisance; it is separate from the general weeds-and-undergrowth nuisance provisions in §§ 26-180 through 26-192, which govern grass and brush height rather than tree limb clearance over public ways.