No Iowa statute or Johnson County ordinance limits trimming trees on your own land, so you may prune freely. Iowa City's Forestry Division controls only the public right-of-way trees in the strip between the sidewalk and the street.
Iowa passes no statewide private-tree law, and Johnson County's unincorporated zoning does not reach into your yard, so you may prune or even top your own trees without a permit. The common-law boundary rule applies: you may cut branches and roots that cross your property line, but only to the line. The trees between sidewalk and curb are City right-of-way, and in Iowa City the Forestry Division and City Forester handle pruning and removal there, so residents should not touch them. Storms, ice, and the steady loss of ash to emerald ash borer make tree work a routine chore across the county.
None from the county for pruning your own trees. Cutting into a neighbor's tree past the boundary invites civil liability. Trimming an Iowa City right-of-way tree without Forestry approval violates city code.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Johnson County's tree trimming rules stack up against other locations.
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