Gastonia, NC Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 20-32(a) of the Gastonia Code makes any person owning or occupying property bordering a street responsible for pruning trees whose branches, limbs or trunks project into the public street or right-of-way. The trimming duty exists whenever the growth obstructs or shades streetlights, interferes with pedestrian passage on sidewalks, obstructs vision of traffic signs, or blocks views at a street or alley intersection, and the code fixes the target clearance at seven feet over sidewalks and 20 feet over roadways. If the owner or occupant does not prune, remove or treat a problem tree, section 20-32(f) lets the city issue a written correction order; the responsible party has 30 days to act.

If nothing is done after 30 days, the city may enter the property, perform the work itself, and bill the owner or occupant for the actual cost incurred, and in situations affecting public health or safety the city can act without prior notice at all. Separately, section 20-31(c) bars anyone from cutting, carving or attaching objects such as wire, nails or signs to a tree with any part of its trunk on public property, and section 20-31(d) prohibits piling stone, cement, brick or sand around a public tree's roots without written city authorization.

Damage to a tree protected under sections 20-31 or 20-32 is enforced as a civil penalty matter under section 20-54, not merely a courtesy notice, so a resident who improperly trims or removes street-adjacent trees can face both a correction order and a monetary assessment. All of these sections were enacted by Ordinance No. 20-698, § 2, adopted May 5, 2020.