Gilbert, AZ Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 54-5(a) puts the trimming duty squarely on the property owner or whoever occupies or controls the premises: it is unlawful to fail to keep the sidewalk fronting that property free and clear of grass, weeds and rubbish, clear of obstructions, and to keep vegetation growing along the sidewalk cut and trimmed so it doesn't interfere with the public's free use of the sidewalk or street for travel. This sits in Chapter 54, Streets, Sidewalks and Other Public Places, alongside the town's broader right-of-way rules, § 54-1's general ban on obstructing public property with plant growth or structures, and § 54-3's separate rule against trees, hedges or billboards that block a clear view of traffic, signals or signs near an intersection or crosswalk, so an overgrown tree can trigger more than one section depending on what it's blocking.

Subsection (b) of § 54-5 extends the same maintenance logic to water: irrigation and waste ditches along the frontage must be kept in good repair so they don't obstruct the natural flow of water, and retention berms running by or adjacent to the premises, plus their borders, must be maintained so water doesn't escape from them onto public property. Because the duty runs to whoever "owns, occupies or controls" the premises, it applies equally to a homeowner, a tenant, and a landlord who retains control of the exterior, and it applies whether the untrimmed growth is a street tree, a shrub, or volunteer vegetation encroaching from the yard.