Glendale, AZ Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

City Code Chapter 19, Article IV (Urban Forestry), Section 19-99 (Pruning of trees on private property) puts the trimming duty on the property owner: every owner of a tree overhanging any street or right-of-way must prune its branches so the tree does not obstruct the view at a street intersection or interfere with people using the sidewalk or street. Owners must also remove dead, diseased or dangerous trees, or broken or decaying limbs, that the Administrator determines pose a hazard or danger to public safety.

If the owner fails to act within the time given in the City's notice, or if an immediate hazard exists, Section 19-99 authorizes the City to prune or remove the tree or shrub at the owner's expense, including where it interferes with street light spread, blocks visibility of a traffic control device or sign, or otherwise threatens public safety as the Administrator determines. The cost of that City pruning or removal becomes a lien on the property until paid. On the public side, Section 19-96 (Maintenance, street trees and park trees) gives the City the right to plant, prune, replace and maintain street and park trees as necessary for public safety or to preserve the symmetry and beauty of public grounds, and lets the Administrator order removal of any tree on city-owned property that is unsafe, injures sewers, sidewalks or utility lines, or is infected with an injurious pest or disease. This article is administered by the deputy city manager of public works with the City's interdepartmental urban forestry committee, per Section 19-92.