Grand Forks, ND Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Grand Forks handles street trees through Article 2 of Chapter XVII, 'Berms, Shade Trees, Shrubbery,' rather than through the Land Development Code. Section 17-0201 gives the Park Commission of the Park District authority to plant, cultivate, and maintain trees on the berms along every street and avenue in the city, at the Park District's own expense. Section 17-0202 then puts a parallel duty on the adjoining property: 'whether owners or tenants,' the code says, everyone must keep the shade trees along the public street trimmed so they neither block travel nor interfere with utility wires.

That duty is backstopped by Section 17-0203, which lets the city engineer and the city forester trim any tree standing on the strip between the sidewalk and the curb whenever the branches threaten overhead utility lines, without needing the owner's permission first. Together the two sections put the everyday clearance work on the abutting owner or tenant, while reserving a city-run backstop for utility-wire conflicts specifically. There is no dollar fine printed in Article 2 itself; the leverage the city holds is the Section 17-0203 authority to send its own forester out to cut the tree, at the city's discretion, rather than a citation to the property owner.

Anyone unsure whether a boulevard tree crosses into the utility easement should call the city forester's office before trimming, since Section 17-0204 separately bars walking or driving over the berm without permission from the superintendent of streets.