Hamden, CT Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 53.03 of the Hamden Code of Ordinances gives the town control of all street trees, shrubs and other plantings in any public street, park, public right-of-way or other public place, and that control expressly reaches any limbs, roots or parts of trees and shrubs that extend or overhang town-owned property, including the tree lawn between the street and sidewalk. Under § 53.06(a), the Tree Warden protects canopy cover and healthy trees in part by establishing clearance limits over roadways and sidewalks so vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic can pass, and by taking precautions to protect root zones during mowing, trimming and construction work such as sidewalk and street repairs.

Because a tree's overhanging limbs fall under town jurisdiction once they extend into the right-of-way, work that affects that clearance, including pruning to keep a roadway or sidewalk passable, is subject to the Tree Warden's oversight and the permit and licensed-arborist requirements of § 53.07 for anyone other than the town itself. The Tree Warden, appointed by the Mayor under Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 23-58 through 23-60, administers and enforces the chapter, and any person aggrieved by a Tree Warden decision may appeal through the procedures set out in the Connecticut General Statutes per § 53.06(f).

Section 53.09 sets enforcement authority in the Tree Warden under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 23-59 and fixes a flat $250 fine for any violation of the chapter, without a stated daily-continuation multiplier.