Hamilton, NJ Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Township Code § 477-7 places the trimming duty directly on the owner or tenant of land within the Township: they must keep all trees, shrubs, hedges, and other plant life growing within 10 feet of any roadway, and within 25 feet of the intersection of two roadways, cut to a height of not more than two and a half feet, whenever the Director of the Department of Public Works or a subordinate determines it is necessary for public safety. If the Director makes that determination, the Township sends a written notice to remove, describing the property clearly enough to identify it, and the owner or tenant has 10 days from receipt to comply.

The notice can be served in person, left with a family member 14 or older at the person's residence, mailed to a last-known address if the owner lives outside the Township, or, if service otherwise fails, published in a newspaper circulating in the Township. Separately, § 477-1 requires anyone doing work on trees or shrubs growing within Township-controlled highways or public places, including cutting or trimming, to first get a written permit from the Department of Public Works; unpermitted trimming of a public tree is itself a violation, distinct from the roadside-clearance duty in § 477-7.