Hemet, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 66-97 sits in Article IV, 'Care and Maintenance of Street Trees,' and its opening line does something unusual: it overrides the rest of the article ('notwithstanding any other provisions of this article') to place a standing duty on every property owner or occupant in the city. Private trees that extend over a street or alley must be kept trimmed to a clearance of not less than 15 feet; where branches only reach over the sidewalk area, seven feet is enough. The space also has to be kept clear of debris, not just cut back.

The rest of the section governs a different set of actors: public utilities. Subsection (b) requires a utility maintaining overhead wires or underground pipes or conduits to get the director of public works' permission before doing any maintenance that could injure a street tree, and bars the utility from injuring, defacing, pruning, or scarring a street tree until its plans and procedures are approved. Subsection (c) lets the director inspect any utility maintenance work that might affect street trees and stop it on the spot if it would cause excessive or unnecessary injury, arranging an alternative method with the utility instead. Subsection (d) exempts emergency utility maintenance performed during nonworking hours from that permission and inspection process. Subsection (e) closes the section with a liability disclaimer: nothing in the article shifts liability to the city or its officials for a private owner's own duty to keep their property, and the sidewalk and right-of-way abutting it, safe and free of hazards.