Hendricks County, IN Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum clearance
- 14 feet above grade
- Applies to
- Trees, shrubs, vines over streets/sidewalks
- Governing section
- § 94.03
- Adopted
- Ord. 2020-17, 4-14-2020
- Penalty
- Up to $100 per day violated
Summary
Hendricks County requires owners of trees, shrubs, and other plant life along streets, alleys, sidewalks, and highways to keep limbs and branches trimmed to at least 14 feet above grade wherever they overhang those public ways, with a fine of up to $100 per day for noncompliance.
The owners of all trees, shrubs, vines, and all plant life growing in, on, or along any street, alley, sidewalk, or highway of the county shall keep them trimmed and pruned in such a manner that the limbs or branches thereof which may extend over, on, along, or across any sidewalk and where the limbs and branches extend over, into, or across the streets, alleys, and highways of the county shall be trimmed and pruned so that the limbs and branches shall not be less than 14 feet above the grade of the streets, alleys, sidewalks, or highways of the county.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-3: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2024-50, passed 12-10-2024; and State law current through Indiana Legislative Service, 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
" The rule applies to any plant life growing along a public way in the unincorporated county, not just trees planted by the county, and it covers both sidewalks and vehicle travel lanes with the same 14-foot minimum, unlike many local codes that set separate clearances for pedestrian and vehicle routes. The section was adopted by Ordinance 2020-17 on April 14, 2020, and sits within Chapter 94's nuisance framework, meaning an owner who fails to trim can be pursued through the same nuisance-enforcement process the county uses for its other Chapter 94 provisions.
Because the vegetation-control duty is a property-owner obligation rather than a county maintenance program, the county does not trim private trees itself; it cites the owner and lets the per-day penalty accumulate until the obstruction is cleared.
Violations & Fines
Section 94.99(B) sets the penalty for violating § 94.03 at up to $100 per offense, and specifies that each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense, so an owner who leaves branches below the 14-foot clearance can accrue a new $100 exposure daily until it is corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
How high must tree branches be trimmed over a Hendricks County street or sidewalk?
Who is responsible for trimming trees along the road?
What happens if I don't trim overhanging branches?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hendricks County
Compare Hendricks County to another location·View the Indiana landscaping rules overview
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