Janesville, WI Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Under City of Janesville Code of General Ordinances § 34-197, any owner of a tree standing within or abutting a public street, or whose limbs extend over a street or sidewalk, must trim it so the lowest limbs clear the sidewalk by at least seven feet and the street surface by at least 15 feet. The same section requires owners of bushes, shrubbery or other vegetation growing within or over the right-of-way to keep it trimmed back so no branch, leaf or foliage extends over the street or sidewalk, and it cross-references the separate tree standards in §§ 22-132 through 22-141.

Section 34-198 adds a hazard duty: owners must remove any tree, bush or vegetation, or its limbs, that is aged, decayed or otherwise likely to fall and endanger people using the street or sidewalk. Section 34-199 separately bars bushes, shrubs or opaque objects taller than 30 inches inside the 25-foot vision triangle at street corners, though trees trimmed to seven feet above the sidewalk are exempt. If an owner ignores a compliance notice for ten days, § 34-201 lets the Operations Director or City Engineer have the trimming or removal done at the City's expense and then bill the owner: the cost becomes a lien on the real estate and is collected as a special tax, on top of possible prosecution.

The City itself keeps exclusive control of boulevard trees and lawns under § 34-203, so a homeowner may not unilaterally remove or replant boulevard trees even though the same clearance rules apply to abutting terrace trees.