Jonesboro, AR Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 2-562
- Who prunes ROW trees
- City and City Water and Light
- Pruning standard
- ANSI pruning standards required
- Oversight body
- Jonesboro Urban Forestry Council (§ 2-559)
- Homeowner duty
- Not set for private trees over streets
Summary
Jonesboro's own code puts pruning authority over roadside and rights-of-way trees in the hands of the city and City Water and Light, not private landowners. Under City Code Section 2-562, crews may prune, maintain, or remove trees, shrubs and plants along streets, alleys and public grounds to protect public safety, using American National Standards Institute pruning standards.
(2)The city and city water and light shall have the authority to prune, maintain and remove trees, plants and shrubs within the rights of way of all streets, alleys, avenues, lanes, squares and public grounds as may be necessary to insure public safety or preserve or enhance the symmetry and beauty of such public grounds. The city and city water and light shall follow American National Standards Institute pruning standards.(3)The city and city water and light may remove or cause or order to be removed, any public tree or part thereof which is in an unsafe condition of which by reason of its nature is injurious to sewers, electric power lines, gas lines, water lines, phone lines, cable lines, underground drainage (piped or open) or other public improvements, or is affected with any injurious fungus, insect or other pest.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 16).
Full Breakdown
Section 2-562 of the Code of Ordinances gives the city and City Water and Light (CWL) direct authority over trees standing in the public rights-of-way of every street, alley, avenue, lane and square in Jonesboro. Trees planted on public property automatically become city property under subsection (1). Subsection (2) lets city and CWL crews prune, maintain, and remove ROW trees, plants, and shrubs whenever necessary to protect public safety or to preserve the symmetry and beauty of public grounds, and requires that pruning follow American National Standards Institute (ANSI) pruning standards, the industry benchmark for proper cuts that avoid damaging a tree's structure.
Subsection (3) authorizes removal of any public tree that is unsafe or that damages sewers, electric or gas lines, water or phone lines, cable lines, or underground drainage, or that is infested with an injurious fungus or insect. Subsection (4) lets crews remove or prune storm-damaged trees under disaster or emergency conditions, and subsection (5) allows pruning, maintenance, and removal at any season or time of year when practical. Subsection (6) requires supervisory personnel who prune trees in non-emergency situations to complete an educational course in basic tree science and proper pruning technique before doing the work.
The section sits under Division 10 of Chapter 2, which also created the seven-member Jonesboro Urban Forestry Council (Section 2-559) to guide a community forest management plan. Because the ordinance addresses only trees on public property and within public rights-of-way, it does not set a separate clearance height or trimming duty for a homeowner's own tree that overhangs a city street or sidewalk; that limb remains the city's and CWL's call to prune under this section.
Violations & Fines
Section 2-562 doesn't set a private fine schedule because it governs the city's own maintenance crews rather than resident conduct. Interference with city or CWL pruning, maintenance, or removal work performed under this authority can be pursued under the city's general obstruction and nuisance provisions elsewhere in the Code of Ordinances; the section itself carries no separate penalty clause of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who trims trees that hang over a Jonesboro street or sidewalk?
Can the city remove my roadside tree without asking?
Does Jonesboro require homeowners to trim their own trees away from the sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jonesboro
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