Kennewick, WA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum clearance
- 7 feet above sidewalk or bike path
- Applies to
- Trees, hedges, shrubbery, natural growth, signs, fences
- Governing section
- KMC 13.12.050 (Ord. 2756 Sec. 1, 1983)
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor after notice, KMC 13.12.070
- Hardship relief
- Traffic Engineer may allow with safety findings
- Related rule
- 36-90 inch limit at intersections, KMC 13.12.010
Summary
Kennewick requires seven feet of clear height over any sidewalk or bicycle path in the public right-of-way under KMC 13.12.050: trees, hedges, shrubbery, and other natural growth may not obstruct a walkway or bike path unless the lowest branch or growth sits at seven feet or higher above the surface. The rule sits in the traffic obstructions chapter, not the landscaping code, so code enforcement can act citywide.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, no person may park vehicles or install, set out, or maintain any sign, fence, hedge, shrubbery, natural growth, or other obstruction which impedes the use of a walkway or bicycle path by a pedestrian or bicyclist within the public right-of-way. No obstruction of a walkway or bicycle pathway may exist within the right-of-way unless seven or more feet above the surface.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 19 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
050, adopted by Ord. 2756 in 1983, states in full: "Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, no person may park vehicles or install, set out, or maintain any sign, fence, hedge, shrubbery, natural growth, or other obstruction which impedes the use of a walkway or bicycle path by a pedestrian or bicyclist within the public right-of-way. " The seven-foot figure is a floor, not a target: any tree limb, hedge, or other "natural growth" that dips below seven feet over a sidewalk or bike path anywhere in the public right-of-way is out of compliance, whether the vegetation originates on the abutting private lot or on City property.
020(5) instead bar any obstruction between 36 and 90 inches above the roadway within a defined intersection sight triangle, a lower and narrower rule aimed at driver visibility rather than sidewalk clearance. 060 lets the Traffic Engineer allow the obstruction to remain, with correction costs charged to the property owner or occupant if conditions change, and the Traffic Engineer's decision final. Absent that hardship allowance, the obstruction has no grace period once identified.
Violations & Fines
KMC 13.12.070 declares every obstruction that violates this chapter, including a tree or hedge blocking a sidewalk or bike path below seven feet, a nuisance, and states that "any person violating any provision of this chapter after notice of the obstruction shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished accordingly." The Traffic Engineer can also order correction costs charged to the property owner or occupant under KMC 13.12.060.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much clearance does a tree need over a Kennewick sidewalk?
What happens if my hedge blocks a Kennewick sidewalk?
Is the sidewalk clearance rule the same as the corner sight-triangle rule in Kennewick?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kennewick
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