La Mesa, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- LMMC § 12.52.060
- Trigger
- traffic engineer visibility finding
- Remedy for vegetation
- immediate removal or height reduction
- Remedy for parked vehicles
- red curb or no-parking sign
- Amending ordinance
- Ord. 2002-2722, Aug. 27, 2002
Summary
In the City of La Mesa, the city traffic engineer can order a hedge, shrub, or tree in a parkway cut back or removed under La Mesa Municipal Code Section 12.52.060 whenever it obstructs the view of an intersection or approaching traffic, the same authority used to red-curb or sign a spot where a parked vehicle blocks sightlines.
Whenever the city traffic engineer finds that any hedge, shrubbery or tree growing in a parkway, or any vehicle parked along the curb, obstructs the view of any intersection, or any traffic upon the streets approaching such intersection, he shall cause the hedge, shrubbery or tree to be immediately removed or reduced in height, or, if the visibility obstruction is due to a parked vehicle, the curb adjacent to the intersection to be painted red or signed "no parking."
Full Breakdown
Section 12.52.060 gives the city traffic engineer authority to act whenever a hedge, shrub, or tree growing in a parkway, or a vehicle parked along the curb, obstructs the view of an intersection or of traffic approaching that intersection. For vegetation, the traffic engineer causes the hedge, shrub, or tree to be immediately removed or reduced in height; for a parked vehicle causing the same obstruction, the remedy instead is painting the curb red or posting a no-parking sign. The section does not set a numeric height or setback for parkway vegetation; it is triggered case by case once the traffic engineer makes the visibility finding, which places the burden on the abutting property owner to trim on notice rather than complying with a fixed clearance in advance.
The provision traces to Ordinance 1379, adopted August 27, 1963, and was amended by Ordinance 2002-2722 on August 27, 2002. It sits in Chapter 12.52, Restricted Use of Streets, alongside the city's truck-route and commercial-vehicle parking rules, reflecting that intersection sightline enforcement in La Mesa runs through traffic engineering rather than a separate landscaping ordinance; no general tree-height or setback standard for street trees appears elsewhere in Title 12 of the code as reviewed for this entry.
Violations & Fines
Section 12.52.060 does not itself set a fine; a property owner who fails to remove or reduce vegetation after the traffic engineer's finding is subject to the general nuisance and penalty provisions of Section 1.01.080, which allows the city to treat a violation of any code provision as a public nuisance subject to abatement, in addition to infraction fines of up to $250 for noncompliance with a lawful order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the City of La Mesa make me trim a tree that blocks a stop sign?
Is there a set height limit for hedges near La Mesa intersections?
What happens if a parked car, not a tree, is blocking the intersection view?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in La Mesa
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