Lynchburg, VA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

City Code Sec. 38-3 places the pruning duty directly on the person owning or occupying real property bordering a street. Trees, shrubs, weeds and other vegetation on that property cannot obstruct or shade streetlights, block pedestrian passage on sidewalks, obscure traffic signs, or block sightlines at a street or alley intersection. The code sets a numeric floor for overhanging growth: a minimum clearance of eight feet over sidewalks and 14 feet over the street. A separate duty applies when vegetation creates a hazard to public safety, requiring the owner to prune or remove it outright rather than merely trim to the clearance line.

When an owner or occupant fails to prune as required, the urban forester issues an order directing the work to be completed within a reasonable time. Notice of that order can be served personally, by publication, by posting, or by certified mail, and certified mail is treated as the legal equivalent of personal service. For a nonresident owner of an unoccupied lot who has no city agent, the city mails notice to the last-known address shown on the current real estate tax assessment records. If the person served does not comply within the time set in the order, the city may perform the pruning itself and recover the full cost of the work from the noncompliant owner or occupant.

The rule sits in Chapter 38, Article I of the general ordinances, alongside the community forest plan the urban forester administers under Sec. 38-2, and it traces back to Code 1959, Sec. 1-3, amended most recently in 2012.