Olympia, WA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Tree trimming along streets in the City of Olympia, Thurston County, Washington, is a permission rule, not a height rule. Section 12.44.060 of the Olympia Municipal Code declares all ornamental, shade or other trees planted and situated in the streets or parking strips within the city to be public property subject to the control of the city. That declaration covers a tree a homeowner planted in front of their own property, because § 12.44.020 lets owners plant in the parking strip while § 12.44.060 keeps the tree under city control.

Section 12.44.070 sets two conditions on any work. First, trees can be trimmed or pruned only in a symmetrical and even manner according to the most approved plans for the trimming and pruning of such trees. Second, the trimming, pruning or cutting can only be done under the supervision and by the permission of the street superintendent. A resident who wants a branch cut back from a window, a driveway or a sidewalk therefore has to get that permission first.

Chapter 12.44 prints no clearance height for branches over a street or sidewalk, so the code's tool here is the permission requirement, not a numeric standard.

Street trees also fall under the maintenance requirement in § 16.60.100, which applies in perpetuity to Soil and Vegetation Protection Areas, required landscaping, individually retained trees and street trees. Trees are kept vigorous and healthy under the standards of the Urban Forestry Manual, and trees that become diseased, severely damaged or die must be removed by the owner no later than 60 days after notification by the city and replaced with healthy vegetation of the same size species under the approved plan.