Ontario, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Code section
- Ontario MC Sec. 7-3.13 (Landscaping parkways)
- Tree clearance
- Minimum 8 feet from grade
- Owner duty
- Water, trim, and maintain abutting parkway vegetation
- City duty
- Median parkways, major pruning, tree surgery, high pruning
- Tree planting/removal
- City permit; conform to Master Plan of Parkway Trees
- Right-of-way trees
- No removal/damage (Sec. 7-3.09)
Summary
Ontario Municipal Code Sec. 7-3.13 makes the abutting property owner responsible for watering, trimming, and maintaining parkway vegetation, including trimming trees to a minimum clearance of eight (8) feet from grade. Planting or removing any parkway tree requires a City permit and must conform to the Master Plan of Parkway Trees; major pruning and tree surgery are handled by the City.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner, occupant, or person having charge or control of property to plant grass and/or groundcover, as well as to sufficiently water, trim, and otherwise maintain all vegetation within the abutting parkway, including trimming of trees to provide a minimum clearance of eight (8) feet from grade.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-32: Current through Ordinance 3338, passed 7-21-2026).
Full Breakdown
Ontario regulates parkway (street-frontage) trees in Title 7, Chapter 3 (Public Rights-of-Way) of the Municipal Code. ' The City retains responsibility for divider-median parkways, for all major pruning or tree surgery, and for pruning parkway trees that cannot be pruned from the ground. The planting and removal of all trees within parkway areas is subject to a City permit and must conform to the Master Plan of Parkway Trees. 09 separately prohibits any person from removing, damaging, destroying, mutilating, defacing, relocating, altering, or injuring any tree or other cultivated vegetation within a public right-of-way, while expressly allowing the proper care and cultivation of landscaping materials, including minor pruning of trees.
The City's Parks and Streets Maintenance Department performs City tree work and trimmed 17,276 trees in 2025; residents can request street tree trimming through the City's Report an Issue portal.
Violations & Fines
Under Sec. 7-3.20, failure to comply with a notice of violation within forty-eight (48) hours is itself a violation, and each day of continued noncompliance is a separate offense. Where a violation is an immediate hazard, the City may eliminate it and recover the costs from the owner; the City may also correct the condition and levy the costs against the property when the owner fails to respond.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to trim the street tree in front of my house?
Can I remove a parkway tree myself?
How do I get the City to trim a street tree?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ontario
California rules heatmap·Compare Ontario to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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Tree Trimming in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle tree trimming.