Overland Park, KS Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Overland Park Municipal Code Section 7.16.150 sets minimum height clearances for Trees and Shrubs in the public right-of-way: 8 feet over public sidewalks, 13.5 feet over improved thoroughfares or designated truck routes, and 12.5 feet over all other streets. The same section bars planting within fixed distances of certain infrastructure: 10 feet of any fireplug, 15 feet of any regulatory sign, 20 feet of any street light pole, and 10 feet of any box culvert. It also prohibits planting or maintaining vegetation within any traffic "zone of approach" (the unobstructed sight line extending 150 feet from the nearest intersecting curb toward a traffic control device), caps vegetation height at 2 feet in sight-distance areas defined under Sections 12.04.126 and 18.450.070 unless a tree is City Forester-approved, limits plantings under overhead electric lines to Small Tree species from the Approved Street Tree List (Section 7.16.180), and bars any tree or shrub placement that creates a Nuisance.

The Community Services Division and City Forester enforce these clearance standards under Section 7.16.190, issuing a notice of violation to the property owner when a tree or shrub obstructs public or private property or endangers public health, safety and welfare; an emergency condition lets the City act to abate without prior notice, with costs assessed under Chapter 7.28 or K.S.A. 12-1,115. Section 7.16.220 exempts trees planted before the applicable prohibition's effective date from the distance rules in 7.16.150.A and .F, though replacements must comply.