Oyster Bay, NY Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 225-7 hands the job of trimming trees along Oyster Bay's public streets to the utilities themselves rather than to a Town crew or the tree's owner. Any company doing business as a public utility under the jurisdiction of the New York State Public Service Commission, and any public agency authorized to provide utility service, holds a standing continuing permit to trim, remove, or otherwise cut back trees that grow next to the Town's public streets, and even trees on private property to the extent their branches encroach on those streets, whenever necessary to meet the Commission's safety rules or to keep the utility's lines running safely.

No separate Town application is required for this routine safety trimming. That authority is distinct from removing a tree from a public street or Town-controlled property outright: § 225-8 requires the prior written consent of the Town Superintendent of Highways for that, granted only if the tree is hazardous to people or property on the adjoining street, its roots are damaging curbs, gutters, or sidewalks, or it unduly interferes with public utility infrastructure. A property owner cannot invoke § 225-7 on their own initiative to clear branches over the street; that authorization runs only to PSC-regulated utilities and the public agencies the section names.