Pasco, WA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Nuisance trigger
- Vegetation overhanging or blocking sidewalk/street
- Responsible party
- Abutting owner or occupant
- Permit threshold
- Trunk over 4 inches diameter
- Approving official
- Director (City Manager or agent)
- Maximum penalty
- $500.00, each day a violation
- Notice before abatement
- At least 10 days written notice
Summary
Pasco treats any tree, shrub, or vegetation that overhangs or obstructs a sidewalk, street, or alley as a public nuisance the property owner must abate. PMC 12.12.110 backs that with the Director's permit requirement for pruning trees over four inches in trunk diameter, and fines up to $500.00 per day.
(1) All trees, plants, shrubs, grass, brush, weeds or other vegetation, or part thereof, which overhang any sidewalk, street or alley, or which are growing there in such a manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of the sidewalk, street or alley by the public, are public nuisances. All trees, plants, shrubs, grass, brush, weeds or other vegetation growing or which have grown and died that are found upon any property and which are a fire hazard or otherwise a menace to public health, safety, welfare or order are public nuisances.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4837, passed May 4, 2026).
Full Breakdown
PMC 12.12.110(1) declares a public nuisance out of 'all trees, plants, shrubs, grass, brush, weeds or other vegetation, or part thereof, which overhang any sidewalk, street or alley, or which are growing there in such a manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of the sidewalk, street or alley by the public.' PMC 12.12.040 places the duty for that vegetation on 'the owner, occupant or person having control' of the abutting property, covering the planting strip and drainage swale between the curb and sidewalk.
Trimming is not unregulated self-help, though: PMC 12.12.080 requires permission from the Director (the City Manager or a designated agent, PMC 12.12.020) before 'any tree having a trunk of more than four inches in diameter at a point three feet above ground level' can be 'substantially pruned or removed' from a planting strip, drainage swale, or other public place. PMC 12.12.150 separately bars 'excessive pruning or trimming which substantially alters the natural shape or habit of a tree,' calling that mutilation, though it excludes routine removal of dead or damaged branches.
Once the City identifies an overhanging or obstructing nuisance under PMC 12.12.110, PMC 12.12.130 lets it abate the condition through the process in Chapter 9.90 PMC, and PMC 12.12.140 requires at least ten days' written notice to the owner before any abatement resolution passes. PMC 12.12.160 sets the penalty for any violation of Chapter 12.12 PMC, including an unabated overhang nuisance or unpermitted mutilation, at up to $500.00, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Letting a tree or shrub overhang or obstruct a sidewalk, street, or alley, pruning it without the Director's permission, or mutilating it beyond routine dead-branch removal, is a violation of Chapter 12.12 PMC subject to a fine up to $500.00, with each continuing day counted separately. The City must give at least ten days' written notice before abating an unaddressed nuisance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to trim a tree over the sidewalk in Pasco?
Can the City make me trim a tree that hangs over the sidewalk in Pasco?
What is the fine for violating Pasco's tree ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasco
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