Plainfield, NJ Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 15:1-10 of the Plainfield Municipal Code sets a clearance rule for every tree that overhangs a street or right-of-way in the City of Plainfield. The owner must trim the branches so they do not obstruct the light from a street lamp or the view of a street intersection, and so a clear space of thirteen and one-half feet remains above the surface of the street or right-of-way. The same subsection tells the owner to remove all dead, diseased or dangerous trees and any broken or decayed limbs that menace public safety.

The City backs this up with its own trimming power. Under subsection (b), if the owner does not comply, the Director of Public Works or a designee can trim any tree or shrub on private property that interferes with the spread of light from a street light or with the visibility of a traffic control device or sign. The trimming is confined to the area immediately above the right-of-way.

Work done in the street itself needs a permit. Section 15:1-9 bars anyone from pruning, spraying, planting or removing a tree in any street or park, with one exception: an owner of abutting land can do so, after getting prior written permission from the Director of Public Works or a designee, in the part of the street abutting the land that is not used for public travel. Each permit states the extent of the authorization and its conditions. Sections 15:1-4 and 15:1-5 put the Department of Public Works in control of trees within streets, rights-of-way and parks.

Chapter 15 defines a tree as a woody plant with a well defined stem greater than four inches in diameter, measured four and one-half feet above ground, with a two inch measure, taken four feet from the ground, for dogwood, birch and other multi-trunked trees.