Plano, TX Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Trimming duty
- Falls on adjacent property owner
- City backstop
- City may trim/remove and bill owner
- Clearance standard
- No blocking of street, sidewalk, sight lines
- Governing section
- Plano Code of Ordinances § 15-117(c)
- Oversight
- Parks & recreation director, § 15-116
Summary
Plano puts the trimming duty on the property owner, not the city: Code of Ordinances § 15-117(c) makes it unlawful for anyone owning property next to a parkway area, the strip between the curb and the sidewalk, to fail to prune, trim, and maintain the trees, shrubs, and landscaping there. If the owner doesn't, the city can do the work and bill the owner.
It is unlawful for each person owning property adjacent to the parkway area to fail to prune, trim and maintain the trees, shrubs and landscaping in the parkway area adjacent to their property. The city, without incurring liability, reserves the right to prune, trim or remove any tree, shrub or landscaping located in the parkway area. City costs incurred for pruning, trimming, or removing trees, shrubs and landscaping in the parkway area shall remain the responsibility of the adjacent property owner.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 153).
Full Breakdown
The parkway area, defined in the adjoining § 15-117(b) as the strip between the street right-of-way line and the curb line, or generally the area between the curb and the far edge of the sidewalk, sits on city right-of-way, but § 15-117(c) shifts the maintenance burden to the adjacent private owner. ' Overgrown limbs blocking a stop sign or hanging low over a sidewalk are exactly the condition § 15-117(c) requires the adjacent owner to correct, under authority the parks and recreation director holds under § 15-116 over 'all trees, plants and shrubs planted or growing in or upon the public highways and public places' citywide.
Violations & Fines
An owner who lets parkway trees or shrubs go untrimmed risks the city performing the work itself under § 15-117(c) and billing the cost back to the property: a direct financial exposure separate from any citation. Because interfering vegetation also violates the clearance standard in § 15-117(b), the parks director can order corrective trimming, and continued noncompliance is enforceable as a misdemeanor under the Code's general-penalty section, § 1-4(b), up to $500 per offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for trimming the trees between my sidewalk and the street?
What happens if I don't maintain my parkway trees?
Does overgrown parkway landscaping have a clearance requirement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Plano
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Plano to another location·View the Texas landscaping rules overview
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