Pocatello, ID Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 12.28.080(E) of the Pocatello City Code requires branches overhanging a sidewalk or street to be pruned to a minimum vertical clearance of eight feet above sidewalks and twelve feet above streets, rising to fourteen and one-half feet above streets on designated truck routes, so limbs do not interfere with public travel. The city forester, working under the Parks and Recreation director, can grant exceptions to the standard. Under section 12.28.070, private property owners must keep trees on abutting rights of way, and any tree on private property affecting public property, in a safe and healthy condition, which includes keeping growth clear of the required envelope.

A tree that obstructs pedestrian or vehicular passage, or that interferes with an intersection sight triangle under subsection 12.28.080(F), is a declared public nuisance under section 12.28.110(C). Under section 12.28.120, owners must remedy nuisances on their property or abutting right of way, and the city forester can enter private property to inspect a suspected nuisance tree; the city can also order pruning or removal of a nuisance tree on public or private land. Section 12.28.130 requires the city to give written notice describing the violation and the corrective action needed, with thirty days to abate at the owner's expense and a right to request a preabatement hearing before the Parks and Recreation director.