Rochester Hills, MI Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 94-35(a) puts the duty to maintain roadside vegetation squarely on the adjacent property owner, covering not just their own lot but the strip of public right-of-way between the property and the inside edge of the pathway or sidewalk. The clearance heights are specific: 14 feet over the travelled portion of a street with three feet of horizontal clearance from the edge of the street, ten feet over pathways, and eight feet over sidewalks, with a minimum one-foot lateral clearance off the edge of any pathway or sidewalk.

Section 94-141(4), in the sidewalk-maintenance division of the same chapter, restates the sidewalk figure as an eight-foot vertical and one-foot horizontal clearance for overhanging tree limbs and shrubs, with ten feet vertical for nonmotorized pathways, making clear the two sections work together. If an owner fails to trim after the city gives written notice, section 94-35(b) lets the city do the work and charge the owner the reasonable cost plus a 30 percent fee for supervision and administrative expenses, collectible as a lien on the property under section 90-30 if unpaid.

The city retains authority to issue citations for the violation independent of doing the work itself. Before any trimming, tunnelling under or removal of trees actually located in the street (as opposed to overhanging from adjacent property), section 94-33 separately requires a permit from the director and payment of the fee set in section 54-590.