Rock Hill, SC Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Article IV of Chapter 28, 'Nuisance Trees,' places the pruning duty on every property owner or occupant under § 28-91: they must maintain the trees, shrubs, and other woody plants on their own property in a safe and healthy manner and keep them properly pruned and trimmed to avoid hazards to people, property, and other vegetation. Section 28-92 turns specific conditions into a declared public nuisance, including a tree with a structural defect that predisposes it to failure near a building, street, sidewalk, or other area people use; a tree harboring insects or disease that threatens other trees; a tree that is an imminent danger to public health, safety, or welfare; and, most concretely, any tree that obstructs pedestrian or vehicular traffic or is not maintained at a minimum clearance of eight feet over sidewalks and 14 feet over roadways.

The same eight-foot and 14-foot figures apply specifically to trees the city itself plants in the right-of-way: § 28-61 requires anyone planting or growing a 'public tree' (a street tree or a tree on city property) to prune it so the minimum clearance of any overhanging portion is eight feet above a sidewalk and 14 feet above a street. Once the forester or an agent identifies a nuisance tree on private property, § 28-93 lets the forester enter after reasonable notice to the owner to confirm the condition, and an unresolved nuisance proceeds to abatement and the chapter's general penalty in § 28-3.