Lane County, OR Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Sidewalk/parking strip clearance
- 9 feet minimum
- Street clearance
- 15 feet minimum
- Sign/signal obstruction
- Nuisance regardless of height
- Notice-to-abate window
- 10 days
- County abatement overhead
- 25% added to cost
- Applies to
- Unincorporated county only
Summary
In unincorporated Lane County, trees and shrubs must clear nine feet over a sidewalk or parking strip and fifteen feet over a street. Vegetation that blocks a stop sign, traffic signal or street light is a nuisance the County can force you to cut back.
Any vegetation that creates the following conditions on any public or private property shall constitute a nuisance and no person responsible shall cause or permit such conditions to exist: A. Vegetation that is a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular use of any sidewalk or street by obstructing passage or vision. The hazards include, but are not limited to: 1. Vegetation that encroaches upon or overhangs a pedestrian way or adjacent parking strip lower than nine feet or encroaches upon or overhangs a street lower than fifteen (15) feet. 2. Vegetation which obstructs motorist or pedestrian view of traffic signs and signals, street lights and name signs, or other safety fixtures or markings placed in the public way. B. Vegetation that is an obstruction of access to a use of any public facilities placed within the public way.
Full Breakdown
576 declares nuisance vegetation any plant growth that creates a hazard to pedestrian or vehicle use of a sidewalk or street by obstructing passage or vision. Two clearance rules do the actual work: vegetation cannot encroach on or overhang a pedestrian way or an adjacent parking strip below nine feet, and it cannot encroach on or overhang a street below fifteen feet. 576B. 572 exempts property located within an incorporated city's limits, so this clearance standard applies only in the unincorporated county. 592: a posted and mailed notice giving ten days to cut the vegetation back, a right to appeal to a Hearings Official within that window, and County abatement with costs plus 25% administrative overhead assessed as a lien if the owner does not comply. The chapter was adopted by Ordinance 22-02 on February 8, 2022.
Violations & Fines
A violation starts with a posted and mailed notice describing the vegetation problem and giving the responsible person ten days to cut it back or file a written appeal to the Hearings Official. If the vegetation isn't cleared within ten days of the notice, or ten days after a Hearings Official upholds the notice on appeal, the County can send crews to abate it and bill the property owner for the cost plus a 25% administrative overhead charge, which becomes a lien on the property if unpaid within thirty days.
Frequently Asked Questions
How high must my tree branches be over a Lane County road?
What if my hedge blocks a stop sign, not the road itself?
How long do I get to trim vegetation after a County notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lane County
Compare Lane County to another location·View the Oregon landscaping rules overview
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