Spokane Valley, WA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

SVMC § 7.05.040(A)(1) sets the City's tree-trimming clearance standard as part of its general nuisance ordinance: "Any vegetation, or parts thereof, which hang lower than eight feet above any public walkway or sidewalk; or hang lower than 14 feet above any public street; or which are growing in such a manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of any public walkway, sidewalk, or street; or violate City clear view triangle regulations" is a public nuisance. The rule reaches branches, shrubs, and any other vegetation overhanging the right-of-way from private property, and it applies regardless of whether the tree itself sits on private land, since the obstruction, not the ownership of the trunk, is what the ordinance targets.

The same subsection assigns maintenance duty for City-planted street trees back to the City: "The City shall be responsible for maintaining all vegetation placed by the City adjacent to a public walkway, sidewalk, or street," so a homeowner is not on the hook for a City-owned boulevard tree that has grown too low, only for vegetation on or originating from their own property. A violation is investigated the same way as any other § 7.05.040 nuisance, through the field-observation and warning process in SVMC § 7.05.030 and § 17.100.050, with the standard 30-day correction window before a notice and order issues. Clear-view triangle violations, which affect sightlines at intersections and driveways, are folded into this same subsection rather than handled as a separate traffic-safety ordinance.