Upper Darby, PA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Section 506-7 of Chapter 506, Article I, Shade Trees, sets a minimum overhang clearance of nine feet over any public walk and 11 feet over any public street or highway. The Shade Tree Commission created in § 506-2 can require a taller clearance on certain highways where heavy traffic or other conditions make it expedient, overriding the baseline nine- and eleven-foot figures for specific streets. The trimming duty is placed on the owner of the private property whose branches project over the public right-of-way, not on the Township, and the owner must keep the lowest branches at or above whatever clearance the Commission has set.

If an owner neglects or refuses to trim after written notice from the Commission, § 506-7 gives the Commission 30 days from that notice before it can step in, do the trimming itself, and charge the entire cost back to the owner. That cost becomes a lien upon the premises, collected the same way the Township files and collects other municipal claims under § 506-10. A private contractor hired to do the trimming must obtain a $15 permit per job under § 506-9 and carry a certificate of insurance; an owner personally trimming his own tree needs no permit.