Allentown, PA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 350-14 (Street trees) of Chapter 350, the City's Land Development and Subdivision code, states its intent is to line all streets with a consistent, appropriate planting of trees to establish tree canopy for environmental and aesthetic benefit, and the section applies to all buildings and sites in every zone. The City's Shade Tree Commission is given authority to determine whether street trees are planted inside or outside the right-of-way and may modify the section's other street tree rules to carry out its duties under § 597-2 of the Municipal Code.

Required street trees must be installed as a component of the streetscape area regulations in § 350-13 and per the City's tree ordinance, Chapter 597. In non-storefront locations, § 350-13 directs that the street tree zone be treated as a landscaped parkway or paved with tree wells, and where a sidewalk extends to the face of curb, tree wells must be provided. For trees not installed in a planted parkway within the MX-D or GX-D downtown zones, § 350-14E fixes tree well dimensions to the permeable-area regulations of § 660-71D of the Zoning Ordinance, and requires the well opening be covered with an expandable iron tree grate flush with the sidewalk.

With the City Engineer's approval, the opening may instead be enclosed by an 18-inch ornamental steel or iron fence above sidewalk grade, rimmed with a roughly four-inch-wide, six-inch-high continuous curb, surrounded by an 18-inch masonry seat wall, or protected by other durable, long-lasting material the City Engineer approves. These specifications apply on top of the streetscape rules in § 350-13, which require enhanced streetscapes on lots with 200 feet or more of frontage to be designed by a licensed landscape architect unless the Planning Commission waives that requirement for a limited-scope design.