Ames, IA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 27.1 gives the City charge, custody and control of all trees and shrubbery within the public street right-of-way, defined as all land between the property lines on either side of every public street, avenue, highway, boulevard and alley in the city, and lets the City plant, prune, care for and remove that vegetation, including limbs overhanging the street. Sec. 27.2 then addresses new plantings: any tree or shrub set within the street limit, or any tree whose trunk sits more than 50 percent within the public street, is defined as a 'street tree.' Planting a street tree, whether done by the City itself or by the owner of the abutting private property, must follow the planting plan approved by the City Manager and kept on file in the City Department of Public Works; the City Manager's office issues the required permit without charge.

This planting-plan control lets the Department of Public Works standardize which species and spacing go into parkways citywide, avoiding future conflicts with sidewalks, utilities or sight lines, a real concern in Ames neighborhoods with mature street tree canopies near Iowa State University and Ada Hayden Heritage Park. Chapter 27's general penalty section, Sec. 27.7, makes any violation of the chapter a municipal infraction: $500 for a first offense and $750 for each repeat violation, dating to Ordinance No. 3497, Sec. 44.