Bossier City, LA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 13.8.1 governs the street buffer, the landscaped strip along the street right-of-way that Section 13.7.2 requires on every nonresidential and qualifying multi-family lot. Subsection A sets the planting ratio at one street buffer tree for every 30 feet of linear frontage; where overhead utility lines run along that buffer, the required trees must be a variety that stays under 25 feet at maturity so they do not conflict with the lines. Subsection B fixes a minimum three-inch caliper at planting and requires a drought-tolerant variety drawn from the code's planting list, which Section 13.9.6 supplies as a recommended tree schedule naming species such as Bald Cypress, Cedar Elm, Crepe Myrtle and White Oak, each with a growth note on shade, drought tolerance or street suitability.

Subsection C adds understory shrubs at least three feet tall and three gallons in size, planted in designated beds at one shrub per 3 lineal feet of frontage. Subsection D lets a developer trade up to half of the required shrubs for additional trees, at a ratio of one extra tree per 10 percent of shrubs removed. Subsection E exempts industrial developments from the understory shrub and irrigation requirements, though irrigation is still recommended. Under Section 13.5, no certificate of occupancy issues until this landscaping is complete, though the zoning office may grant a three-month temporary certificate when heat or the planting season delays installation, and Section 13.6.3 makes a failure to maintain the required trees and shrubs a violation of the chapter on its own.