Burlington, WI Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

City Code § 278-65 governs street tree planting in new subdivisions and certified survey maps citywide. Under the ordinance, a subdivider in an urban subdivision or minor land division must plant at least one approved-species tree of at least 10 feet in height for every 50 feet of street frontage along every street proposed for dedication to the City. Planting has to follow any applicable neighborhood plan and match plans and specifications the Park Board approves, and it must happen at the time the Park Board directs, not whenever the subdivider prefers.

The ordinance also builds in a solar-access check: placement and species selection cannot hamper or interfere with solar access to natural light and air for nearby lots, so a subdivider cannot simply plant a dense row of tall evergreens along every lot line. A subdivider who does not want to plant the required trees can instead pay a tree fee set by the Common Council under § 278-82, calculated per tree that would otherwise have been required under § 278-65. The City Clerk collects that fee at the time of first application for final plat approval, and the Park Board then uses the money to plant trees in the subdivision after the final plat is approved, so the trees still go in, just on the City's schedule rather than the developer's.

The Plan Commission administers this fee-in-lieu option alongside related subdivision improvement fees. Because this requirement sits in the subdivision chapter, it applies at the plat-approval stage of new development, not to established residential streets citywide.