Charlotte, NC Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

16 governs the strip of yard between a new house and the street, the area most homeowners think of as the parkway or tree lawn. Builders of a new single-family, duplex, triplex, or quadraplex must plant one large-maturing tree for every 40 feet of lot width, or one small-maturing tree for every 30 feet, following the species and spacing tables in the Charlotte Tree Manual. Every lot owes at least one tree regardless of width, and trees may go inside the right-of-way itself unless the frontage sits on NCDOT right-of-way.

Sites with real conflicts, water meters, sewer lines, driveways, sight triangles, or spacing clashes with other required trees, can satisfy the requirement through a payment-in-lieu or by shifting plantings to an alternate location approved under the Tree Manual. Existing large-maturing shade trees of two-inch caliper or greater standing between the house and the street count toward the total if they are fenced and protected during construction. Any tree planted in the right-of-way to meet this section must start at a two-inch caliper minimum. Large-maturing trees cannot go within 25 feet of overhead power distribution lines; small-maturing trees are allowed there instead, and neither size may be planted in an electric transmission right-of-way without the utility's written authorization.

17. 16 runs alongside the citywide Charlotte Tree Manual, effective under the UDO's June 1, 2023 start date and carried forward through the March 23, 2026 amendment cycle.