Coon Rapids, MN Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 10-503, in Chapter 10-500 of the Coon Rapids City Code, encourages residents to plant and maintain trees in the boulevard adjacent to their property rather than banning it, but it conditions that planting on two requirements. First, the tree species must be one authorized in City Code § 12-207(1)(F), so a resident cannot pick any tree; the type has to match the City's approved list. Second, before installing anything, the resident must contact the City Engineer's Office to locate sewer and water mains, laterals, services, and other underground utility lines running through the boulevard.

The section then sets fixed setbacks: no tree may be planted within 10 feet of any sewer line, water line, or driveway, or within two feet of any underground gas, electric, or telephone line. The companion section, § 10-504, addresses the other side of the boulevard tree's life: removing a healthy, living public right-of-way tree requires a permit from the City Forester, obtained on a form the Forester provides, and "mere inconvenience" is not accepted as a valid reason for removal; a permit issued for utility root penetration expires within six months.

Section 10-506 layers on general protections for any public tree or shrub already in place, barring anyone without a Forester's permit from breaking, injuring, or killing a public tree, excavating within five feet of one, laying a driveway within five feet of one, or building without guards to protect nearby trees, and it requires trees overhanging a public street to be trimmed to a 13-and-a-half-foot clearance. The Parks Supervisor separately approves utility maintenance work on public trees under § 10-505.