Durham, NC Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

City Code § 26-223 lets the city plant street trees on private property when the existing right-of-way along a street is not wide enough to accommodate them. The arrangement requires the consent of the adjacent property owner and is formalized through a temporary easement agreement; the easement must abut the property line dividing the street right-of-way from private property and cannot exceed 15 feet in width. The city commits to maintaining the trees it plants within the easement for a maximum of five years as specified in each agreement, and all planting must follow the city's tree planting and maintenance specifications and standards.

The city will not place easement trees where they would interfere with travel on public streets or endanger public use of those streets, consistent with the nuisance standard in § 26-221. If the city later acquires the land by purchase or condemnation, § 26-223 specifically provides that the city owes the property owner no compensation for trees it planted under a prior easement agreement. This provision sits in the city trees article, §§ 26-219 through 26-236, alongside the permit requirements for other work affecting city trees and the nuisance-abatement duty on street-facing trees; it is a voluntary planting program rather than a mandate that private owners plant trees themselves.