Franklin Township, PA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 22-610, 'Screening and Landscaping,' of the Franklin Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance sets the Township's only street-tree planting standard, applying whenever a developer proposes a new public or private road. D requires shade trees along the entire length of any such road, planted one to three feet outside the public right-of-way rather than inside it. Spacing is fixed: trees on one side of the street can't be more than 40 feet apart, and must be offset from the trees planted on the opposite side, following the Township's planting diagram; an existing healthy tree with at least a four-inch diameter, standing between the cartway edge and the right-of-way, can count toward that spacing requirement with the Board of Supervisors' approval instead of a new planting.

Species aren't left to the developer's preference: the trees must tolerate road salt and deicing compounds, withstand drought and the heat radiating off large paved surfaces, and carry deep root systems that won't crack the pavement or sidewalk, and the code requires the species to be indigenous to the area. Franklin Township maintains an approved list split between small shade trees maturing at 15 to 45 feet, such as musclewood and sourwood, and medium-large shade trees; a developer proposing any other species must demonstrate to the Board of Supervisors that it meets Section 22-610's criteria before it will be approved.

Once planted, Section 22-610 also requires that required screening, parking-lot landscaping and shade trees be perpetually maintained, with the developer responsible for replacing any tree that doesn't survive within six months during the maintenance period that follows installation.