Grand Forks, ND Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Article 2 of Chapter XVII, Berms, Shade Trees, Shrubbery, splits parkway tree responsibility between the city and the abutting property. Section 17-0201 authorizes and directs the Park Commission of the Park District to enter upon and possess the berms of every street and avenue in the city, wherever situated, for cultivating, planting, seeding, sodding, protecting, and maintaining trees, plants, and shrubbery there, and it does so at the Commission's own expense rather than billing property owners. That gives the Park Commission, not Planning and Community Development or Public Works, the lead role in deciding what gets planted on the boulevard strip between the curb and sidewalk.

Section 17-0202 then places a parallel duty on the people living next to that berm: owners and tenants alike must keep the shade trees along the adjoining public street or avenue trimmed so they do not interfere with travel on the street or avenue and do not interfere with the city's utility wires. Section 17-0203 backs that up by giving the city engineer and city forester their own authority to trim any tree between the sidewalk and curb whenever necessary to protect utility wires, regardless of whether the abutting owner has done so.

Section 17-0204 rounds out the article by barring anyone from walking, riding, or driving over a berm or grass boulevard except in cases of necessity, though an owner or occupant may cross temporarily to reach their own property with the superintendent of streets's prior permission, restoring the curb, sidewalk, and grass as directed afterward.