Grand Junction, CO Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 8.32.080 defines the 'planting strip' as the area between the back of any street curb and the edge of the nearest sidewalk, or, where there is no curb, from the edge of the street asphalt to the sidewalk edge. Every person in the City has the duty to keep and care for the planting strip fronting or adjoining property they own, maintaining it in an aesthetically pleasing manner using drought-tolerant plant material, grass or other plantings, stone aggregate, decorative rocks, bark mulch, or combinations of those materials, with vegetation watered and fertilized for optimum growth.

Any tree planted in the strip must come from the approved tree list adopted under § 8.32.020; the City limits its own maintenance there to spraying, trimming and removing trees, and will try, but is not obligated, to notify the adjoining owner before doing that work. Around every trunk, § 8.32.080(e) requires an open, unobstructed area of at least six square feet for a tree three inches in diameter, growing by at least two more square feet for every two inches of additional trunk diameter, so stone, cement or debris cannot choke off water and air to the roots.

Hard surfacing such as concrete or brick over the strip needs a written permit from the City Manager, and a resident who disputes a City Manager decision under this section can appeal to the Forestry Board.