Hercules, CA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

618 of the Hercules Municipal Code, part of the subdivision improvement standards in Title 10, Chapter 2, governs trees planted in the street right-of-way. Subsection (b) states plainly that trees planted along the street within the road right-of-way must conform to species and location approved by the Department of Public Works. 615 for encroachment permits tied to driveway and street work). The rule sits alongside subsection (a) of the same section, which separately requires trees that conflict with grading, utilities, or other improvements, or that overhang the sidewalk or pavement and create a nuisance or hazard, to be removed or trimmed.

Together the two subsections form the city's basic street-tree regime: control what goes in the ground and control what grows over the public way afterward. 618 sits within the Subdivision chapter, it applies most directly to new subdivision improvement plans, but Public Works uses the same standard when reviewing right-of-way tree work generally. There is no permit fee schedule or species list printed directly in this section; approval is discretionary and case-by-case with the Public Works Department, which is the enforcing authority for the standard.