Jackson, TN Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Jackson Municipal Code Section 2-303 defines "street trees" as trees, shrubs, bushes, and other woody vegetation growing in the public right-of-way of any street, avenue, or alley in the City of Jackson, distinct from park trees on city-owned park land. Under Section 2-304, the City Tree Board recommends which species may be planted on public property, so a homeowner or contractor cannot simply pick a species for the strip between the sidewalk and the street. Section 2-305 gives the board authority to set spacing standards, including distance from the curb and sidewalk and distance from street corners and fireplugs, but those regulations only take effect once the Jackson City Council approves them; the ordinance itself prints no single fixed distance.

Before a street tree goes into a right-of-way or other city-owned property, Section 2-306 requires that it not interfere with overhead utility wires or with an underground waterline, sewer line, transmission line, or other utility, and the person planting it must get the Jackson Energy Authority's approval first. Because the utility check and the board's species and spacing rules apply specifically to trees on the public right-of-way rather than trees on private lots, a resident planting a tree entirely within their own yard is not covered by this chapter.