Lafayette, IN Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 8.06.230 of the Lafayette Municipal Code governs street tree planting for new development adjacent to a minor arterial, collector, local street or shared access road. Subsection A requires the developer to submit a tree planting plan for city approval, and subsection B requires the plan to note which existing trees will be saved and how trees on the site and adjoining properties will be protected during construction. Subsection C requires deciduous, not evergreen, trees selected from the approved tree list, planted at a rate of one tree per 40 feet of frontage for shade trees or one per 35 feet of frontage for trees on the alternate small tree list.

Subsection D sets the planting location priority: the subdivision plat location first, then any existing consistent street tree pattern, and otherwise midway between the sidewalk and curb. Subsection E requires trees to sit at least 30 feet back from an intersection with a local or collector street and 50 feet back from an intersection with a major or minor arterial, subsection F sets a minimum 25-foot spacing between street trees, and subsection G requires a minimum caliper of one and one-half inches at planting. The City Forester may modify or waive these standards under subsection I where sight lines, parking-lot landscaping duplication, or shallow utilities are a problem.