Lafayette, LA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Lafayette's tree ordinance treats the parkway strip, the right-of-way between the paved street and the abutting property line, as public infrastructure the city-parish actively manages, not a space residents can plant in freely. Sec. 78-291 defines a street tree as any tree, shrub, bush, or other woody vegetation planted or growing in that strip, and gives the arborist, an agent designated by the public works department, authority over coordination and review of anything affecting trees and shrubbery on public property. Sec. 78-294 backs that authority with a broad right: the city-parish consolidated government may plant, prune, maintain, and remove trees and shrubs within street, alley, avenue, and public-ground lines as necessary for safety, utility operation, or the symmetry and beauty of public grounds, and may remove any tree that's unsafe or injurious to sewers, power lines, gas lines, water lines, or other public improvements.

Sec. 78-295 puts the arborist in charge of the actual planting standards, promulgating arboricultural specifications and considering utility, environmental, and transportation factors before recommending species for a given street or site. The operative permit rule is Sec. 78-296(b): anyone who wants to plant a tree or shrub on public property or in a public right-of-way must get a permit from the arborist, and the request first has to clear a public works department review to confirm the planting fits the department's requirements. The same article separately bars attaching ropes, wire, chains, signs, or other devices to a public tree or its stake (Sec.

78-297) and directs major construction projects to be designed to minimize tree loss where public safety and economics allow (Sec. 78-298). Article V applies only inside the City of Lafayette, per Sec. 78-292, unincorporated parish parkways aren't covered by this article.