Lenexa, KS Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Lenexa plants street trees itself in single-family and duplex subdivisions with average lot sizes under 1 acre, under Section 4-1-D-2, subsection J, of the Unified Development Code. The intent is one street tree for every 40 linear feet of public or private street frontage, adjusted for driveways, utilities and intersection visibility.

Placement is inside a landscape easement or the right-of-way abutting the street. Trees need not sit at 40-foot intervals but must be spaced fairly evenly along the frontage. The Parks and Recreation Director decides the final location and the botanical name of each tree, considering input from the property owner, and also decides when planting happens, with the code pointing to the first appropriate planting season after construction damage is past. Owners in a covered project grant the City a 15-foot deep landscape easement along all right-of-way lines as part of final plan or plat approval.

Developers pay for the trees up front. At final plat or final plan approval the landowner pays into the Lenexa Street Tree Fund a fee calculated as total linear feet of street frontage divided by 50, multiplied by a dollar amount adopted by the City Council. Dividing by 50 rather than 40 is deliberate, to prevent surplus in the fund, and payments are nonrefundable. Three Street Tree Fund Zones divide the city at Renner, K-10 and K-7.

After planting, the City replaces a street tree once at no cost if it dies or is diseased within the one year warranty period. Beyond that, Article 3-5-J makes the abutting property owner responsible for planting, maintenance and removal of trees on the adjacent right-of-way, with 8 feet of clearance over sidewalks and 13 feet over streets. Site trees are separate: two deciduous trees per single-family or duplex lot, at least one a shade tree and at least one in the front yard.