Littleton, CO Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Street trees go in under a plan approved as part of Site Plan or Master Development Plan review, with the subdivider or developer responsible for installation. The code sets fixed clearances: no street tree may be planted within 20 feet of street lights or utility poles, within 10 feet of an alley or vehicular entrance, or within 10 feet of existing walls, fences, signs, driveways, or fire hydrants, with signs excepted in the DNR, DTA, DMS and DMU districts. Spacing at maturity generally runs a minimum of 20 feet for ornamental trees, 30 feet for coniferous evergreens, and 40 feet or more for large deciduous trees, and each tree needs at least five feet by five feet of open, unobstructed soil surface, with tree grates permitted over that area where applicable.

Species are drawn from the code's Appendix A, Preferred Plantings; an applicant proposing another species must show it is native and urban-tolerant. Evergreens are limited to the north side of a street or locations where wintertime shadows will not ice public rights-of-way, and only ornamental trees may go beneath or within five feet of overhead power lines. Separately, a permit or approval is required before anyone plants a street tree or other landscape material in the public right-of-way, and that planting must also comply with Title 8, Public Ways and Property.