Lynnwood, WA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)
Key Facts
- Code term used
- "planting strip" within "transition strip"
- Maintenance duty
- abutting property owner
- Material allowed
- living or nonliving materials
- Encroachment rule
- must not encroach onto sidewalk
- Violation fine
- up to $250.00 per offense
Summary
Lynnwood calls the parkway strip between the sidewalk and the street a "planting strip," and it requires the abutting property owner to improve and maintain it, whether planted or not, so nothing there becomes a hazard or spreads into the sidewalk.
Planting strips shall be improved by the abutting property owners with living or nonliving materials. Nonliving materials shall be placed within the planting strip so as to be contained therein and to not become a hazard to the persons using the sidewalk, street or pathway adjacent thereto. Vegetation placed within the planting strip shall be maintained by weeding, spraying, fertilizing, watering and draining so as to not encroach upon the sidewalk and/or walkway. Planting areas shall be maintained free and clear of debris not an integral part of the improvement of the planting strip.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3512, passed May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
050 places the improvement and upkeep of that planting strip on the abutting property owner, who may use either living materials, such as street trees, shrubs, and ground cover, or nonliving materials like rock or mulch. Nonliving materials must be contained within the strip so they do not become a hazard to people using the adjacent sidewalk, street, or pathway. Any vegetation planted there, including street trees, has to be actively maintained through weeding, spraying, fertilizing, watering, and draining so that growth does not encroach onto the sidewalk or walkway, and the whole planting area must be kept free of debris that is not part of the improvement itself.
020. Because the planting strip sits in the public right-of-way rather than on private property, its maintenance rules are enforced the same way as sidewalk maintenance: through the notice-and-lien process, not through separate tree-permit review.
Violations & Fines
Failing to maintain the planting strip, whether by letting vegetation encroach onto the sidewalk or by allowing debris or an unsecured hazard to remain, is enforced the same way as any other Chapter 12.12 maintenance failure. LMC 12.12.090 treats an uncorrected violation as a public nuisance, with a fine of up to $250.00 per offense if not abated within 45 days of written notice from public works.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lynnwood call the strip between the sidewalk and street a parkway?
Who has to plant and maintain the strip next to the sidewalk in Lynnwood?
What happens if my planting strip vegetation grows over the sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lynnwood
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Parkway Planting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Snohomish County handle parkway planting.