Madison, WI Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

10 makes it City policy to plant and maintain trees and shrubs in the public right-of-way, with the Urban Forestry Section of the Streets Division directing all planting, care, and removal of public trees under the City Forester, subject to Board of Public Works oversight. When the City Forester proposes new street tree installation assessed to abutting owners, the Forester files a report listing the trees, locations, and proposed assessments; the City then publishes a Class 1 notice and holds a Board of Public Works hearing 10 to 40 days later, followed by a second notice and a Common Council hearing on the assessment itself.

08. After the project is completed, the City Forester reconciles the assessment to actual costs and refunds any excess. Diseased or destroyed street trees are replaced by the City at no cost to the property owner, subject to available space and funding, and ongoing maintenance of installed street trees remains a City responsibility rather than the abutting owner's.