Montgomery, AL Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 12-164 gives the city's urban forester authority over trees on public property and directs the office to develop a street tree planting plan and program along all city streets, along with detailed plans and specifications for the areas the plan covers. That authority carries into Section 12-165, which makes it unlawful to plant a tree or shrub on any public right-of-way, meaning the parkway strip between the curb and the sidewalk, or any other public property, without first getting a permit from the urban forester and then strictly following the permit's conditions.

The article also lets the city extend its planting program onto adjoining private land. Under Section 12-165(d), the urban forester can contract with a property owner to plant an agreed species at an agreed location on private property next to a right-of-way where city space is too narrow for a large shade tree, and the city will maintain that tree for up to a year after planting. Anyone who blocks a city tree's roots, whether by piling stone, cement, brick, sand or other material over them, or by excavating within the tree's root protection zone (a band 18 to 24 inches deep running out to half the tree's height or its drip line), also needs a permit from the urban forester before the work starts. 00 and six months of imprisonment or hard labor.