New Britain, CT Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 17-89, enacted with the rest of Chapter 17's Article VI tree ordinance by Resolution No. 34196-2 on July 4, 2018, governs planting in New Britain's public places and rights-of-way, the parkway strips and street tree lines that line city sidewalks. The ordinance frames planting as encouraged, not merely tolerated: the public shall be encouraged to plant trees in public places in the city and in areas which fill in gaps in the tree line or near the right-of-way, language aimed at building out the tree canopy the tree warden separately inventories under § 17-86.

But encouragement comes with a permitting step. Any organization or person who wants to plant a tree in a public place or right-of-way must first submit the proposed location, species and size to the tree warden, and must obtain a permit before putting a shovel in the ground. The tree warden's office, run through the Board of Public Works engineering division, reviews that information against the city's tree protection and streetscape standards referenced elsewhere in the article, including the definition of a streetscape tree as one within five feet of the right-of-way that forms part of a street's tree line.

Once planted, ownership shifts automatically: the tree shall become the property of the city, meaning the planter cannot later remove or alter it without going back through the tree warden under the alteration and removal provisions of §§ 17-90 and 17-91. The tree warden also sets species requirements separately, planning for a minimum of forty-five three-inch caliper trees of mixed species each year under § 17-86.