Newark, OH Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Chapter 1028 of the Newark Code of Ordinances, enacted by Newark City Council, governs trees, shrubs and other plantings on public ground in the City of Newark, Licking County, Ohio. Section 1028.03 bars any person from planting, setting out, moving, spraying, bracing, trimming, performing surgery on, cutting or otherwise disturbing any tree, shrub or other planting in a public place without first obtaining a work permit from the Director of Public Service under Chapter 1022.

The definitions in Section 1028.001 shape how that permit reads. A "public place" is City-owned ground other than streets and highways. "Public trees" are all shade and ornamental trees growing on any street, highway or public place. A "treelawn" is the part of a street or highway not covered by sidewalks or paving, lying between the property line and the portion used for vehicles. Trees are sorted by mature height: large trees reach forty-five feet or more, medium trees thirty to forty-five feet, and small trees twenty to thirty feet.

Section 1028.01 puts the upkeep of everything growing between the property line and the curb line on the abutting owner. That growth cannot extend over the traveled part of the street or the sidewalk, and it must be trimmed so it sits not less than eight feet above the sidewalk surface. Dead, dangerous or decayed trees and shrubs there must be cut down and removed by the owner.

Section 1028.02 has the Director publish a trimming notice in a City newspaper during the first three months of each year. If an owner has not complied by May 1, the Director has the work done at the owner's expense, in addition to the criminal penalty. Section 1028.10(b) adds a separate written permit from the Mayor or designee before anyone excavates a ditch, tunnel or trench, or lays a drive, within ten feet of a public tree. The species the City refuses to plant on its own land are listed in Section 1028.08.