Norfolk, VA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Because Section 45-3 gives the bureau of parks and forestry "management, control and care" of the strip between the street curbing and the walkway and the authority to direct and regulate planting, transplanting, pruning, removal, care and protection of trees there, a Norfolk resident cannot simply plant a new parkway tree; that decision, including species selection and spacing, belongs to the bureau. The bureau supplies and installs the trees itself from its own nurseries under Section 45-6, including replacing ones that have died. What Section 45-13(a) does open to residents is maintenance of the trees already standing between the curb and sidewalk: a resident may apply for a pruning permit, but only after completing a workshop on basic trimming technique taught by the city's ISA-certified arborist and receiving a certificate of completion.

Even with the permit, the work is limited to nonpowered hand tools operated from the ground, and any debris has to go out under the regular Division of Waste Management collection rules. Beyond that narrow permit, Section 45-13(b) makes it unlawful for anyone except an authorized bureau employee to plant, prune, remove, or otherwise disturb a city tree, or to dig, place a container, or apply chemicals within its critical root zone, without a director-issued permit. Section 45-16(c) exempts two everyday acts from that permit rule: watering any right-of-way tree, plant, or shrub, and trimming crape myrtle root suckers under one inch in diameter growing from the base of a tree next to the resident's own property. Section 45-5 separately bars interfering with bureau employees while they plant, mulch, prune, spray, or remove a tree.