Novi, MI Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

City of Novi Code Section 26.5-40, part of the performance guarantee chapter enacted by Ordinance No. 16-173.05 in 2016, ties street tree planting to the development approval process rather than treating it as a stand-alone permit. Any performance guarantee required under Sections 26.5-5 and 26.5-7 for a subdivision, site plan, or site condominium must include a guarantee amount covering the planting of required street trees at a flat rate of $400 per tree. The city will not issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for the development until this street tree guarantee is posted, and it will not issue the final certificate of occupancy until the applicant has actually planted every required street tree and the city has inspected and accepted the plantings, unless a completion agreement under Section 26.5-12 is in place with its own guarantees.

Once trees are accepted, the applicant must guarantee their survival for two full growing seasons, backed by a two-year maintenance bond equal to 25 percent of the value of the street trees, with a floor of $1,000 regardless of how few trees are involved. Any tree that dies or becomes unhealthy during that window must be replaced within three months of notice, or by the next suitable planting season if that comes sooner. The section sits within Chapter 26.5, Performance Guarantees, alongside parallel bonding requirements for landscaping under Section 26.5-39 and woodland trees under Section 26.5-37, so a single development can face several tree-related bonds calculated on different bases.