Owensboro, KY Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Owensboro Municipal Code Sec. 5-160(a) lets a property owner plant a tree or shrub in unimproved public right-of-way, a median or a street lawn immediately next to their property, but only after obtaining a permit from the city, issued at no cost. The applicant must apply at least ten working days before planting, locate all underground utilities before the horticulturist's site visit, and get the horticulturist's on-site approval of the species and exact location. Spacing rules follow tree size: large trees expected to reach forty feet or more need forty feet of linear spacing and a ten-foot-wide planting area; medium trees, twenty-five to forty feet mature height, need thirty feet of spacing and an eight-foot area; small trees, under twenty-five feet, need twenty feet of spacing and a five-foot area.

No tree may go within ten feet of a fire hydrant or utility pole, within thirty feet of a curb radius where traffic control devices sit, or, if small only is permitted, within fifteen lateral feet of overhead utility wires. Property owners near the curb, within fifteen feet, must contact the horticulturist to confirm whether a permit is even required given variable right-of-way widths. The permittee takes on a binding covenant to reasonably maintain the planting, running with the property to successors in interest.