Pontiac, MI Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Chapter 106 (Subdivisions), Article III (Improvements), § 106-102(g) requires that all existing, desirable trees within a street right-of-way be preserved to the maximum extent possible by the subdivider, cross-referencing the tree-preservation standard at § 106-132(4). Where existing trees cannot satisfy the minimum, the subdivider must plant new street trees, and the Code fixes a numeric floor: at least one tree within the right-of-way per lot, or not less than one tree for each 50 feet of frontage. Any street tree the subdivider plants must be of a type and location approved by the city forester.

The section then prints an approved list, including Norway maple, red maple, hackberry, Marshall green ash, thornless honeylocust, Bradford pear, little-leaf linden, European hornbeam, male ginkgo and Amur cork tree, and a companion prohibited list barring box elder, elms, poplar species, willow species, horse chestnut, tree of heaven, catalpa, female ginkgo, sugar maple and pin oak as street trees. These planting standards sit among the chapter's other required subdivision improvements at § 106-102, including paved streets, five-foot-minimum concrete sidewalks set one foot from the property line, bicycle pathways where called for by the master plan, and city-specified street lighting and signage, all of which the city council must approve under § 106-101 before installation.