Prescott Valley, AZ Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Article 13 of the Town Code ties street trees to the landscaped border that runs along each street. Under § 13-11-040(C), an on-site landscaped border must run continuously and contiguously along each street, at least seven feet wide for multi-family uses and ten feet wide for all other non-exempt uses. Applicability is set in § 13-11-020. Subsection D then requires at least one tree with a minimum trunk width of two inches, measured four feet above the ground, for every 30 linear feet (or fraction thereof) of all adjacent street frontages. Clustering of trees and shrubs is encouraged, and trees may be moved within the required landscape area, but the distance between trees can never exceed 50 feet. Required borders may not be obscured by walls higher than one foot, and taller walls sit at least seven feet from the property line.

Subsection F controls which trees go in. For planting within the first ten feet of the property, trees come from the list in § 13-11-060(B), and shrubs, vines and ground covers come from the approved plant list. Trees beside pedestrian areas with existing or planned sidewalks must also come from § 13-11-060(B). On other, non-pedestrian street frontages the trees can be a 50/50 mix of deciduous and evergreen trees drawn from the deciduous and evergreen lists of the approved plant list, placed anywhere within the front 20 feet of the street frontage so plantings can be staggered. Trees in the PL (public lands) zone must be approved by the Zoning Administrator, and trees in a PD zone follow the approved PD entitlements plan.

Section 13-11-060 names the species for pedestrian ways: Thornless Honey Locust, Chinese Elm, Locust, or Arizona Ash, planted within the first ten feet of on-site street frontage to create consistency and provide shading along pedestrian streets with sidewalks and sand trails. Other plants come from the Prescott AMA plant list or the Prescott Valley supplemental plant list kept by the Development Services Department.

After planting, § 13-11-040(E) requires plant material to avoid encroaching on pavement and sidewalks and tree canopies to be pruned to maintain a six-foot clear area above pavement and sidewalks. Section 13-11-030(E) requires the owner to replace dead trees per the approved site plan and to keep the area between the property line and the shoulder of an abutting roadway free of litter, weeds, and trash. Trees on public street rights-of-way themselves fall under the Town Manager's planting authority in § 10-02-090(A).