Queen Creek, AZ Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

F, Street Rights-Of-Way Landscaping, requires street trees and other plant materials, shrubs, ground cover and accent plantings, to be planted within the street right-of-way in every zoning district townwide. Trees cannot go into a planting strip narrower than five feet, measured from the back of curb to the edge of the adjacent sidewalk, so a thin frontage strip gets shrubs and groundcover instead of trees. Spacing has to stay at regular intervals without regard to underlying property lines, so the streetscape reads as a continuous line rather than a patchwork tied to individual lots, and required spacing cannot exceed thirty feet or a fraction of that distance in order to achieve a tree-lined street appearance; the ordinance states a preference for linear planting.

Every tree planted along a right-of-way needs at least six shrubs to go with it. The entire right-of-way strip between the property line and the back of curb, apart from approved driveways, walkways and bike paths, has to be landscaped, and medians get their own planting rate of one tree and six shrubs per thirty lineal feet. Maintenance of street tree landscaping, including medians, falls to the adjacent property owner or homeowners association, and if it is left unmaintained to the point of creating a safety hazard the Town can perform clean-up itself and bill the responsible owner or HOA for the cost.