Sarasota, FL Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)
Key Facts
- Regulated zone
- Within 50 ft of intersection
- Permit issued by
- City engineer
- Exempt
- Grass
- Denial ground
- Sight-line/traffic hazard
Summary
Planting a tree, shrub, or other plant besides grass in a City of Sarasota street or alley right-of-way within 50 feet of an intersection needs the city engineer's written permission first.
No person shall plant or place, and subsequently keep, maintain or cultivate, any shrub, tree or other plant, except grass, in any portion of the right of way of any public thoroughfare, including an alley, within the city, lying within fifty (50) feet from the nearest boundary, meaning the edge of the right-of-way, of its intersection with any other public thoroughfare, including an alley, without the previous written permission, which may be conditional or qualified, of the city engineer. No such permission shall be granted when the plantings in any such fifty-foot zone will then or may by reason of anticipated future growth reasonably be expected to create a hazard at such intersection by impeding the view of motor vehicular or pedestrian traffic, nor when there shall exist any of the conditions justifying removal of plantings as set forth in section 35-3.
(Code 1971, § 37-14; Ord. No. 08-4833, § 9, 10-6-08)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 33 | Zoning: Supplement 44).
Full Breakdown
City of Sarasota Code § 35-2 bars anyone from planting, keeping, maintaining, or cultivating any shrub, tree, or other plant besides grass in the right-of-way of any public thoroughfare or alley within 50 feet of its intersection with another thoroughfare or alley, without prior written permission from the city engineer, who may make that permission conditional. Permission must be refused if the planting would, now or through future growth, create a sight-line hazard for vehicle or pedestrian traffic, or if any of the removal grounds in § 35-3 apply. Moving or uprooting an existing tree along a city street also needs a separate city-manager permit under § 35-1.
Violations & Fines
Planting or maintaining vegetation in the intersection-area right-of-way without the city engineer's written permission violates § 35-2, and the city can remove the planting under § 35-3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to plant a tree near a Sarasota intersection?
Can the city remove plantings I already put in the parkway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sarasota
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Sarasota to another location·View the Florida tree protection overview
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Parkway Planting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sarasota County handle parkway planting.