Sunnyvale, CA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

030 as the public area between curb and sidewalk (the parkway strip) or between a monolithic sidewalk and the property line. 020 requires a minimum of one tree per lot on new development and lets the city install trees in existing developments where feasible, with the number, type, location and installation method set by standards the city council approves. 040(b) bars planting any tree in the public right-of-way, or one that overhangs a city street, unless it appears on the superintendent's official tree list or the superintendent issues a written permit for an off-list species.

060(a) separately makes it unlawful to plant or set out any tree in the right-of-way without first obtaining a planting permit, and subsection (d) requires the application at least forty-eight hours before work starts, listing the number, location, grade, size, species and planting method for each tree. 100 declares several parkway-strip conditions a public nuisance: hedges or thorny plants anywhere in the tree easement (subsection (f)), shrubs or plants taller than twenty-four inches measured above curb grade (subsection (g)), any wall or fence built in the easement (subsection (i)), solid landscaping or decorative material protruding more than twenty-four inches above curb and sidewalk level (subsection (j)), and ground cover placed within three feet of a tree's base (subsection (k)). 120 makes the abatement cost a civil debt owed to the city, collectible without barring separate criminal prosecution.