Tonawanda, NY Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Chapter 197, Trees and Shrubs, adopted October 10, 1966 by L.L. No. 3-1966, puts the Town's parkway and street tree program under the Superintendent of Highways, who directs, regulates and controls the planting, care and removal of all trees growing within the right-of-way lines of streets and highways in the Town of Tonawanda, outside the Incorporated Village of Kenmore, which runs its own program. Section 197-3 bars anyone from planting a shrub, shrubbery or bushes in a right-of-way at all, and bars planting any new tree there without first getting a written permit from the Superintendent that the Town Board must also approve.

Section 197-4 spells out what every planting permit has to contain: the species or variety, the size, the nursery grade, the exact location, the method of planting, the method of support and trimming, and a definite expiration date; a permit whose terms are broken may be declared void. Section 197-6 adds that no one may deposit stone, brick, sand, concrete, asphalt or similar material within a right-of-way that would block water, air or fertilizer from reaching a tree's roots without a separate written permit, and Section 197-7 requires a permit before excavating, trenching or laying a drive within six feet of a public tree, plus protective barriers around trees near construction.

Section 197-5 bars fastening signs, wire or rope to a public tree without a permit except in storm or accident emergencies. Together these sections mean nothing gets planted, or dug near, in a Tonawanda street right-of-way without the Superintendent's written sign-off.