Vacaville, CA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

070(C), Streetscape Landscaping and Street Trees, governs parkway and frontage tree planting citywide. Every single-unit dwelling on a lot with 40 feet or more of street frontage must include one street tree, sized at minimum 15-gallon container, one-and-one-half-inch trunk caliper measured four feet above finished grade, chosen as a shade specimen intended to cover the public sidewalk and parking lane at maturity. Narrower lots, under 40 feet of frontage, only need one street tree for every two lots. Multifamily and other residential developments outside the single-unit standard instead follow subsection (b): one street tree for every 50 to 75 feet of frontage, evenly spaced, at the same 15-gallon minimum size.

The code gives three approved planting locations: within a parkway strip between the curb and sidewalk for detached-sidewalk streets, between the sidewalk and the property line, or within the front or street-side yard; attached-sidewalk conditions call for planting no more than five feet from the property line. Any placement within the public right-of-way, which covers the parkway strip, requires sign-off from both the Director of Community Development and the City Engineer. Because parkway trees sit close to concrete, the code requires root barriers on trees in the parkway or adjacent to a sidewalk specifically to keep roots from lifting the sidewalk or street, and species have to be selected to minimize intrusion into the street itself.

Utilities, driveways, and sight-distance areas must be factored into tree placement during project design so the minimum street tree count can still be met without conflicting with those features.