Walworth County, WI Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Sec. 15, Street trees) treats coordinated street tree planting as a central unifying feature of residential neighborhoods, and the town board may require it as a subdivision improvement. Where required, trees must be two inches to two and one-half inches in diameter measured at chest height when planted, and they must be spaced no more than forty feet apart along both sides of every street in the plat, including arterial roads, though rear access lanes and alleys are excluded. Species selection is not left to chance: the ordinance directs the subdivider toward trees that cast moderate to dense summer shade, live over 60 years, reach at least 50 feet at maturity, tolerate pollution and reflected heat, resist insects and disease, survive two years without irrigation (or come with an irrigation plan), and are native where possible.

The code points subdividers to the University of Wisconsin Extension's guide to landscape plants for Wisconsin and the Wisconsin DNR's forest tree guide for acceptable species. Shade trees required under this section are generally planted in planting strips, called curb lawns in the ordinance, that are at least four feet wide and sit between the pavement or curb and the continuous sidewalk or footpath system. Because this sits in the subdivision improvements chapter rather than the zoning ordinance, the requirement attaches at final plat approval and is inspected as part of the subdivider's required improvements under Sec. 58-12 and Sec. 58-13's inspection provisions before sureties are released.