Warren, MI Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Division 5 of Chapter 38, titled 'Adopt a Right-of-Way Planting Program,' is codified at Section 38-19 and governs landscaping of the margin area, defined elsewhere in the chapter as the city-owned strip between the lot line and the street, excluding any margin under federal, state, or Macomb County jurisdiction. Section 38-19(a) requires anyone who wants to landscape a margin area that isn't adjacent to their own property to first get a permit from the department of public service or its designated division. The application must include a landscape plan covering the design, the types of plantings chosen from the urban forestry committee's preferred-species, planting-guidelines, and location-standards list, a sketch of the area, and a maintenance program.

The plan also has to comply with all applicable laws, including the city's zoning and property-maintenance ordinances and Chapter 34 (Streets, Sidewalks, and Other Public Places), plus every standard and guideline the urban forestry committee has adopted. If the margin area belongs to someone other than the applicant, meaning it fronts a different property, the applicant must get written permission from the abutting owner before landscaping it. Section 38-19(b) gives a denied applicant 14 days from the denial to file a written appeal with the urban forestry committee, but reversing the denial requires showing the city acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

Section 38-19(c) puts ongoing maintenance of the landscaped margin on both the permit holder and the abutting property owner, Section 38-19(d) lets city council set application fees by resolution, and Section 38-19(e) disclaims city liability for damage to the landscaped area caused by the city or a third party, including replacement of infrastructure and decorative fixtures.