CHAPTER 37 

 

TREE CODE 

 

 

 37-1-1 TITLE. This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Tree 
Code. 

 

 

 37-1-2 DEFINITIONS. The following words, terms and phrases, when 
used in this Chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, except 
where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: 

 City-Owned Property means property located within the City limits of the City of 
Carrollton either (1) owned by the City in fee simple or (2) impliedly or expressly 
dedicated to the City. 

 Property Owner means the record owner or contract purchaser of any parcel of 
land. 

 Trees, Shrubs and Other Plants means all vegetation, woody or otherwise, 
except lawn grass or flowers less than twenty-four (24) inches in height. 

 Street Trees means trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation on 
land lying within the City right-of-way for all streets, avenues, alleys or ways within the 
City. 

 Park Trees means trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation in 
public parks having individual names, and all areas owned by the City, or to which the 
public has free access as a park. 

 

 

 37-1-3 PURPOSE; INTENT. 

 (A) The purpose of this Chapter is to promote and protect the public 
health, safety and general welfare by providing for the regulation of the planting, 
maintenance and removal of trees, shrubs and other plants within the City. 

 (B) It is the intent of the City Council that the terms of this Chapter shall 
be construed to promote the following: 

(1) The planting, maintenance, restoration and survival of 
desirable trees, shrubs, and other plants within the City; and 

(2) The protection of the residents of the City from personal 
injury and property damage, and the protection of the City 
from property damage caused or threatened by the improper 
planting, maintenance, or removal of trees, shrubs, or other 
plants located within the City. 


 37-1-4 TREE COMMISSION. 

 (A) There is hereby created and established a City of Carrollton Tree 
Commission, which shall consist of five (5) members, including one (1) City resident 
with a degree and/or experience in tree and plant horticulture, the Public Works 
Director, a representative of the Park Board and two (2) residents to be appointed by 
the Mayor. 

 (B) It shall be the responsibility of the Commission to investigate, 
counsel, update annually and administer a written plan for the care, preservation, 
pruning, planting, replanting and removal or disposition of trees and shrubs along City 
streets and other public places. Such plan will be presented annually to the City 
Council and, upon acceptance, shall constitute the official comprehensive tree plan for 
the City. 

 (C) The City Tree Commission shall determine, with the assistance of 
any experts the Commission wishes to consult, a list of street tree species for the City. 
The list shall be used to select appropriate trees to be planted on City rights-of-way and 
shall become part of the overall comprehensive tree plan for the City. 

 

 

 37-1-5 DISTANCE FROM STREET CORNERS AND FIREPLUGS. No 
street trees shall be planted within thirty-five (35) feet of any street corner measured 
from the point of the nearest intersecting curbs or curblines. No street trees shall be 
planted within ten (10) feet of any fireplug. 

 

 

 37-1-6 STREETS AND CITY RIGHT-OF-WAY. The City shall have the 
right to plant, prune, maintain and remove trees, plants and other shrubs within the 
right-of-way of all streets, avenues, alleys, lanes, squares and public grounds, as may 
be necessary to ensure public safety or to preserve or enhance the symmetry and 
beauty of such public ways and grounds. The City may remove or cause to be removed 
any tree or part thereof which is in an unsafe condition or which by reason of its nature 
is injurious to the sewers, electric power lines, gas lines, waterlines or other public 
improvements, or is infested with any injurious fungus, insect or other pests if such trees 
are located on City rights-of-way or property. 

 

 

 37-1-7 TREE TOPPING. It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation 
to top any street tree, park tree or other tree on public property. “Topping” is defined as 
severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three (3) inches in diameter within the 
tree’s crown to such a degree as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. 
Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes, or certain trees under utility lines or 
other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical, may be exempt from 
this Section. 


 37-1-8 PRUNING; CORNER CLEARANCE. Every owner of any tree 
overhanging any street or right-of-way within the City shall prune the branches so that 
such branches do not obstruct the light from any streetlamp or obstruct the view of any 
street intersection so that there is a clear space of eight (8) feet above the surface of 
the street or sidewalk. Such owners shall remove all dead, diseased or dangerous 
trees, or broken or decayed limbs, which constitute a danger to the safety of the public. 
The City shall have the right to prune any tree or shrub on private property when it 
interferes with the proper spread of light along the street from a streetlight or interferes 
with the visibility of any traffic-control device or sign. 

 

 

 37-1-9 PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANIES. Nothing in this Chapter shall be 
construed to exempt public utility companies or their agents from any of the 
requirements of this Chapter. 

 

 

 37-1-10 VIOLATION AND PENALTY. Any person or corporation who 
violates any provision of this Chapter or who fails to comply with any notice issued 
pursuant to the provisions of ordinance, upon being found guilty of violation, shall be 
subject to a fine not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for each separate 
offense, each day during which any violation of the provisions of this Chapter shall 
occur or continue shall be a separate offense. If, as the result of the violation of any 
provision of this Chapter, the injury, mutilation, or death of a tree, shrub, or other plant 
located on City-owned property is caused, the cost of repair or replacement of such 
tree, shrub, or other plant shall be borne by the party in violation. The replacement 
value of trees and shrubs shall be determined in accordance with the latest revision of A 
Guide to the Professional Evaluation of Landscape Trees, Specimen Shrubs, and 
Evergreens, as published by the International Society of Arboriculture. 

 

(Ord. No. 90-449; 02-13-90)