Many people assume that they are responsible for the trees located in their lawns in front of their homes. In many cases, this is not true.
Many cities and municipalities maintain what is called a “right of way” in front of your property and sometimes in the back as well. I have worked for three different communities over my career, and all three had different policies regarding “street trees”, as they are usually called.
Many communities simply create an ordinance passing that responsibly to the property owner, but in central Ohio, there are several communities that have created forestry departments that maintain trees located in the city “right of way.” That’s where the tricky part comes in as there are many different approaches in how each department operates. We (Russell Tree Experts) are currently completing several tree pruning contracts for different communities in central Ohio at this time. Some communities have arborists on staff to complete their work and contract some as well.
Most communities in central Ohio allow the property owner to maintain their city-owned trees if it is completed without harming the tree and completed in a professional manner. Some communities require that a tree company working on city trees must be registered with the city and have a certified arborist on staff. In most cases, removing a city-owned tree is not allowed without prior approval and it can be quite costly (fines) if you remove a city tree without permission.
Finding out what the “right of way” is prior to any work is always a good idea. Most communities can provide that info over the phone. Another good resource in Franklin County is the auditor site. If you pull up your address you can go into mapping where you can determine the right of ways associated with your property.
In the above example, the red line is property line. Trees outside of these lines would likely be the city’s responsibility - depending on the city’s rules. [the above is a screenshot for the Franklin County Auditor Site.]
Most people do not realize that in some cases the right of way can extend well beyond the sidewalk. If you have an alley behind your property, there may be some easement associated with that as well. In the communities that I have worked for, the alley “right of way” was only the width of the pavement. If your property is a corner lot or surrounded by streets, you may not be responsible for near as many trees as you once thought.
In closing, I would highly recommend that you identify which trees you are responsible for prior to hiring an arborist. This could save you a lot of money in the long run. Not only if you are not responsible, but so you don’t cut down or improperly prune a city-owned tree, and get fined.
Questions? Comment below and we’ll get back to you.
What to learn more? Check out the article “Tree Law: Who Owns This Tree?” written by Shari Russell which details who owns a tree when it grows on a property line.
Mike McKee | Regional Manager, Russell Tree Experts
Mike graduated from Hocking College in 1983 with a degree in Natural Resources specializing in urban tree care. He has been a certified arborist since 1991. Mike started his career in the private industry in 1985 before becoming a municipal arborist in 1989. He retired after serving thirty years before joining us at Russell Tree Experts in Sept. of 2018. His love of trees has never waned since trying to climb up the ridges of the massive Cottonwood tree in front of his childhood home.