City crews prune trees in preparation for street maintenance

By pruning low-hanging branches back to a major branch or the tree trunk, the crew is be providing at least 14 feet of clearance over the street.  This clearance will help prevent damage to both trees and to street resurfacing equipment.

More than 500 trees have been identified as having low branches over the street in these areas. Most of the trees overhanging these streets are public trees that were planted within the right-of-way. The Parks & Recreation Department has made contact with abutting property owners through door hangers or letters about the work, since they are normally responsible for providing the required care. For trees on private property, owners have been contacted to obtain permission to prune back the low-hanging branches on these trees also.

Because of time restraints, the Parks & Recreation Department crew will be pruning for street clearance only.  If a more thorough pruning is needed, private property owners and the property owners abutting public trees that need to be pruned do have the choice to prune the trees themselves or hire a tree service to prune them.  A list of city-licensed tree services and free information permits that come with proper tree pruning methods is available from the department’s office at City Hall.

A cost-share program is available for single family residences when licensed tree services are hired to prune public trees. Permits are always required when removal of trees is sought within the right-of-way. This information is also available in the Urban Forestry section of the city’s web site at cdaid.org/parks.