Tree commission seeks legal clarity on who controls Bexley right-of-way; plans talks with council

The Bexley Tree Commission spent the meeting examining how city ordinances and historic plat maps define the public right-of-way and what that means for who can plant and maintain trees.

Commission member Jim Wilson summarized research he said he pulled from the county recorder’s office and read aloud his legal interpretation: “where right of ways were dedicated as part of a plat map… the city owns it in fee.” That finding set the frame for the discussion: the commission and city staff are operating with two different ordinance definitions of the “tree lawn” and unclear boundaries about planting rights behind sidewalks.

The commission highlighted two parts of the municipal code that conflict in practice. Chapter 10.26, the commission noted, defines tree lawn broadly — in their words, extending from the curb out to adjacent property lines — and grants the city custody and control to plant, prune, spray or remove trees in public places. Chapter 10.27, adopted later, restricts exclusive city planting authority to the narrower area between curb and sidewalk.

Commissioners and staff flagged practical consequences. Grant, identified in the meeting as a staff member handling plantings, explained that some Bexley streets have more than five feet of right-of-way behind the sidewalk, raising the question whether adjacent property owners or the city should control plantings in that wider area. The commission also discussed an apparent tension between the commission’s responsibility under the administrative code (the commission’s enabling section) to develop a municipal care and planting program and the city’s statutory planting authority under Chapter 10.26.

The group agreed to pursue a formal conversation with city leaders to resolve the differences. The commission said Council President Lamkey and three city council members had been asked to participate, and the mayor’s office and city staff would join those talks. Commissioners said the conversations could lead to clarified rules or ordinance revisions. Jim Wilson said the draft plan under discussion includes language that “would give us right of control over new planting behind the sidewalk,” and he acknowledged that could be controversial.

Commissioners also asked staff to prepare a concise summary of which Bexley streets have wide tree lawns behind sidewalks so the commission, city council and the mayor can see where differing definitions matter most.

The commission did not adopt any ordinance changes at the meeting; members described the next step as a series of meetings with council members and staff and further drafting of the commission’s planning document.