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Council weighs code change to make property owners responsible for 'adjacent' park strips and limits on trees in narrow strips
Summary
Staff proposed amending Section 12.12.030 to replace 'front of the premises' with 'adjacent' to clarify maintenance responsibilities for park strips; Council debated enforcement, homeowner education, permitting for trees, and possible tree-replacement payments when infrastructure projects remove trees.
Derric Rykert, Community Service Director, presented a staff proposal to amend Section 12.12.030 of the City Code, replacing the phrase “front of the premises” with the term “adjacent” to make clear that maintenance responsibilities apply to park strips and sidewalks abutting any side of a property. Rykert said the change aims to reduce enforcement confusion and align practice with the ordinance’s intent that abutting property owners maintain adjacent landscaping.
Council Members discussed practical enforcement and whether the City should assume maintenance when homeowners do not. Council Member Ryan Hunter and others argued the City should avoid simply absorbing maintenance costs, while Council Member Staci Carroll urged homeowner education before enforcement. City Arborist Brady McNaughton recommended revising park-strip classifications to permit selected compact tree species in 4–8-foot strips but prohibit trees in strips under 4 feet; staff and Council also discussed tree permits, replacement options for trees removed during capital projects (replacement planting vs. a cost-to-cure payment, estimated at about $500 per tree), and whether future subdivision standards should require rear access for maintenance.
