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Resident urges Parowan to restore city responsibility for right-of-way trees; council debates costs and liability
Summary
Resident Jordan Hershey asked the Parowan City Council to amend Municipal Code 2.14.040(f)(2) so the city, not adjacent homeowners, maintains trees in the public right-of-way, citing equity and liability concerns; council directed staff to route detailed options through the Shade Tree Commission and return with budget and legal review.
Jordan Hershey, a Parowan homeowner who spoke during the council’s work session, urged the city to amend Parowan City Municipal Code 2.14.040(f)(2) so municipal responsibility for trees in the public right-of-way is explicit. Hershey told the council the ordinance “shifts the maintenance, financial burden and responsibility of municipal property to individual homeowners” and cited Utah Code Title 10, Chapter 8, Section 84 as authority for municipalities to protect public property.
"If the city owns the tree, the city should maintain the tree," Hershey said, arguing that ownership should carry inspection and maintenance obligations rather than be placed on adjacent homeowners. He said the current rule is recent (adopted in 2025 in clarified form) and creates unequal burdens—he estimated roughly 830 owner-occupied homes could be affected and noted routine tree maintenance can cost “several hundreds or several thousands of dollars.”
City manager Dan Jesson and other council members acknowledged the fairness and liability arguments but stressed budget and operational limits. Jesson said taking on full maintenance would likely require six-figure funding or additional staffing and noted the city’s limited property-tax receipts (he cited total budgeted property tax near $900,000) and recent tough budgeting decisions. Aldo, Parowan’s public works director, described equipment and staffing constraints, saying the department has some bucket-truck capacity but not a full-time tree crew and that large removals or pruning require multi-person crews and traffic control.
Council members discussed intermediate options including a prioritized annual program (a multi-year list of trees to address), targeted responses for power-line hazards, encouraging able homeowners to handle ground-accessible pruning, rebates, or a surcharge mechanism to fund a program. Several council members and staff said the Shade Tree Commission should review detailed proposals; the council asked staff to pursue legal review of any ordinance changes and bring proposals back for council consideration.
