FAQs • Oregon City, OR • CivicEngage

Why is Oregon City revising its Street Tree code?

To help prevent damage to public infrastructure such as:
- Sidewalks
- Streets
- Utilities
To help prevent mobility hazards like sidewalk buckling due to street tree root encroachment.
To help reduce cost barriers to property owners removing hazardous or potentially hazardous street trees that were planted in strips 3 feet wide or less.
To help clarify other minor omissions and inconsistencies in the code.

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Planning - 2022 to 2023 Street Tree Minor Code Amendment

1. Why does the City require street trees?

All trees provide benefits, such as stormwater retention and erosion control, wildlife habitat, and reduced energy consumption. A street tree is a community-owned tree that grows on City property. Often, they are located adjacent to your home in a planter strip or median between the sidewalk and the street. When planter strips are not present, they may be planted near the street pavement or behind a sidewalk. Though the City does not encourage removal of public trees or street trees, sometimes it is necessary.

For more information, please visit our webpage dedicated to Trees in Oregon City.

2. What is Tree City USA?: Street trees are also important to Oregon City because the City is a confirmed member of Tree City USA through the National Arbor Day Foundation. Tree City USA status helps to raise awareness about trees and the importance of urban forestry to our quality of life. We will be celebrating Oregon Arbor Week the first week of April with an Arbor Day proclamation, tree planting events and an arbor day celebration!

3. Why is Oregon City revising its Street Tree code?

To help prevent damage to public infrastructure such as:
- Sidewalks
- Streets
- Utilities
To help prevent mobility hazards like sidewalk buckling due to street tree root encroachment.
To help reduce cost barriers to property owners removing hazardous or potentially hazardous street trees that were planted in strips 3 feet wide or less.
To help clarify other minor omissions and inconsistencies in the code.

4. Who will be impacted by the Street Tree code change?

Once approved by the City Commission, property owners with street tree planting strips 3 feet wide or less will see the most direct and immediate impacts:

Eliminated replanting costs in strips 3 feet wide or less.
Streamlined tree removal and replacement permit process that will be updated for planting strips 3 feet wide or less.
Reduced future risk of sidewalk repair costs due to buckling caused by encroaching roots.
Improved list of lower-maintenance, more drought-tolerant street tree species for those who choose to replant in strips 3 feet wide or less.

Neighbors and sidewalk users - especially people with mobility challenges and disabilities - might also benefit. For sidewalks in areas with planting strips 3 feet wide or less, sidewalk users may experience fewer future mobility hazards caused by sidewalk buckling.

All Oregon City residents, users of Oregon City's public infrastructure, and local taxpayers may also benefit. Allowing property owners to remove and not replace street trees in planter strips 3 feet wide or less may help reduce the future risk of damage to public utilities and infrastructure located in those areas, making public utilities less costly to protect, maintain, and repair.

5. How do I measure my planting strip to see if it's 3 feet wide or less?

Measure Planting Strip Using a tape measure, take the planting strip width measurement:

Perpendicular to the curb and sidewalk.
Start at the inside curb edge.
End at the inside sidewalk edge.
Report this measurement on the Street Tree Removal and Replacement application.
Include photos showing the measurement with the application, if possible.

6. What if I have a planting strip that's 3 feet wide or less, and have already applied for a tree removal permit under the current code?

If the City Commission approves the Natural Resource Committee's recommended Street Tree Code update after you've applied for a street tree removal permit, you may have options to amend a street tree removal permit we've already issued.

If you have an approved street tree removal permit for a planting strip 3 feet wide or less, and a planting deadline of May 31, 2023, you might be able to modify your permit application before you replant.
If you have an approved tree removal permit dated June 8, 2022 or later and have paid a fee in lieu of replanting in a planting strip 3 feet wide or less, you may also have an opportunity to modify your application and be given a refund for the fee-in-lieu payment.

7. What if I have other questions about trees and tree removals/replacements in Oregon City?

Here are some links to other pages on the City website that you may find helpful.