Tree Lawn Tree Service in South Bend, IN

Tree lawn tree service is the work on the trees growing in the grass strip between your sidewalk and the street, and in South Bend it comes with its own rules. Many people assume the city maintains those trees. It doesn't: the city's forestry pages say the property owner is responsible for planting, trimming and removing tree lawn trees. But the owner also can't just cut them. A permit from the Forestry office of Venues Parks & Arts is required first, for trimming, planting or removal.

How the permit works

According to South Bend's 311 page, the City Forester first looks at the tree and the tree lawn and decides whether to recommend a permit. If it's approved, the permit is mailed to the property owner. There's no fee, it's good for one year, and it applies to tree lawn trees at addresses inside city limits. Requests go to the Forestry office at 574-299-4766. The rules themselves are in the Trees and Vegetation chapter of the South Bend Code of Ordinances.

Why tree lawn trees are harder

They're right next to everything. A tree lawn tree can have sidewalk on one side, a street with parked cars and traffic on the other, overhead lines above, and water, gas or sewer lines below. Limbs over the street need to be lowered without dropping into traffic, and work zones need cones and someone watching the sidewalk. Roots often heave the walk, and grinding a stump in the tree lawn means paying attention to what's buried there.

Trimming for clearance

Street trees need enough height over the sidewalk for people to walk under and enough over the street for trucks and buses. They also have to stay clear of streetlights, signs and traffic signals. The city's planting standards say trees in the tree lawn may not block street lights, signs, signals or the view at intersections, so trimming is often about lifting the lower crown and keeping those lines of sight open.

Replanting the tree lawn

If you're replacing a tree, the city's standards apply to the new one too. Trees must be at least 2 inches in caliper. Minimum spacing between trees is 20 feet for small species, 30 for medium and 35 for large. Only small trees may go under or within 10 lateral feet of overhead wires, and trees must be at least 15 feet from the curb at intersections and 6 feet from fire hydrants. Hedges or shrubs in the tree lawn can't be taller than 3 feet. South Bend's Board of Park Commissioners keeps the list of recommended street trees.

What we do for you

At the estimate we confirm the tree is in the tree lawn, tell you what work it needs, and explain the permit so you can request it. Once it's issued, we schedule the work, set up the work zone and clean up the street and sidewalk when we're done.