A frequent phone call received at the Forester’s office
is about who owns a tree along the street in front of a home and
whose responsibility is it to maintain. 
The simple answer is "The City of Overland Park owns the land that the tree is on, but the property owner has the duty to maintain it."
Here’s where the answer gets more confusing. There are several caveats to this rule:
Right of Way
The city owns the right-of-way area next to and including the
street. This distance is often eleven feet back of the curb.
Factors such as older neighborhoods, major thoroughfares and landscape
easements could increase or decrease this distance. Just about anything placed
in this area is on city property and regulated by city ordinance.
Related codes and regulations
Chapter 7.16 of the Overland
Park Municipal Code regulates trees and shrubs on public and private
property. There are also other Chapters, Park Directives,
Resolutions,
etc. that regulate various aspects of trees and landscaping throughout
the city. Section 7.16.200 states that the abutting property owners of
the right-of-way are responsible to maintain trees, shrubs and other
woody vegetation within that right-of-way.
It also dictates minimum height distances over streets (12.5 feet) and sidewalks
(8 feet). There are also regulations
for where trees can and cannot be planted and which varieties are not allowed
to be planted. For a copy of this Ordinance and the brochure “Trees
for Overland Park” please call 913/327-6630.
Property owners' responsibilities
Low limbs obstructing the sidewalk, street, driveway or other areas of a yard
are the property owners' responsibility. If the Forestry office receives a
complaint, a letter may be sent to the property owner, allowing them thirty
days for the obstruction to be corrected. Sign, streetlight and traffic signal
obstructions are corrected by city crews.
City crews' responsibilities
There are several conditions
where the city will help out in maintaining these trees. In fact, a majority
of
the
Forestry crew's time is spent on street trees. Where a hazard
exists that could potentially affect city property, crews will inspect
and potentially correct the situation. These situations include major deadwood,
broken, hanging limbs, obstructing branches or removal of a dead or dying
tree. With a few exceptions, these situations are handled on an individual
complaint basis.
Replacement of a city tree
If a tree needs to be removed because of a hazardous
condition, the city will do so at no charge to the property
owner. The property owner may be eligible for a replacement tree if these
conditions are met:
- The City must have removed the tree or given permission to have the tree removed. It is against City Ordinance to remove a street tree without permission from the City Forester.
- The tree must be placed back in the right of way.
- The tree removed must have been planted over ten years ago.
- There is adequate space (considering both overhead and underground utilities, sign and vision obstructions, and other limiting factors) for the mature size of the new tree.
Contact us
If you have a concern about a street tree, feel free to call the
Forester’s
office at 327-6630. Since forestry crews have a very large workload , it
may take a month or more to correct the situation depending on severity,
but
it will
be inspected
within two working
days.
We are proud of Overland Park's 'community forest' as evidenced by our Tree City USA designation for the last 24 years. The city's tree board, the Legacy of Greenery Committee, has been instrumental in landscaping and tree-related efforts throughout Overland Park.
There is always work to be done including pruning, removals and planting and we welcome any suggestions that you may have.
For more information, contact Greg Ruether, manager of parks and forestry, at 913/327-6634.