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Approved Street Trees
Select the tabs below to find the approved trees for street use, along with their pruning, spacing, and shade calculation details. In addition, check the Prohibited Trees tab to find out which trees cannot be used as street trees. For other street tree information, go to the following links:
20-Foot Crown Diameter Canopy Trees
- Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
- Crimson Spire Oak (Quercus x 'Crimschmidt')
- Easter Redbud (Cercis Canadensis)
- Flowering Plum (Prunus cerasifera)
- Lavalle Hawthorn (Crataegus x lavallei)
- Musahsino Zelkova (Zelkova serrate 'Musashino')
- Nyssa sylvatica
- Prairie Fire Crabapple (Malus 'Prairiefire')
- Scarlet Sentinel Maple (Acer rubrum 'Scarsen')
- Shumard Red Oak (Quercus shumardii)
- Sunset Maple (Acer truncatum 'Norwegian')
Spacing, Sidewalk Cuts, Shading Calculations
- Spacing: At least 20 feet apart
- Sidewalk Cuts: Equal to at least 4 by 4 feet
- Shading Calculation: +/- 300 square feet
Pruning Requirements
Prune all trees to provide at least 8 feet of clearance above sidewalks and 12 feet above street roadway surfaces.
25 Foot Crown Canopy Trees
- Aristocrat Pear (Pyrus calleryana 'Aristocrat')
- Autumn Applause Ash (Fraxinus a. 'Autumn Applause')
- Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
- Hedge Maple (Acer campestre)
- Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)
- Pacific Sunset Maple (Acer truncatum 'Warrenred')
- Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)
- Pyramidal Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata')
- Raywood Ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa 'Raywood')
- Redmond Linden (Tilia Americana 'Redmond')
- Sugar Pine (Pinus lamertiana)
30 - 35 Foot Crown Trees
Shading Calculation: +/- 700 square feet (minimum)
- Allee Elm (Ulmus parvifolia 'Elmer II')
- Chicago Regal Ash (Fraxinus Americana 'Chicago')
- Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
- Crimean Linden (Tillia x euchlora)
- Douglas Fir
- European Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
- Fairview Maple (Acer platanoides 'Fairview')
- Forest Green Oak (Quercus frainetto 'Schmidt')
- Green Vase Zelkova (Zelkova serrate 'Schmidtlow')
- Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
- Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)
- October Glory Maple (Acer rubrum 'October Glory')
- Patmore Ash (Fraxinus Pennsylvania 'Patmore')
- Purple Robe Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Purple')
- Red Sunset Maple (Acer rubrum 'Franksed')
- Sugar Pine
- Tulip
- Wireless Zelkova (Zelkova serrate 'Schmidtlow')
Spacing, Sidewalk Cuts, Shading Calculations
- Spacing: At least 30 feet apart
- Sidewalk Cuts: Equal to at least 5 by 5 feet
- Shading Calculation: +/- 500 square feet (+/- 700 square feet for 30 - 35 Foot Crown trees)
Pruning Requirements
Prune all trees to provide at least 8 feet of clearance above sidewalks and 12 feet above street roadway surfaces.
40-Foot and Greater Crown Diameter Trees
- Accolade Elm (Ulmus japonica 'Morton')
- Allee Elm (Ulmus parvifolia 'Emerll')
- Autumn Purple Ash (Fraxinus Americanan 'Junginger')
- Crimean Linden (Tilia x euchlora)
- Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)
- Fernleaf Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Asplenifolia')
- Green Vase Zelkova (Zelkova serrate 'Green Vase')
- Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)
- Patmore Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica 'Patmore')
- Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
- Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
- Sequoiadendron giganteum
- Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii)
- Syline Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos 'Skycole')
- Village Green Zelkova (Zelkova serrate 'Village Green')
- Wireless Zelkova (Zelkova serrate 'Schmidtlow')
Spacing, Sidewalk Cuts, Shading Calculations
- Spacing: At least 40 feet apart
- Sidewalk Cuts: Equal to at least 6 by 6 feet
- Shading Calculation: +/- 1,000 square feet (minimum)
Pruning Requirements
Prune all trees to provide at least 8 feet of clearance above sidewalks and 12 feet above street roadway surfaces.
Prohibited Street Trees
The following tree species are prohibited from use as street trees as their roots cause injury to sewers, pavements, and sidewalks:
- Catalpa
- Liquidambar Styraciflua (Sweet Gum)
- Maclura pomifera (Osage-Orange)
- Palm Tree
- Populus spp - cottonwoods/poplars
- Robinia pseudoalacia (Black Locust)
- Salix spp - Willows
Priority List of Trees to Retain
In order of priority, these trees are to be retained during development:
- Ponderosa Pine
- Incense Cedar
- Sugar Pine
- Douglas Fir
- Redwood
- Black Oak
- White Oak
- Pacific madrone
- Bigleaf Maple (Riparian only)
- Oregon Ash (Riparian only)
- Cottonwood (Riparian only)
Trees Recommended for Placement Under Power Lines
Small Trees - small or narrow trees (under 25 feet, less than 20 feet wide) may be spread at any interval 20 feet apart or greater. Sidewalk cuts equal to 4 by 4 feet or larger.
- Eastern redbud (cercis canadensis)
- Flame maple (acer ginnala)
- Kousa dogwood (cornus kousa)
- Thundercloud plum (prunus cerasifera "thundercloud")
Not Recommended for use as Street Trees
The following tree species are not recommended for use as street trees. The reasons are noted for each species. If the problems are satisfactorily met and accepted by the owner and noted on the site plan, these trees may be planted.
Not Recommended as Street Trees
| Tree / Species |
Problems / Considerations |
|---|---|
| Big Maple Leaf - Acer macrophyllum |
Roots cause injury to sewers and pavement |
| Birches - Betula spp |
Aphids, low branching, invasive roots, injury to sewers, pavements |
| Flowering Pear (Pyrus calleryana) | New cultivars have caused this "seedless" pear to start producing fruit. It has become an invasive species in several states. |
| Conifers | needles, low branching |
| Fruit trees |
litter |
| Hawthorns - Crataegus spp |
Insects and disease prone, aphids |
| Nut trees |
litter |
| Red Alder - Alnus rubra |
Short lived, brittle, favorite of the tent caterpillars |
| Silk Tree - Albizzia julibrissin |
Litter, aggressive roots |
| Sycamore - Platanus spp |
London plane; vigorous roots, damage to sidewalks, sewers, serious anthracnose disease |
| Tree of Heaven - Ailanthus |
Short lived, invasive roots |