Trees, Lawns & Forestry

The Parks & Recreation department shall have charge, custody and control of all trees growing in any boulevards and boulevard areas, along the public streets and avenues, park or public areas of the city. Boulevard areas that owners have not properly maintained, allowing brush and other woody trees to grow, may be responsible for proper maintenance.

We currently have staffing to support a 20 year pruning cycle. This means that we will visit and prune every boulevard tree once every 20 years. High risk issues do come up, and these will be addressed prior to the 20 year rotation. 

A call does not have to be made for routine prune work, that work will be part of our regular pruning cycle. 

Once a call has been made, this is logged into the system and is being monitored until work is completed. Ongoing calls are not required.

Please contact Rochester Parks & Recreation at 507-328-2311. Please leave a detailed message with the concern, your name and contact information. We have limited call-response staff and will contact you when we need additional information.

Our goal is to have the stump ground the year following the tree removal, however there can be delays due to seasonal work or contract issuance. This is done via contract work and the number of stumps that can be ground is limited by budget.

The notice has a description of the violation.  The most common reason for getting this notice is, vegetation originating from private property has grown into the public right of way, this includes brush or other woody vegetation not planned for the boulevard.  Sidewalks should be clear 8 foot from edge to edge.  Streets should have 14 foot clearance from edge to edge.  The boulevard space can only contain turf grass or approved boulevard tree unless a Natural Landscape Permit is in place. 

Information on this type of notice can be found on the Encroachment webpage.

Homeowners no longer pay a per panel price for repair.  Please see info on the new sidewalk improvement district policy.

We do not remove trees because they are near sidewalks that have been marked for replacement. Rather, we address the root issue when the sidewalk panel is replaced. A combination of root manipulation and using a larger aggregate as a base for the new panel, which helps discourage new root development beneath the new panel. The cause of sidewalk panels being affected by roots is due to the lack of adequate growing space for the tree. We will offer to inspect the tree to make sure it is not a hazard

Yes, if the limb is over 2” in diameter and in the public right of way, the city will clean up the limb. Clean up of limbs smaller than this size is considered ordinary care and is the responsibility of the abutting property owner.  Limbs that fall onto private property will be considered homeowners responsibility as per Minnesota state statutes and RCO Sec. 9-4-2. - Owner's responsibility. Please call 507-328-2515 and give the specific location and description of the limb, your name and phone number in case additional information is needed.

If the limb is blocking the street or sidewalk, we will clear the street or sidewalk, but it is up to the owner of the tree to clean up the woody debris.

Please call 507-328-2311. If the limb fell in the right-of-way, we will clean up the limb. If the limb fell onto private property, responsibility for clean-up is on the property owner. Please report damage to your insurance company.

The city strives to mark private property trees only if they are considered a hazard to the general public. This includes whether the tree can fail and cause damage to a street, sidewalk, or park. If the tree can affect power, please contact RPU.

You will need to complete and submit a free planting permit request. Only approved boulevard species can be planted in the public right-of-way.

The City of Rochester’s Forestry Division manages over 100,000 trees in public areas within the City. Part of our management strategy involves managing species biodiversity. Currently, we strive to follow the 10–20–30 rule. That means we want to ensure that trees of the same species never make up more than 10% of our total public trees, tree species from the same genus never make up more than 20% of our total public trees, and that tree species from the same family will never make up more than 30% of our total public trees. Currently, Maple trees, which are all in the same Genus, account for over 22% of our inventory. This surpasses the 10-20-30 rule and is why we are limiting Maple tree plantings. Property owners are welcome to plant maple trees on private property.

You may have noticed that the City of Rochester is no longer planting certain species of trees that we have historically planted a lot of over the past 30 years. For example, we are limiting the planting of Maple trees and Crabapple trees in public spaces. We will continue to restrict overplanting of the same species throughout the City. 

The City of Rochester’s Forestry Department manages over 100,000 trees in public areas within the City. Part of our management strategy involves managing species biodiversity. Currently, we strive to follow the 10–20–30 rule. That means we want to ensure that trees of the same species never make up more than 10% of our total public trees, tree species from the same genus never make up more than 20% of our total public trees, and that tree species from the same family will never make up more than 30% of our total public trees. Currently, Maple trees, which are all in the same Genus, account for over 22% of our inventory, this surpasses the 10-20-30 rule and is why we are limiting Maple tree plantings.

In 2010, a canopy evaluation revealed that just one species of tree, Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvannica) made up over 15% of our total urban canopy.  In 2016, the Emerald Ash borer, an invasive beetle that feeds on Ash trees, was discovered in within City limits and has since decimated the Ash population throughout the city and surrounding areas. We have lost thousands of Ash trees in the past 5 years, spent countless hours on tree removals and replants, and will continue to lose more each year.  

The reason damage from the Emerald Ash Borer is so devastating in Rochester is that we had such a high concentration of Ash trees in our city. That is why, moving forward, we are limiting the number of individual tree species, genera, or families in our city. Just as Dutch Elm Disease was before Emerald Ash Borer, we don’t know what will be next. By maintaining a diverse urban forest, we can help avoid the catastrophic losses of similar events in the past.  

By increasing the biodiversity of our public trees, we will improve the urban forest’s health and increase its sustainability.  

You will need a boulevard tree work permit. The tree care company will need to have an ISA certified Arborist on staff. Only ISA-certified licensed tree care companies can perform work on public trees. The work covered by this permit is at the homeowner's expense.

See the current list of licensed tree care companies. Hiring licensed tree care companies ensures that the city has vetted each company has insurance to protect residents from liability claims. 

Violation notices are sent to the property owner as listed on the county records. If the address is incorrect, please contact the county and update the records. Contact Olmsted County Property Records at 507-328-7636. 

If turf grass is to exceed 12” in height, a natural landscape permit is required. Otherwise, the vegetation could be subject to the tall grass and weed ordinance. Natural landscapes benefit our pollinators and are an asset to our community.

• Tall Grass and Weed ordinance

Native or naturally occurring vegetation is allowed on private property.  This does not require a natural landscape permit. This prohibits noxious weeds within the city limits. 

Family Service Rochester provides lawn mowing and yard services for persons who are sixty+ years and for adults with disabilities. Persons registered with the service have lawns mowed generally every 7 - 10 days depending on growth. The service is provided by either local volunteers or vendors. The fee for service is based upon income. To register for lawn service contact Family Service Rochester at 507-287-2010.

Research has shown that tree roots can extend up to 5x the height a tree in any direction. This makes it hard to determine which trees roots are affecting your sewer pipe. Tree roots will not penetrate an intact sewer pipe, they take advantage of existing cracks or separations within the pipe where they find oxygen nutrients and water. The City will not remove boulevard trees that are suspected of infiltrating a sewer pipe.

We now offer a virtual training that will allow citizens to prune 2" and smaller limbs on the tree in front of their home that could be blocking a sidewalk.

• Citizen Tree Pruning Class  

Why take the Tree Pruning Class?

With the certificate issued upon successful completion of this training, you will be allowed to prune limbs 2" and under on the public boulevard tree in front of your home.  This way, you will not have to wait for the Parks and Forestry Division's pruning rotation for the trees on your boulevard to be pruned. 

The City will not allow the removal of a public tree without sound justification.  You may request the removal of a public tree by filling out a boulevard tree work permit.  This will be reviewed by forestry staff. If approval is given, the requester would be responsible for the cost of removal, stump grinding, and, where applicable, the canopy loss fee. 

If the tree is structurally compromised and deemed a hazard. The City will remove at no cost to the requester. If the tree is structurally sound, the City may allow removal; however, the requester will be required to pay the canopy loss fee before the permit is approved.

The canopy loss fee compensates for the loss of the benefits trees provide to our community and for the investment the City has made in the tree. The fee is established annually.

The Unified Development Code is Rochester’s zoning ordinance.  Chapter 60.400 establishes that certain types of development are required to plant boulevard trees as a condition of developing private property within the City of Rochester. 

Unified Development Code

Tree planting details can be found in Section 60.400.60A.

• Boulevard trees shall be required for Type 3 final plats; Type 2 land subdivisions; conditional use permits (incentive development, restrictive development, and conventional conditional use permits); or site development plans.
• Boulevard Trees are required at 35-foot spacing for commercial-zoned properties and 50-foot spacing in residential-zoned properties. Prior to planting boulevard trees, a no-cost tree-planting permit is required in accordance with RCO 9-4-4. As part of the permit approval process, Forestry staff will review the landscape plan for species, locational criteria, and site conditions. The approved tree planting permit will be required prior to the final certificate of occupancy being issued.
• Tree planting must be in accordance with Public Works Specifications and Standards Detail Plates for Tree Planting, Preservation and Protection. 
• Developers also have the option of paying the city to manage the planting of the required boulevard trees (Payment in lieu). The price per tree is established annually through a competitive bid process. Developers who want to use this option can contact the Parks and Recreation Department.