Eligibility

The Tree Planting Program is limited to property owners planting trees on private property in Arlington, VA. We can’t accept applications for planting on school property, parks, or other property maintained by Arlington County or Arlington Public Schools.

The following are eligible to apply for and receive trees:

• Civic and homeowner associations
• Community nonprofit organizations
• Civic service clubs
• School-related groups planting on private property
• Ad-hoc neighborhood groups
• Individuals
• Places of worship

Important Note – we invite residents and leaders in the 13 target neighborhoods of our Tree Canopy Equity Program to participate and benefit from enhanced offerings including small trees and shrubs. These neighborhoods include:

Thank you to the various funders who have supported this program and made additional tree and shrub species available.

Setback Requirements

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To be minimally eligible for approval, proposed shrub locations must:

• Be at least 5 feet away from buildings and other trees/shrubs.

To be minimally eligible for approval, proposed tree locations must:

• Have access to a minimum of 100 square feet of soil space; 
• Be at least 3 feet from sidewalks, driveways, fences, and underground utilities;
  • We understand that underground utility locations might not be known at the time of application.  Before trees are planted, our contractor arranges for MS. Utility to mark underground utilities.  If there is a conflict between the line location and the staked tree site, we’ll contact you to resolve the issue.
• Be at least 5 feet from overhead distribution power lines for “small” trees and be at least 20 feet from overhead distribution power lines for “large” and medium trees. These distribution power lines are typically “pole to pole” lines running along the street or behind the backyard.
  • This distance should be measured horizontally from the future tree’s trunk to the distribution power line; i.e., from the planting site, not from the future width of the canopy or drip line.
  • Over time, Dominion Energy may prune or remove trees that are too close to those distribution power lines.
  • “Service” lines” (from a pole to a house) are not subject to these setback requirements (5 feet for small trees and 20 feet for medium/large trees), but residents may be responsible for their maintenance and thus should be aware of future conflicts with those wires as well.
• Be at least 10 feet from a building (for a medium or large tree) and at least 5’ from a building (for a small tree); 
• Be at least 20 feet away from the trunk of other medium or large trees in the area, whether existing on site or to-be planted;
  • You may site a new tree closer to a declining tree that will be removed before the planting date of the new tree as long as the stump is removed as described below.  Please note any planned tree removal in your application.
• Be at least 10 feet away from the trunk of other small trees in the area, whether existing on site or to-be planted; and
  • This 10 foot setback allows you to site a larger tree closer to a smaller ornamental or understory tree (e.g., crape myrtle, dogwood) so the new large canopy tree can eventually grow up and over the smaller tree.  
• Not have a dead tree or stump in it that wasn’t removed at least one year before application.
  • We do not remove dead trees or stumps, and we must be able to dig a hole at the proposed site.  It’s difficult to estimate how far out large root branches extend from an old trunk. If the contractor cannot dig a hole due to root branches, we’ll contact you.