by Sara 

Grow Food on Planting Strips?

13 Comments

By Reporter Steven Smalley

Photo courtesy City of Seattle

Over the transom comes a question from a Magnolia Voice reader regarding planting strips ? that piece of land in front of homes parallel to sidewalks and streets.

Q: Who owns them?
A: The city.
Q: Can you plant food on them?
A: Yes!
To begin, don?t refer to planting strips as parking strips. Parking enforcement will slam a ticket on the windshield if you leave your car in the area between the sidewalk and street. Additionally, you are responsible for the area in front of your home. Planting strips and sidewalks, both of which are part of the public rights-of-way, require public access, according to the City of Seattle. Snow, ice, roots protruding into the sidewalk, and other hazards are homeowners? responsibility. Injuries caused by nuisances in front of homes get you sued, not the City.
Now let?s address the question at hand. As you can imagine, there are myriad local laws and regulations pertaining to vegetation allowed in planting strips. For example, watch out for the varieties of trees you install, as many are illegal. Trees with particularly aggressive root systems that historically tear up sidewalks are verboten. Also prohibited are fruiting trees such as cherry, apple, and pear that can pose a safety risk to pedestrians when fruit falls on the walkway. The Seattle Department of Transportation is the agency in charge of regulations concerning planting strips. A free Street Use permit is required to plant trees and to install raised planting boxes or pavers. Look for links below to point you to rules regarding arboreal plantings.
There is plenty of good news though, including permission to grow food in planting strips. Go for it. No permit is required to grow food as long as height and other restrictions are followed. Furthermore, SDOT does not regulate the type of fruit/vegetables that can be planted. Gardeners must allow room for vehicle clearance, pedestrian travel, utility clearance, and visibility. Generally, plantings are to be no more than 3 ft. high, and only 2 ft. high within 30 ft. of intersections. If you intend to construct a raised planting box, it?s recommended to be 6-18 in. in height and no more than 40 ft. in length. Of course these specifications only scratch the surface of city requirements. Check out the regulations here, here and here before you attempt to plant trees, grow food, or construct raised beds. Good luck and good eating to all you city gardeners.
Send your news tips, suggestions or questions to tips@magnoliavoice.com.

About the author 

Sara

  1. The front of your home should be where a home owner puts his/her best face forward. Gardens in planting strips often looks weedy and quite frankly, trashy. I think we need to write the city to not allow this. After all, we are not living in the 1940’s and no longer need ‘Victory Gardens’ all over the city! If you want to have a garden in your front yard, move to Bainbridge Island! If you want to have a garden at all, then plant one in the city’s many Pea Patches! That is why our tax dollars created them!

      1. Yet one more reason not to take care of a yard. Just plant some tomato plants out front and call it a garden. Why not keep the garden in your backyard so we don’t have to look at it?

    1. Wow! Trashy?!? How does a couple rows of lettuce, carrots, potatoes, etc. look trashy? Sure it needs weeding from time to time but, really…. it beats mowing every week and you get treats at the end of summer!

  2. Perfectly manicured lawns and bushes full of pesticides and chemicals look unnatural and bizarre. We could stand to have some more of this in magnolia

    1. Bushes full of pesticides? I have rarely ever seen a tree spraying service in magnolia…and never seen any of my lazy neighbors care about spraying anything…why be so outrageous in your claims?

      1. Washington Tree Service regularly sprays trees and shrubs in my part of Magnolia. I am very ambivalent about growing my food where people walk dogs, for obvious reasons.

          1. I don’t need to spray. I am informing hazmat there are services here. Admittedly, I may not need to spray because others do. But what I have planted has thrived without spraying. It is part of nature and I’d take it either way….I’d adjust what I’d planted.

  3. When I see gardens in front like this, the first thing that comes to my mind is dog pee. If dog owners let their pets urinate on your flowers, they really don’t have an issue about letting their dogs urinate on your kale.

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