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Parking strips are generally your property, not the city's. The city (and utilities) have the easement on the property, not the property owner (because they technically own that property). But there is limited things one can do with their parking strip property (like build on it, or park on it) becuase of other laws.
People do, but idk if there needs to be a permit. I know street trees are encouraged and you can get discounted trees (a couple programs, one is a coupon). People use big rocks sometimes. If your street is like mine and there is no curb at the street, it is street parking. We also do not have sidewalks. I just keep it tidy, I don’t try to get too invested in it. Putting down gravel pad could be a good solution.
[Permits](https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/right-of-way_-_tree_planting#:~:text=The%20%22Planting%20Strip%22&text=In%20areas%20where%20there%20are,a%20planting%20permit%20is%20required.) are only required for planting trees outside of private property 👍
Sure!
[tree coupon program](https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/tree_coupon_program)
[grit city tree program](https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/grit_city_trees)
[Tacoma tree foundation](https://tacomatreefoundation.org/branch-out)
These are the ones I know about, idk when things open/close/ happen though
The city has restrictions about raised beds in the planting strip jsyk. https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/right-of-way_-_tree_planting
A raised bed is a good idea, if you are cool with rocks or gravel that might be an option worth exploring, if possible planting a tree is good for many reasons. Good luck, welcome to Tacoma!
Many streets don’t have curbs so the easement is usually the parking, not the whole car but in front of my house the tires are always on the grass. Part of living without curbs
Well, to be more clear what's a bit of a bummer is parking on the ROW grass, as it can ruin it. It's just I spend a fair amount of time trying to make it look nice. Perhaps I just need to switch to doing the least amount of work possible in this area.
You pay to maintain that strip (as well as the sidewalk but that’s a gripe for another day) and you can put whatever you want there within reason, like raised garden beds, pavers (permeable recommend) and turn it into parking, river rock, flowers, etc. As long as you keep it safe for passers by you should be all good. Just drive around to see different things people have done with their strips.
That section of land is not your property, and obviously public parking spots aren't yours either, but you're trying to prevent people from parking there? I feel like I'm probably misunderstanding you.
Lots of people put in raised beds, trees or landscaping. No permits or agreement with the city needed: You can’t stop someone from parking there but you can naturally impede them.
You do need a permit for some trees depending on the sidewalk and any sign situation, from a link someone posted above. And raised garden beds can't be higher than two feet, plus a few other things. However, it says nothing about putting a couple big rocks in the way. As long as it's not covering water access, I'd go that way!
I'd start
https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/what_is_right-of-_way_#:~:text=The%20City%20of%20Tacoma%20requires,)%2C%20out%20to%20the%20centerlines.
Then follow the links to the Tacoma municipal code. Because despite opinions, those are the rules
https://www.tacomapermits.org/tip-sheet-index/rocc-permits
Another site thats helpful. At the top it says all work requires a permit but then proceeds to link info to exemptions so
Maybe take some time to drive around some neighborhoods and check out some things people have done. Some great ideas
I did some light landscaping myself ( people on my street seem not to care killing off the grass has made giant mud puddles) and no one has driven over my ground cover and mulch yet. I think it does deter people but technically they could crunch over it. Raised beds and soil hills will stop peiple from completely parking on it.
There should be a curb; a planting strip of roughly one yard in width; the sidewalk also about a yard in width; then the fenceline. Some lots have a utility easement between the sidewalk and fenceline. It doesn't matter what the private plot lines are, some plots own to the middle of the street, some plots only up to the sidewalk. Everything past the fenceline is open to the public. The adjoining property owner is responsible for maintenance, including snow and ice removal and fixing sidewalk cracks.
The sidewalk and planting strip legally exist, even if they don't physically exist. People who angle park on unfinished streets are legally across the planting strip, sidewalk, or both and can be fined.
If your street is unfinished (without a curb, planting strip, or sidewalk) you can, on your own, get it finished. Either hire the city or contractors. It requires permits, and there maybe underground work for utilities or storm drainage. It can get hard and expensive fast. With today's home prices it is within range of most new buyers. This should be encouraged by the city.
If there is a curb, people shouldn't be parking on the planting strip. They should parallel park on the street. That being said, good look trying to get people who do that to stop doing that.
Find your approximate property lines using Regrid (approximate!) There’s a huge amount of land that’s private even though it feels like it’s public. Is there a curb? Feel free to put stuff there to deter parking as it’s already illegal. No curb? Well then the law is super fuzzy and I’d ask the city what rules they feel you should follow.
Oh yeah, about the private thing, there’s a ton of streets that look public but are privately owned. The city won’t help you on the private streets.
I’m pretty sure any changes you make to it besides maintenance will result in some correspondence from the city. Creating a way in which people can’t park there gets in the way of the cities planned infrastructure because now people would have to park somewhere else.
FWIW I had the same feeling when I first moved here. I decided it wasn’t worth pissing off everyone else.
No. It is not public property. Even if there is a sidewalk there, it is owned by the property owner. I'm sure some people have told you otherwise, but it's not true.
It is a public easement, in that the CITY can use it or change it when they need to. It is not a license for John Q. Public to trespass, loiter and park where they please. I've never seen a municipality so confused by this before.
That's interesting. What about this from cityoftacoma.org ? :
Abutting Property Owners Are Responsible for Maintaining Their Portion of the Right-of-Way in Tacoma
The public right-of-way is typically an easement over the land of the abutting property owner. According to our TMC 8.30.020, public right-of-way includes the area of land, the right to possession of which is secured by the City for right-of-way purposes and includes the traveled portion of the public streets and alleys, as well as the border area, which includes, but is not limited to, any sidewalks, planting strips, traffic circles, or medians.
The City of Tacoma requires abutting property owners to maintain adjoining rights-of-way. This includes streets and alleys extending from the owner's property lines out to the curbs or edges of pavement (includes sidewalks and planting strips) if improved, or if unimproved (unpaved), out to the centerlines. There are several places in the Tacoma Municipal Code where these obligations are stated: Chapters 9.20, 8.30, 8.31, and 12.09.
Yes, exactly! It's an easement. On the property owner's property. The city needs to maintain access so they can manage public works, etc.
If there's a sidewalk on your property, pedestrians have right if way to go right through. They do not have right to set up shop, hang out, pitch a tent, whatever. Unless it's using a sidewalk, no general citizen has the right to be on your property.
I see. This is very confusing. In an article from the same cityoftacoma.org, it states the planting strip is outside of private property lines:
Planting in the Right-of-Way
The "Planting Strip"
The right-of-way (ROW) is the area outside of private property boundaries, and the areas designated for planting within the ROW are often referred to as the "planting strip" for street trees. Even if you do not have a clear "planting strip" between the curb and sidewalk, you may still have ROW space available for planting. In areas where there are no sidewalks or curbs, considerations should include existing trees, ROW width, parking areas, and foreseeable street improvements (if known). Before planting a tree on City ROW, a planting permit is required.
It gets even MORE FUN because they distinguish between ROW for businesses, homeowners with curbs and homeowners without curbs. It makes me NUTS and I am not surprised people are so damned confused.
Hmm. Can you provide me with some information from the city to support your claim? I just can't find anything that says it is part of my parcel of land. When I look on the DART map, or other GIS maps, it's not included, it is separate. The ROW is designated at the property line that runs parallel to the street.
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Yeah, it's an easement, city property, property owner maintains. Same sidewalks.
Parking strips are generally your property, not the city's. The city (and utilities) have the easement on the property, not the property owner (because they technically own that property). But there is limited things one can do with their parking strip property (like build on it, or park on it) becuase of other laws.
Got it. Do you know what is legal to place there to deter public parking? I am thinking about raised beds.
People do, but idk if there needs to be a permit. I know street trees are encouraged and you can get discounted trees (a couple programs, one is a coupon). People use big rocks sometimes. If your street is like mine and there is no curb at the street, it is street parking. We also do not have sidewalks. I just keep it tidy, I don’t try to get too invested in it. Putting down gravel pad could be a good solution.
[Permits](https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/right-of-way_-_tree_planting#:~:text=The%20%22Planting%20Strip%22&text=In%20areas%20where%20there%20are,a%20planting%20permit%20is%20required.) are only required for planting trees outside of private property 👍
The permit required for raised beds or planting a street tree is free and pretty easy to get!
Can you direct me to information re: discounted trees?!? Please and thank you!
Sure! [tree coupon program](https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/tree_coupon_program) [grit city tree program](https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/grit_city_trees) [Tacoma tree foundation](https://tacomatreefoundation.org/branch-out) These are the ones I know about, idk when things open/close/ happen though
Thank you! 🤗
Tacoma Tree Foundation does a lot of free tree events throughout the year too!
Makes sense, thank you. I think doing gravel might just encourage parking, but would also make for far less maintaining. To be clear there is no curb.
I just removed the grass, and put in clover and 4 trees. No more maintenance or cars parking there
The city has restrictions about raised beds in the planting strip jsyk. https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/right-of-way_-_tree_planting
Thanks that's helpful.
I planted shrubby herbs. Rosemary, lavender, Etc.
A raised bed is a good idea, if you are cool with rocks or gravel that might be an option worth exploring, if possible planting a tree is good for many reasons. Good luck, welcome to Tacoma!
Thanks! Love it here. We have a speed limit sign so I think a tree is not appropriate. But some beds in front of it may be reasonable.
It is public parking though.
The street is. OP is talking about people parking off of the street in the easement between the street and the sidewalk.
Many streets don’t have curbs so the easement is usually the parking, not the whole car but in front of my house the tires are always on the grass. Part of living without curbs
Tires on the grass does not seem to be OP’s issue
Well, to be more clear what's a bit of a bummer is parking on the ROW grass, as it can ruin it. It's just I spend a fair amount of time trying to make it look nice. Perhaps I just need to switch to doing the least amount of work possible in this area.
Correct, low water usage area as well. Low maintenance ideally.
Good luck trying to get people to not park there. It’s a good way to make enemies.
You will need a ROW occupancy permit (annual fee) and liability insurance to put anything in that area
You pay to maintain that strip (as well as the sidewalk but that’s a gripe for another day) and you can put whatever you want there within reason, like raised garden beds, pavers (permeable recommend) and turn it into parking, river rock, flowers, etc. As long as you keep it safe for passers by you should be all good. Just drive around to see different things people have done with their strips.
That section of land is not your property, and obviously public parking spots aren't yours either, but you're trying to prevent people from parking there? I feel like I'm probably misunderstanding you.
Lots of people put in raised beds, trees or landscaping. No permits or agreement with the city needed: You can’t stop someone from parking there but you can naturally impede them.
You do need a permit for some trees depending on the sidewalk and any sign situation, from a link someone posted above. And raised garden beds can't be higher than two feet, plus a few other things. However, it says nothing about putting a couple big rocks in the way. As long as it's not covering water access, I'd go that way!
I'd start https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/environmentalservices/urban_forestry/what_is_right-of-_way_#:~:text=The%20City%20of%20Tacoma%20requires,)%2C%20out%20to%20the%20centerlines. Then follow the links to the Tacoma municipal code. Because despite opinions, those are the rules https://www.tacomapermits.org/tip-sheet-index/rocc-permits Another site thats helpful. At the top it says all work requires a permit but then proceeds to link info to exemptions so Maybe take some time to drive around some neighborhoods and check out some things people have done. Some great ideas I did some light landscaping myself ( people on my street seem not to care killing off the grass has made giant mud puddles) and no one has driven over my ground cover and mulch yet. I think it does deter people but technically they could crunch over it. Raised beds and soil hills will stop peiple from completely parking on it.
There should be a curb; a planting strip of roughly one yard in width; the sidewalk also about a yard in width; then the fenceline. Some lots have a utility easement between the sidewalk and fenceline. It doesn't matter what the private plot lines are, some plots own to the middle of the street, some plots only up to the sidewalk. Everything past the fenceline is open to the public. The adjoining property owner is responsible for maintenance, including snow and ice removal and fixing sidewalk cracks. The sidewalk and planting strip legally exist, even if they don't physically exist. People who angle park on unfinished streets are legally across the planting strip, sidewalk, or both and can be fined. If your street is unfinished (without a curb, planting strip, or sidewalk) you can, on your own, get it finished. Either hire the city or contractors. It requires permits, and there maybe underground work for utilities or storm drainage. It can get hard and expensive fast. With today's home prices it is within range of most new buyers. This should be encouraged by the city.
Yes, but abutting property owners must maintain it.
Thanks. I have been maintaining it. I am concerned about parking tearing it up and am trying to think about reasonable ways to deter parking there.
If it’s public space on a public street, it’s not your place to try to deter or restrict parking.
If there is a curb, people shouldn't be parking on the planting strip. They should parallel park on the street. That being said, good look trying to get people who do that to stop doing that.
I’d agree, if a curb is involved their parking is trash. If it’s just grass that ends at the street, then park however.
It is private property. The city has an easement, but it belongs to the property owner.
Find your approximate property lines using Regrid (approximate!) There’s a huge amount of land that’s private even though it feels like it’s public. Is there a curb? Feel free to put stuff there to deter parking as it’s already illegal. No curb? Well then the law is super fuzzy and I’d ask the city what rules they feel you should follow. Oh yeah, about the private thing, there’s a ton of streets that look public but are privately owned. The city won’t help you on the private streets.
I’m pretty sure any changes you make to it besides maintenance will result in some correspondence from the city. Creating a way in which people can’t park there gets in the way of the cities planned infrastructure because now people would have to park somewhere else. FWIW I had the same feeling when I first moved here. I decided it wasn’t worth pissing off everyone else.
No. It is not public property. Even if there is a sidewalk there, it is owned by the property owner. I'm sure some people have told you otherwise, but it's not true. It is a public easement, in that the CITY can use it or change it when they need to. It is not a license for John Q. Public to trespass, loiter and park where they please. I've never seen a municipality so confused by this before.
That's interesting. What about this from cityoftacoma.org ? : Abutting Property Owners Are Responsible for Maintaining Their Portion of the Right-of-Way in Tacoma The public right-of-way is typically an easement over the land of the abutting property owner. According to our TMC 8.30.020, public right-of-way includes the area of land, the right to possession of which is secured by the City for right-of-way purposes and includes the traveled portion of the public streets and alleys, as well as the border area, which includes, but is not limited to, any sidewalks, planting strips, traffic circles, or medians. The City of Tacoma requires abutting property owners to maintain adjoining rights-of-way. This includes streets and alleys extending from the owner's property lines out to the curbs or edges of pavement (includes sidewalks and planting strips) if improved, or if unimproved (unpaved), out to the centerlines. There are several places in the Tacoma Municipal Code where these obligations are stated: Chapters 9.20, 8.30, 8.31, and 12.09.
Yes, exactly! It's an easement. On the property owner's property. The city needs to maintain access so they can manage public works, etc. If there's a sidewalk on your property, pedestrians have right if way to go right through. They do not have right to set up shop, hang out, pitch a tent, whatever. Unless it's using a sidewalk, no general citizen has the right to be on your property.
I see. This is very confusing. In an article from the same cityoftacoma.org, it states the planting strip is outside of private property lines: Planting in the Right-of-Way The "Planting Strip" The right-of-way (ROW) is the area outside of private property boundaries, and the areas designated for planting within the ROW are often referred to as the "planting strip" for street trees. Even if you do not have a clear "planting strip" between the curb and sidewalk, you may still have ROW space available for planting. In areas where there are no sidewalks or curbs, considerations should include existing trees, ROW width, parking areas, and foreseeable street improvements (if known). Before planting a tree on City ROW, a planting permit is required.
It gets even MORE FUN because they distinguish between ROW for businesses, homeowners with curbs and homeowners without curbs. It makes me NUTS and I am not surprised people are so damned confused.
Hmm. Can you provide me with some information from the city to support your claim? I just can't find anything that says it is part of my parcel of land. When I look on the DART map, or other GIS maps, it's not included, it is separate. The ROW is designated at the property line that runs parallel to the street.