Can You Plant Trees Near Power Lines? What to Know Before Digging

It's easy to become attached to the perfect planting spot, whether it's the amount of sunlight it provides or the aesthetic outcome it brings to your landscape. But look up, and you may see a collection of power lines overhead, leading you to question your chosen planting location. Planting a tree too close to utility lines can lead to frequent pruning and even conflicts with the utility company down the line. Before digging, we’re sharing advice from legal experts and an arborist who explain what to consider before planting a tree next to power lines.

Can You Plant a Tree Near a Power Line?

The answer isn’t a clear yes or no, but may depend on your municipality codes, utility company, and even the species you’re considering. Other factors include local ordinances and regulations, as well as any HOA rules. "These factors vary widely and cannot be relied upon as consistent across all jurisdictions," says trial attorney Jamie E. Wright. Here's what to know before planting a tree near power lines.

Easements

Power companies have easements that allow their lines to be where they are, meaning they can remove or trim trees within those easements. "How frequently they do so depends on the type of line and the size of the vegetation," says Lawton Jordan, an Atlanta-based real estate attorney. "Easements for certain major lines are trimmed on a regular basis, and you can expect anything in such areas to be fully removed periodically. For more minor lines, power companies will frequently allow vegetation to remain, and only trim the trees when they reach a height or size that threatens interference with such lines."

In a worst-case scenario, the power company could sue you for trespassing on their easement and for any damages you may cause. "This is unlikely in the typical scenario where they will just remove or trim a tree, and they would typically give you a warning before it got to this point," Jordan says.

Property Lines

Another factor to consider is that ownership of a tree is determined by its location. "Homeowners often buy and plant trees themselves, only to find out the tree belongs to the municipality because they planted it in the right-of-way," says Mason Hanrahan, an ISA-certified arborist and qualified tree risk assessor. "This can be frustrating because—it doesn’t matter that you can prove you paid for the tree—that tree no longer belongs to you."

Power lines are often planted on or near the right-of-way, so when planting near power lines, make sure you know exactly where the property line is. "Otherwise, you may be making an accidental donation to the city," Hanrahan says.

Liability

The primary legal consideration for planting a tree close to a power line is liability. "Homeowners who plant trees that interfere with the operation of a power line may be liable for damages, fires, and/or service outages caused by their trees' interference with the power line," warns Wright. "When a tree encroaches upon a power line and causes damage, outages, or injuries, the homeowner is usually the party being questioned."

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How to Locate Power Lines

Power and communication lines use the same poles, making them difficult to distinguish. "When most people look up, they just see a mess of wires and can’t tell the different utilities apart," says Hanrahan. "Clients tell me all the time that their trees are touching power lines when they’re really just touching communication lines, which carry much less current and therefore pose little risk."

The easiest way to identify a line is by its height. "When running from pole to pole, communication lines are 15 to 18 feet high, while power lines are 30 feet," Hanrahan says. "This makes sense when you think about it; contact with power lines is more dangerous, so they need to be higher up where contact is less likely to happen."

Trees can grow through communication lines without issue, provided they are structurally sound. However, a tree touching power lines can be dangerous as the wood is conductive enough to carry current down to the ground, Hanrahan says.

Locating Underground Lines

While power lines located above ground are visible, you also need to consider underground lines. "Before planting any type of tree, homeowners should contact 811 to request that underground electric, gas, water, and communication lines be marked by the respective utilities at no cost to the homeowner," says Wright. "Not taking advantage of this resource is one of the quickest ways to transform a beautiful landscaping project into a costly and potentially litigious nightmare."

What to Consider Before Planting a Tree

Homeowners should think long-term before planting a tree near power lines. Here's what our experts say to keep in mind:

• Size: The first consideration is height at maturity, but width is equally important. "A tree that has aggressive horizontal growth can easily grow into an overhead power line sideways, "Wright warns. "Trees that typically top out at 20 feet or lower have significantly fewer potential risks than taller trees," he adds. Trees commonly grown near utility infrastructure include crepe myrtle, redbud, Japanese maple, dogwood, and serviceberry.
• Root system: Knowing how extensive the root system of your tree will become is especially important when planting near underground utilities, walkways, and sidewalks. "From a liability and regulatory perspective, predictable growth results in predictable risk," Wright says. "That risk will almost always fall on the homeowner."
• Easement: To avoid future issues, you need to know the size of the power company’s easement, which typically ranges from 10 to 50 feet on each side of the line, says Jordan. "Call the number to get all such easements marked, or refer to the survey of your property, which may show this information," he says. "It’s also worth noting that these easements frequently allow the power company to go beyond the easement area if they determine a tree threatens to fall into the easement area."