Can You Plant or Decorate Your Parkway? Grand Rapids Has Answers

If you live in a city, town, or neighborhood, your front lawn typically extends out until you have a sidewalk that rudely cuts through your property, leaving just a small plot of grass between the sidewalk and the road. That plot of grass goes by many names: parkway, tree lawn, boulevard, curb strip, etc.

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The question is: who actually owns that area of grass, and what can you do with it? Is it your grass or is it the City's grass? Could you plant or decorate that parkway without getting in trouble? We went right to the source to answer this burning question: The City of Grand Rapids.

The Rules of the Parkway, According To The City

To learn the official rules for the parkway, I spoke to Rebeca Padilla with the City of Grand Rapids. Here's what she had to say:

• The "parkway" area between the sidewalk and street is controlled by the City, but the property owner is required to maintain the area, including the grass.
• HOWEVER, the property owner can "maintain" the parkway as they see fit, meaning you CAN plant or decorate the parkway as you please.
  • You can plant plants and flowers or place boulders as long as they do not block the view of traffic from the street or driveway.
  • Install wood chips or gravel, as long as they allow storm water to drain into the street without making a mess and do not block the view of traffic from the street or driveway.
• WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND: Since the area is owned by the City, it is allowed to disturb whatever decorations or plantings without permission as needed to complete whatever utility work is being done there.
  • The area will be restored with topsoil and grass seed, not the plantings the property owner installed.

What This Means For You

In plain terms, the parkway is yours until it isn't. Do what you please with the spot, decorate it how you see fit, as long as it doesn't affect the road or your neighbors, but don't do anything that you won't be mad about if the City suddenly needs that spot for utility work or something.

READ MORE: You Can Name A Storm Drain Around Grand Rapids By Doing This

The parkway is owned by the city, so if the City needs that plot for any reason, it will reclaim it and do as it pleases to provide whatever service is needed. So if you plant a flowerbed there, you run the risk of that bed getting trashed if the city needs to dig there, and so on.

If that's a risk you're willing to take, you're welcome to decorate it to your heart's content. If you want to make butterflies happy, consider planting some milkweed.