As stated above, homeowners are legally responsible for taking care of the space between their property and the sidewalk, including planting strips and so-called “tree boxes”, those areas between the sidewalk and sidewalk designed for trees and plants. The District of Columbia government will not provide any groundcover or other plants, but homeowners are encouraged to provide and care for them on their own to help beautify the neighborhood. In addition, users can report trees that need care (for example, the application also includes a graphic map with information on tree species found in Washington, DC). In the District, these spaces are called tree boxes.
Elsewhere in the region, they are known as tree lawns, utility strips, tree wells, or, even more undecorously, the green space between the sidewalk and the sidewalk. That is, if there is a sidewalk. Unlike many other cities, where the care of street trees is a function of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Washington street and park trees are managed by the Department of Transportation, or DDOT (Dee-Dot), as locals call them. The new requirements ensure that all new fences installed around the perimeter allow the unrestricted flow of rainwater that drains from the sidewalk into the wooded space and that the “height” of the tree fence is approximately eighteen inches (18 inches).
Alexandria doesn't allow major excavations in the tree-strip, so it doesn't allow people to plant trees or shrubs without a permit. However, John Thomas, acting associate director of the Department of Transportation's Urban Forestry Administration, said he would prefer to have nothing more than the tree in the treebox, but, given that there was once a push from Government D. The Government understands the desire to plant, officials are concerned that other vegetation will steal water, air, nutrients and light from an existing tree or from one of the 8,000 trees that will be planted this year, Rice. Other factors include the potential height of the tree, especially in relation to overhead cables, the proximity to an intersection, even the exposure to the sun it may receive, and the strength of the tree.
In Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun counties, where tree strips are under the jurisdiction of the Virginia Department of Transportation, a permit is needed to plant any type, from a simple thought to a tree. In some tree boxes, residents have painted steps or tried in vain to prevent the fir trees from burning, trapped on a small island of dirt surrounded by hot pavement.