Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 2.B
Meeting Date: August 13, 2025
From: Andrew Firestine, AICP, Director of Community and Economic Development
Title: Palm Tree Maintenance
RECOMMENDATION:
There is no specific recommendation, this staff report and presentation are intended to support a discussion on palm tree maintenance. City Council may elect to provide feedback and direction to staff.
BACKGROUND:
There are multiple species of palm trees found in the Coachella Valley. The most common are the Washingtonia robusta (Mexican fan palm), Washingtonia filifera (California fan palm), and the Phoenix dactylifera (date palm).
The Washingtonia filifera is native to California while the other two species are not. The CVWD Lush & Efficient: Landscape Gardening in the Coachella Valley publication identifies the Washingtonia robusta as a native of Baja California with a 15 to 18 inch diameter trunk.
It is faster growing species than the Washingtonia filifera and grows to a height of 50 to 75 feet. The Washingtonia filifera trunk is wider at up to 3.5 feet in diameter and it has a mature height of 35 to 40 feet. The Washingtonia filifera has large palm fronds and, when the fronds are not removed, it has a distinctive skirt that hangs down from the tree. The Phoenix dactylifera grows to a height of 60 feet with a trunk width of two to three feet.
The Washingtonia filifera is significant in the Cahuilla Indians history and culture, as is documented in articles in the Me Yah Whae magazine, including a Spring / Summer 2015 article titled “The Cahuilla and the Palm: A Harmonious Lineage” and a Spring / Summer 2017 article titled “Moul: The Man, the Tree, the Legend”, both of which are attached for reference.
DISCUSSION:
The City of Cathedral City does not have any regulations specific to the maintenance or trimming of palm trees, although there are existing nuisance regulations that address trees, fire hazards, vermin and rodents, and safety hazards. More specifically, Section 13.80.040 reads:
It is unlawful and it shall be a public nuisance for any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any premises or property in the city to maintain such premises or property in such a manner that has resulted in: (a) trees and shrubs with dead or fallen limbs or branches to present a safety hazard or restrict, impede or obstruct the use of a public right-of-way, easement, sidewalk or roadway; or (b) trees, shrubs and plants to grow out into or over a public right-of-way, easement, sidewalk or roadway where such growth restricts, impedes or obstructs pedestrian or vehicular use of said public right-of-way, easement, sidewalk or roadway.
Section 13.80.045 reads:
It is unlawful and it shall be a public nuisance for any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any premises or property in the city to maintain such premises or property in such a manner that has resulted in the accumulation of dry or dead plant matter, combustible refuse and waste or any other matter which by reason of its size, manner of growth and location, constitutes a fire hazard to any building, improvement, crop or other property.
Section 13.80.070 reads:
It is unlawful and it shall be a public nuisance for any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any premises or property in the city to maintain such premises or property that results in creating a habitat for termites, insects, vermin or rodents that presents a threat to the health and safety of the public and/or a threat to property.
And Section 13.80.135 reads:
It is unlawful and it shall be a public nuisance for any person to maintain any premises or property within the city in a manner that presents an imminent safety hazard and/or which creates a present and immediate danger to life, property, health or public safety.
While none of these sections is interpreted to require the maintenance or trimming of palm trees, where the fronds have fallen on the ground and constitute dry or dead plant matter that may be a fire hazard or a rodent harborage, it may still be pursued as a public nuisance under the existing code. Also, where a palm tree is showing signs of a lack of maintenance or failure and is a potential safety hazard, it may also be a public nuisance. The City of Cathedral City has also adopted the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC).
Review of Other Cities
The City of Palm Springs manages an urban forestry program with several thousand city owned palm trees and adopted a resolution in 2009 creating a policy for the maintenance of palm trees owned by the City of Palm Springs, requiring their annual maintenance. The City of Palm Springs removes the fruit pods from the Washingtonia robusta and the Washingtonia filifera palm trees it owns while maintaining the skirt of the Washingtonia filifera (with a 12 foot minimum clearance) and removing the dry fronds from the Washingtonia robusta. Their adopted General Plan also contains a policy to phase out the use of Washingtonia robusta palm trees in the public right-of-way.
The City of Palm Springs does not require palm tree trimming on private property, although it has a property maintenance code requiring the maintenance of landscape improvements and containing public nuisance provisions similar to those in Cathedral City that make overgrown, dead, diseased, or decayed trees a public nuisance where they are a potential rodent harborage, fire hazard, or visual blight.
The City of Desert Hot Springs and the City of Rancho Mirage public nuisance regulations are similar to Cathedral City’s with respect to tree maintenance and fire hazards. The City of Desert Hot Springs has adopted the 2021 IPMC.
The City of Palm Desert has tree pruning regulations for trees located on private property but does not specifically regulate palm tree maintenance or trimming on private property.
Their property maintenance regulations broadly regulate the maintenance of landscaping viewable from a public right-of-way or viewable from neighboring properties and prompt the removal of dead, decayed, diseased, or hazardous vegetation where it is a rodent harborage, fire hazard, or visual blight. In 2022, the City of Palm Desert added the Washingtonia robusta to its list of nuisance plant species and prohibits its use in landscape design plans as part of new development, on city property, and on private property.
The City of Indian Wells is one of three cities in the Coachella Valley to regulate palm tree maintenance and requires Phoenix dactylifera to be trimmed by June 30 annually and all other fan palms to be trimmed by July 30. The City of Indian Wells has two informational guides on its website in support of its palm tree maintenance program, an infographic guide containing maintenance recommendations and a comprehensive palm tree guide, both produced by GDY Consulting, a tree, horticulture, landscape consultant to the City of Indian Wells. Both guides are attached for reference.
The City of Coachella similarly requires palm tree maintenance, requiring the removal of all dead fronds.
The City of Indio declares a public nuisance growth on palm trees, including but not limited to, dead or decayed palm fronds, noncommercial fruit, or flowers/pollen hanging from palm trees, except that dead Washingtonia filifera fronds may remain in place and for the purpose of forming a skirt.
Assessment
The City of Cathedral City’s current nuisance regulations have effectively supported the enforcement of tree maintenance in response to a complaint. While the City could require the annual trimming of palm trees in a similar manner as the cities of Indian Wells, Coachella, and Indio, this may have an impact on code enforcement, particularly if it is enforced proactively. The City could also consider a measure similar to the City of Palm Desert to limit the use of the Washingtonia robusta species and other invasive, noxious, and nuisance species as part of landscape designs for new development, a consideration that could be made as part of the development code update and the adoption of landscape design standards.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
N/A
ATTACHMENTS:
The Cahuilla and the Palm: A Harmonious Lineage
Moul: The Man, the Tree, the Legend
City of Indian Wells Palm Tree Infographic Guide
City of Indian Wells Palm Tree Guide