photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World photo

A home at 5113 Cedar Grove Way featuring artificial palm trees is pictured on Oct. 27, 2021.

There indeed is still a west Lawrence home where you can get a quick fix of the tropics regardless of the season, thanks to several artificial palm trees in the yard. And now, there is some possibility — at least for the moment — that your or your neighbor’s yard could have them too.

You may recall in March that we reported that the home at 5113 Cedar Grove Way stood out because it had four full-sized artificial palm trees in its yard. At the time, the city’s director of planning said the artificial trees didn’t meet the city’s landscaping code. The developer of the house said he’d have his attorney look at the city’s analysis and decide whether to appeal or seek a variance that would allow the trees to stay.

The trees are still standing tall, and the latest word from the city indicates they’ll be allowed to stay for the long term. The city’s planning and development services office has dug deeper into the issue and has changed its original interpretation. I was hoping for an NFL referee-like statement such as: “The ruling on the lawn is reversed. The artificial tree is allowed to stand.”

Yes, I’ve probably just been watching too much football. Instead, Planning and Development Services Director Jeff Crick spelled it out a little differently. He said his office’s original analysis that the city’s land development code prohibits artificial plants from being used to meet the code’s landscape material standards was accurate. However, that code also exempts “detached dwellings” from complying with those landscape standards.

“So, that code section would not apply to a residence,” Crick told me via email.

That brings up the question of whether artificial trees are now fair game at homes across the city. The answer is that it depends on location and other factors such as size. But, with the current ruling, there certainly are some opportunities for property owners to install artificial trees or other types of synthetic vegetation.

Crick said a key determinant in the legality is whether the tree is a street tree or a lawn tree. Street trees generally are those that are between the street and sidewalk. The city has street tree requirements when new neighborhoods are built. The site plans for those neighborhoods are required to be specific enough to list the species of trees being used. The city’s landscape code does apply to street trees, and Crick said the city wouldn’t approve of an artificial tree being used to meet a street tree requirement.

But if a tree is far from the street and in a person’s yard, that is a different matter. Crick said there may be some situations where the city still would have to grant some approvals for an artificial tree to be used. That would include if the tree was so tall and large that it was determined that it actually needed a building permit under the city’s code. Crick didn’t offer any specific examples on what size of tree would trigger that provision. If that provision were triggered, it also may require a planning review that would determine whether the tree needed to be set back a certain distance from structures or easements.

If the property at 5113 Cedar Grove Way is any guide, homeowners could have some pretty large trees without having to go through that process. The trees there are about 20 feet tall, and my understanding is they did not have to go through any special building permit process.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World photo

The palm tree at 5113 Cedar Grove Way is made of man-made material that is designed to withstand weather conditions, but also must be sealed each year to keep it durable, the builder of the house said. The house is pictured in March 2021.

All of this brings up another question: What about artificial grass? Perhaps you are like my lawn-mowing daughter and have been wanting to take a stick of dynamite to the old riding lawnmower. (She’s concerned the seat occasionally falls off, but I contend that simply is an advanced safety system to keep the operator constantly alert.) You may recall that the city outlawed synthetic turf at homes.

Your recollection would be partly correct. The city has a code on the books that says no synthetic turf is allowed without express approval from the planning director. In addition, it says any approved use of synthetic turf should be limited and small scale.

So, why would the city want to limit fake grass but not limit fake trees in the same way? It is possible that the city just didn’t think about the possibility of artificial trees becoming a real thing in Lawrence. When I asked Crick whether the city may need to re-evaluate its code language related to artificial trees, he left that door open — although any change would have to go through the City Commission.

“While the Land Development Code exempts certain uses from its landscaping article, the purpose of that article is to enhance environmental conditions by providing shade, air purification, oxygen regeneration, groundwater recharge, filtering of stormwater runoff, abatement of noise, glare and heat,” Crick said via email. “It is also to replenish the local stock of native trees by encouraging the use of plant materials that are indigenous to or generally suitable for planting in the region. If the use of artificial plants is becoming more readily available and feasible today than in 2006 when the Land Development Code was adopted, it may be time to review those codes and standards to ensure they’re evolving to meet changing situations and that they reflect the community’s expectations.”

Certainly the city will have that opportunity to make such changes. The city has been planning for a complete review and rewrite of its 15-year-old land development code, and actually on Wednesday announced it had issued a request for proposals for companies that want to lead the review and updating process.

But maybe Lawrence is of a mind that artificial trees are fine. The developer of this house, Matt Gish of AllConstruct LLC, certainly likes the idea of them. He said he chose to go that route because plans called for the backyard to have a pool, and he thought the palm trees created a good look for a pool area.

Since the article, I’ve heard from people who like the trees and certainly heard from people who don’t like them. I reached out to Gish to hear any more thoughts he has about how the artificial trees have worked out now that they’ve been installed for a few months, but I haven’t heard back from him.

I also would like to hear more about cost and care issues he’s learned from the artificial trees. In our original interview, he didn’t share much of that information, other than you are supposed to apply a sealer to the tree annually to increase its lifespan.

As for cost, he didn’t provide me any information in March, but I found some websites that listed trees of about 20 feet tall for $2,000, but I also would assume there would be some installation costs.

When I asked Gish in March whether the trees penciled out, he gave me one of my favorite answers to a question thus far in 2021: “Obviously, you can’t grow a palm tree in Kansas, so no palm tree is ever going to pencil out here because you would be buying a new one every year.”

That is one analysis that is hard to argue with.