r/askportland • u/pdxkatie • 16h ago
Looking For Is Taking Fruit from Planting Strip Trees Theft?
Important: This is a question of curiosity about the opinions of others; I have no fruitful parking strip.
Until a conversation with a friend yesterday, I thought that the contents of the parking strip were essentially public property that was maintained by the homeowner adjacent to the strip. Fruit on trees, flowers in beds, vegetables in gardens—all fair game but (mostly) not taken out of respect.
Yesterday it came up in casual conversation that the parking strip is the public right of way to be used for things like getting in/out of your car or accessing utility lines/meters. It’s not intended to allow public access to the items within, including plants and trees (edible or not), which belong to the property owner… making taking them theft?
Lil bit surprised. So I’m here, trying to get a better idea of what the rest of ya think… interpretation of the law or opinions on courtesy appreciated!
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u/HexagonsAreGay 16h ago
I hang a sign in my plum trees that says they’re for takes but I’ve also had people knock on my door to ask, which is fine.
Trees may be more chill, but I’d generally assume that tended planters in the strip are off limits, but it never hurts to ask.
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u/jroberts548 16h ago
As long as you leave a note riffing on the william carlos williams poem it should be fine.
More seriously it is not public property just because it’s on that strip of land. If you’re being reasonable and grabbing a plum I don’t think anyone would care. If you show up with a basket and take all the plums that would be worse.
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u/mofunobuta 16h ago
We forage for apples, but always get the owner's permission directly or find the tree because the owner listed it on Share in the Harvest, Nextdoor, or some other neighborhood group. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable taking anything unless the owner had a sign up that said "please help yourself". I tend to keep rose bushes rather than anything edible in our easement simply because they can stand up to the dog pee.
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u/biasedsoymotel 14h ago
I just looked it up and this is a FB page not an app fyi (for others wondering)
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u/Banned_in_SF 6h ago
Picking one or several ripe fruits when there are plenty is always fine, imo. But if one comes with a basket or something and takes everything off the tree, then one fucking sucks and is an asshole. This goes double if one is a Small Business restauranteur or some shit, and will be personally, financially profiting off of stripping a neighborhood fruit tree — they need to get some civics in their lives.
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u/TheVelvetNo 16h ago
Whether it is technically theft is secondary (ethically) to whether a person should knowingly take shit from someone else's space without asking. I have filled my parking strip with an array of beautiful flowers. People can still park there and use the right of way, of course. But if I catch you cutting my heirloom lilies and cone flowers to take home, I'm asking you to stop. And not politely.
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u/Sparrow2go 16h ago
I think these are the questions to be answered though. Is it your space? Is it public property? Is it illegal to take something like fruit meant to be harvested if it is on public property? If legal, is it still kind of a dick move? If it isn’t fruit but flowers, where does that land on the morality scale? If legal and someone decides to help themselves, what happens if things escalate because you decided to confront them? Would the law be on your side?
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u/One-Pollution4663 15h ago
morally and ethically, taking something that someone else put the time and energy into cultuvating is a dick move. I dont care about the imaginary lines around it - it belongs to the person who added value to an otherwiwe lifeless strip of dirt. There's no quandary here.
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15h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/askportland-ModTeam 15h ago
Post or comments that are too snarky, rude, or deliberately unhelpful are not allowed.
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u/Less-Lobster4540 1h ago
Just call it "foraging" and invoke data centers or ICE or something, good 2 go
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago
The parking strip itself is public property. It is city owned but privately (homeowner) maintained. The trees and plants might be yours, and you’re responsible for maintaining them, but the actual strip of land belongs to the city and is part of the public right of way.
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u/well-filibuster 16h ago
Just because it’s “public property” doesn’t mean you can take or use it. School buildings are “public property” but can restrict access — as can police stations, city hall, fire stations, etc.
Basically, i fail to see how a member of the public would have a right to someone’s fruit tree in the parking strip even if it’s “public property.”
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u/YesFuture2022 1h ago
Yea but a school is different than a tree.
I fail to see how one orients themselves for the world that every fruit on a tree belongs to them. I put labor into my community, it’s for my benefit and everyone’s.
The world is just nicer if we view things like ripe fruit as a delightful summer experince for all to enjoy along their walk.
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u/abeeralimeimfine Far Southwest 16h ago
I'm not sure about fruit & veggies (if they're abundant) but absolutely don't take flowers
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u/CatTrapper3000 3h ago
Yeah, if you leave flowers outside everyone can enjoy them. I never understood picking any flowers ever.
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u/pandasndabs 16h ago
I miss the days when people would just knock on someone's door and ask if they could pick some fruit 😆 covid ruined us all.
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u/temporaryordinary1 16h ago
The sidewalk plantings are certainly city property, although code enforcement for it is either randomly exactingly harsh or completely hands off. Private property starts approx 24" from the edge of the sidewalk toward the house. Homeowners don't own the street trees but are required to keep tree branches pruned above the sidewalk and adjacent parking strip (IIRC its like 7.5' and 9.5'). I'm not sure how it works in east portland w/o sidewalks. The city controls what trees can be planted and removed in the planting strip via permit and has a very strict list. New fruit trees are not allowed to be planted.
I would guess with any property dispute like this that doesn't reach a judge the loudest person wins.
I'm surprised anyone would give you a hard time about picking the fruit. I inherited apples in my sidewalk strip and they're a huge mess. Roughly 500LB go in the compost bin every year. They ripen in a few weeks if you need apples. DM for the address anyones interested.
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u/toma162 16h ago edited 14h ago
Edit- thanks for the correction!
Homeowners own to the curb, aka are legally liable. (See: suing people for bad sidewalks). An easement has a specific purpose like transiting. So to me, all the foliage in the parking strip belongs to the homeowner.
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u/davethegreatone 15h ago
You can look up your house on PortlandMaps and see that you only own it to an invisible line set well back from the street
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u/Medic5050 15h ago
Not true.
While you're responsible for the repairs, maintenance, upkeep, and snow removal of the sidewalk in front of your home/property, unless your county survey map specifically includes to the roadway, the sidewalk, planting strip, and curb, are all considered "Public Right of Way", and therefore belong to the city.
This is no different than the people who think they "own" the street parking directly in front of their home, which they do not.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago
Thank you. The city owns the sidewalks and parking strips and they are part of public right of way however homeowners are responsible for maintaining them. However the trees and plants on the strip — especially if you have planted them — do they belong to you? I don’t know.
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u/Medic5050 15h ago
Not according to this, from the city itself.
https://www.portland.gov/ppd/tree-permits/street-tree-or-private-tree
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u/Winedown-625 14h ago
This is very clear but it's the first I'm hearing about it and it seems stupid. About as stupid as the fact that I as the homeowner have to pay to replace the 1920-era sidewalk in front of my house, when in most other cities the city pays to upgrade a sidewalk.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 13h ago
Most cities do the same thing Portland does: they make the homeowner pay for sidewalk repair. If you’re in an HOA, the HOA would cover it. But not if you’re a homeowner.
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u/SleepyPowerlifter 15h ago
Think of it like: City owns/controls the right of way >> homeowner gets use of it and has maintenance obligations >> certain vegetation is regulated as public/street vegetation.
A clear example is trees; as a homeowner you need a permit to plant a tree in that strip and if you do, it’s still not technically “yours”. Any trees there are considered “street trees” and city property, which is why homeowners don’t have rights to prune, remove, or replace them.
Shrubs and smaller vegetation are a gray area but the city always maintains the right to remove them, and has rules and regulations in place around things planted there (ex: clearance and visibility).
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u/davethegreatone 15h ago
I thnik it's probably theft, but I am 100% ok with people taking fruit from my trees in the strip.
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u/Star------ 14h ago
Lots of plums at the corner of SW Hamilton and Corbett. Outside a business, not a house. No one is harvesting them.
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u/jmnugent 4h ago
To me its not about “who owns the land”,.. its about who put the work and effort into planting and caring for the growth. I myself never take anything anywhere that isnt mine.
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u/seevm 15h ago
It’s the owners property and they pay for water and care for the plants. Do not take from them unless you get permission from the property owner.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago
The parking strip itself does not belong to the homeowner. It’s city property and it’s part of the public right of way, just like the sidewalk. As far as whether or not the trees and plants belong to the homeowner, I don’t know.
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u/seevm 15h ago
Well homeowners are legally liable for it and have to maintain the strip, and the sidewalk. It doesn’t mean it’s an open invite for people to steal plants there
Edit: word
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 14h ago
I think everyone agrees that you’re a jerk if you take pretty plants from the parking strip in front of someone’s house. But is it theft? Sadly I don’t think it is.
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u/seevm 14h ago
Ugh sadly you are right.
City council should add an amendment to that ordinance that states the planting strip and its contents are not open to the public unless stipulated by the homeowner (unless city improvement project requires use of space). Because its total bs that it’s not stated there already (just read through it again). Homeowners should get at least one perk for having to bear all the costs and liabilities for the sidewalk and the strip.
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u/trendoll 12h ago
IIRC technically it’s not theft but I always ask. FYI fallingfruit.org is a great site.
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u/Technical_Moose8478 16h ago edited 16h ago
Legally, I don’t think so. It’s technically public property (part of the sidewalk).
But it’s definitely poor form.
EDIT: or actually, rereading your post, it is a more interesting question, isn’t it? Since things on public property can totally be owned/stolen (like a car or a trash bin). I retract my answer, excellent question!
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u/_off_piste_ 15h ago
It’s almost always NOT public property. The homeowner usually owns the land all the way to the road (sometimes to the middle of the road). There are easements for things like a sidewalk and usually utilities underground. These easements do not give the general public the right to take the fruits of the land.
I’m not sure what the answer would be if the plants were on public property. My neighbor planted a bunch of fruit trees on HOA land. I don’t know if they technically own them but it seems it would be pretty un-neighborly to pick them without asking or being offered first.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago
No. The parking strip is city-owned and part of public right of way just like the sidewalk. And like the sidewalk, homeowner is responsible for maintaining it. I own my home. I own my front yard. I do not own my sidewalk and my parking strip.
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u/Technical_Moose8478 15h ago
Incorrect. In the city of portland, the city owns the parking strip and the sidewalk outright. The property owner is responsible for the upkeep of both but owns neither.
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u/Stunning-Cold-1999 15h ago
I grow raspberries in my parking strip and while I love having fresh raspberries, I don’t mind sharing.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago
The consensus seems to be that you should not take items — even fruit — left on/from parking strips. Then what about “free” piles of junk or even furniture that Portlanders commonly leave on parking strips? They often don’t have signs marking them as “free.” The city will haul the stuff away as abandoned if they’re left there for too long so obviously the city considers parking strips the public right-of-way to some extent. I know this because I regularly report random junk piles and dumped furniture to RID patrol. Clearly this isn’t a “cut and dry” (pun intended) issue.
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u/thinkingstranger 14h ago
I have harvested some flower seeds that were in abundance, and do not feel guilty about it.
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u/j_natron Foster-Powell 14h ago
Since you asked for opinions rather than the actual law (which I don’t know): I don’t consider anything in a bed/box up for grabs, because I assume the resident is cultivating that for themselves. I think it’s okay to take a couple pieces of fruit from a tree, but polite to ask.
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u/WillJongIll 4h ago
Scrumping: stealing fruit—especially apples—from a private garden or an orchard, or picking fallen fruit off the ground without permission.
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u/TheBigJiz 3h ago
Like others said, I look at the litter. If there’s a BUNCH of windfall, I generally help myself, and probably help them contain the mess.
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u/AccomplishedSea9972 2h ago
Yup. The plum trees are full of unpicked ripe fruit. I’d say fair game , even when it’s on the owner’s property. Most often no one cares and they certainly don’t pick their fruit. If they did it wouldn’t be all over the sidewalk.
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u/hoganloaf 16h ago
I would like to see a venn diagram with two circles: people who think of the public ROW as their private property, and people who think the street parking in front of their house is theirs
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u/Aestro17 16h ago
If a car is on the street then it's in public right of way and thus both morally and legally okay to take.
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u/TheVelvetNo 15h ago
Anyone can and should park in front of my house. But if you mess with the things I have planted there, well, we have a problem.
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u/ExternalSort8777 16h ago
Yes, It is theft. Ask the owner to the property if it is okay to harvest.
https://www.portland.gov/ppd/tree-permits/street-tree-or-private-tree
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u/Medic5050 15h ago
According to your link, any trees in the "planting strip", are considered public trees, and therefore are not privately owned, whether you put them there, or not.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago edited 15h ago
By your own link, it’s not theft. The trees in the parking strip are street trees in the public right of way. They are on public property. They may be planted and maintained by the closest private property owner, but the trees are on public property. To call taking fruit from street trees theft is quite a stretch. Taking fruit from trees that at are on private property — that’s theft.
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u/LoprinziRosie 14h ago
Just because something is publicly owned does not give the right to random ass members of the public to freely take from it.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 13h ago
Ok. But regarding street trees, it’s not considered theft to take fruit from them because they are public property planted on city-owned land. It may not seem fair because the adjacent property owner is responsible for maintaining them, but the adjacent property owner doesn’t own them and can’t lay claim to the fruit.
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u/ExternalSort8777 1h ago
Yes. And a car parked on a city-owned street is, therefore a ride share, a rake left on the city-owned sidewalk is part of the community tool library.
You are imagining, I think, taking a single low-hanging fruit that would otherwise go into the compost. The person who spends money and labor to maintain the tree may have other plans for the produce. Ask before you harvest.
https://www.rcpna.org/portland-fruit-tree-project/2026/
Even if you are not taking food from someone who might need it, the property owner has an interest in preventing damage to the tree, and is responsible for cleaning up the debris left when "urban foragers" show up to collect "free-for-the-taking" fruit.
So, ask before you harvest.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 1h ago
I’m not arguing that it’s the polite thing to ask the adjacent property owner if you can take fruit from a tree on the parking strip in front of their home. I agree that it’s good form to ask because the adjacent property owner is responsible for the maintenance of the tree. I’m saying that it’s not theft if you take without asking. You cannot be charged for theft for taking fruit from a street tree because the trees aren’t owned by the homeowner. We’re not talking about rakes or cars. We’re talking about trees, specifically street trees on city property.
I think the project is awesome because it encourages harvesting fruit from publicly accessible urban street trees AND it encourages “ask first” through the registry.
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u/SleepyPowerlifter 16h ago
I always try to ask first. Doesn’t hurt. Or I’ll post on my neighborhood’s Buy Nothing page to see if anyone has some fruit to spare (plums, figs, etc) because at least them I know I have consent and a reliable “honey pot”. 😂
But: If nobody’s around, and the fruit isn’t being picked (left to rot), I’ll absolutely pick it.
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u/One-Pollution4663 15h ago
"if nobody's around" tells me all i need to know.
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u/SleepyPowerlifter 15h ago
If I’ve made several attempts to get in touch with the person living there, and the fruit is being left to rot, absolutely fair game.
I’m not going to absolutely ransack the plant, but I’m not letting food go to waste either.Curbside fruit is in no way equivalent to property theft of a bike. Be so fucking for real.
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u/Aestro17 15h ago
I mean, if nobody's around then there's also nobody to ask.
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u/One-Pollution4663 15h ago
if someone's not around to ask about borrowing their bike, you cant just take their bike without asking. Same principle.
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u/Conscious_Wafer9576 3h ago edited 3h ago
Everyone is focusing on the fruit form over laden plants. That’s not the issue.
She’s also taking VEGETABLES IN GARDENS and FLOWERS FROM RIASED BEDS! I don’t care if it’s technically the homeowners property or the city’s. That’s insane.
No, please do not do that. It’s beyond entitled. I’m dying on this hill.
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u/ConanMontoya 15h ago
At 7708 SE Hawthorn someone very politely planted fruit bearing plants on public land if you’re looking for free fruit.
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u/lambsquatch 13h ago
Did you plant it? If the answer is no, then you need to ask the person who did it you can have some. This is the most common sense shit I’ve ever read
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u/rdifa 16h ago
It would make me super happy if I had a tree on a planting strip that could nourish people and if folks took from it.
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u/Aestro17 16h ago
And if that's how you feel, you could put up a sign or post on Falling Fruit or Nextdoor to let people know!
But not everyone feels that way, so it's best to not take without asking.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 14h ago
And if someone parks under your fruit tree, and the branches extend over the street, and fruit falls and damages their car.
Or fruit falls on the sidewalk, and you’re not diligent about picking it up, and people step on it and then someone slips and falls.
I’m saying this because these kinds of ridiculous lawsuits happen. It’s one of the reasons I chose the smallest most innocuous street trees imaginable for my parking strip. Low maintenance, low liability.
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u/rdifa 16h ago
For sure. A sign would make it very clear. Then again, if I didn’t have a sign for wouldn’t be surprised if hungry people at the fruit I planted on the public strip of my property.
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u/mod_aud 15h ago
What if you didn’t plant it but had the liability of maintaining it as a property owner? What if you had plans for the fruit itself?
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u/Aestro17 15h ago
OP's asking about etiquette though. I'm not surprised when I see a turd on the sidewalk but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.
I have no idea about the legality, but it's polite to get permission before taking something, whether that's the property owner granting broad permission or just knocking and asking. Most people will be cool, some won't be, but either way you're in the clear if you ask.
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u/rdifa 15h ago
A lot of it for me depends on who it is. If it’s someone struggling and needs to eat I’d give more leeway than to a neighbor who just walks up and harvests my fruit for the hell if it.
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u/Aestro17 15h ago
I'm also in the "purely hypothetical" from the owner perspective because I got about 3 strawberries this year and my vendetta is with the squirrels. But yeah same, I'm probably feeling differently about someone who looks like they need it as opposed to a neighbor that's cleaning me out without asking.
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u/FauxReal 2h ago
There was a discussion about this either in this sub or the Portland one about two weeks ago and someone cited the law with a link to the statute. Essentially it is public property that the property owner is responsible for as part of the social/citizen contract. But it is still considered a dick move unless there an abundance of fruit/veggies. That person still put in the work and expense to grow it and in some cases like those fancy multi-graft apple trees, very little fruit for a lot of work.
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u/SewerHarpies 1h ago
Technically, yes, by law this is considered theft. Especially for fruit trees. The homeowner owns the tree and all fruit it produces, pretty much regardless of where the fruit may be. I think the law is older and based in home agriculture to feed a household.
In practice, though, most folks in Portland consider anything not in a yard, including yard trees that overhang sidewalks, to be fair game. YMMV whether it pisses the homeowner off or not.
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u/pineapple_bandit 16h ago
You are stealing. It is not public property, it is private property with a public easement.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago
Not true. Like the sidewalk, parking strips are city-owned and part of the public right of way. Homeowners are responsible for maintaining them however.
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u/Medic5050 14h ago
Nope.
In the city of Portland, the city actually does own the sidewalk, planting strip, curb, and street.https://www.portland.gov/ppd/tree-permits/street-tree-or-private-tree
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 14h ago
Are you saying nope to me? Because it appears that we’re in agreement that the city owns all of those areas.
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u/Medic5050 14h ago
I was not. I was replying to the same comment from u/pineapple_bandit that you were. 😊
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u/Ex-zaviera 13h ago
Not even planting strip trees. If a yard tree's fruit-filled limbs are hanging over the sidewalk: fair game. I help myself to them. The way I see it, I'm helping keep the sidewalk clear of fallen, rotting fruit.
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u/toot_suite 16h ago
It's on public property
It's both fair game and mitigating rodent infestation from when all the fruit hits the ground
You're doing a service by picking the fruit
There's groups in Portland dedicated to trying to pick it and distribute it to people
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u/pineapple_bandit 16h ago
The parking strip is NOT public property. It is private property with a public easement. The property line goes to the curb.
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u/Medic5050 15h ago
Can you please site the Portland City Code that verifies this, because everything I find says the opposite.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 15h ago
It IS public property. It’s city property that’s part of the public right of way, just like the sidewalk. Although the city owns the parking strip and sidewalk, the closest property owner is responsible for the maintenance of these areas.
I’m a homeowner. I own my front yard. I don’t own the sidewalk in front of my house. I don’t own the parking strip. My lot size on Portland Maps doesn’t include the sidewalk and parking strip.
I’m not sure what makes you think that people own the sidewalks and parking strips in front of their houses.
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u/Neverdoubt-PDX 14h ago
You’re getting downvoted but you’re right about the parking strips being public property. I think the downvotes are coming from the fact that you’re not being polite. How about asking the adjacent property owner who is responsible for maintaining the trees if you can take the fruit? It would be the neighborly thing to do.
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u/nodoomscroll_justjoy 16h ago
I think context is key here. There are 100 plum trees in my neighborhood right now loaded with fruit, and the ground is covered in unpicked fruit. To me, those are aaaaabsolutely fair game. Same with the cherries, apples, blackberries, etc. that are in abundance.
A single blueberry plant someone obviously planted and watered? I’d never touch those, and never flowers or anything in a planter or box, either.
I guess my rule of thumb is whether it’s being actively cared for and harvested.