Does Your HOA Have Authority Over Your Parking Strip?

The parking strip goes by a lot of names: hell strip, tree lawn, boulevard, curb lawn. Whatever you call it, it creates a specific kind of HOA frustration. The strip looks like part of your yard, the HOA assumes it falls under their rules, and many homeowners pay fines or pull out plants without ever checking whether the HOA had any authority to begin with.

Why the HOA Probably Has No Authority Here

In most U.S. municipalities, the strip between the sidewalk and the curb is city right-of-way (ROW). The city owns it or holds an easement over it. Your property line typically runs at or near the sidewalk, not at the curb. That means the parking strip may not be your property at all, and it is certainly not HOA property.

HOA CC&Rs apply to homeowner property within the development. If the parking strip is city ROW, it falls outside the scope of the CC&Rs entirely. The HOA can still contact you about it (and they will), but their fines and violation notices have no legal basis if the land is not under their jurisdiction.

How to Verify Your Parking Strip's Status

Do not guess. Call your city's public works or engineering department and ask one direct question: "Is the strip between the sidewalk and the street in front of my address city right-of-way?" Getting the answer in writing matters. An email reply from a city employee is usually enough.

You can also check your property survey or plat, which was provided when you purchased your home. The plat shows where your legal property line ends. If the line stops at the back of the sidewalk, everything between the sidewalk and the curb is outside your lot boundary.

What to do if the HOA sends a notice

Respond in writing. Include your documentation from the city showing ROW status. Keep the tone factual: you are informing them that the strip is not your property and is not subject to the CC&Rs. You are not required to comply with rules that do not apply to the land in question. Keep a copy of everything.

What You Can Plant in a City ROW Strip

Once you know the strip is city ROW, the city's rules apply rather than the HOA's. This varies widely by municipality. Some cities allow or even encourage native plantings, pollinator gardens, and low-water landscaping in the ROW strip. Some require a permit for in-ground planting. A few prohibit permanent planting entirely and require turf or gravel. Check with your city's parks, public works, or urban forestry department.

The practical reality is that many cities are more native-plant-friendly than HOAs. Austin, for example, has active programs encouraging lawn-to-native conversions, and the ROW is often eligible. Houston and San Antonio have similar programs tied to water conservation goals. If your city is running a rebate or incentive program for drought-tolerant landscaping, ask specifically whether the ROW strip qualifies.

The Texas Law Angle

Texas Property Code §202.007 and HB 517 (2025) protect homeowners' rights to plant water-conserving landscaping on their property. These statutes do not specifically address parking strips, but they reinforce a broader point: HOA authority is limited to property within their jurisdiction as defined by the CC&Rs. A parking strip that is city ROW is outside HOA jurisdiction regardless of what the state landscaping statute says.

The HOA may not know where its authority ends. That is not your problem to solve for them. Your job is to document the ROW status, act according to city rules, and respond to HOA notices with that documentation in hand.

For more on what HOA rules are and are not enforceable in Texas, see our post on unenforceable HOA landscaping rules in Texas.