I was walking around the Old Town part of downtown today during my lunch break, and was struck not for the first time by the number of apple trees there are. This time of year they are all bearing fruit, and on my walk most of them were dropping their fruit as well—bunches of apples on the sidewalk, on the street, in lots, etc.

I saw three trees alone on Staats Street between Colorado and Georgia. (The picture above is an apple tree on the corner of Staats and Delaware.)

Seeing so many trees, and so much fruit that looks like it’s going to waste, got me to wondering. Are all of these trees on private property? Does the City own or have jurisdiction over them? If nobody is picking or claiming the apples, can anyone pick them?

My assumption is that these are on private property, of course, so you’d need permission of the owner (or resident, if renting) to pick any fruit. But what about the apples that fall on the streets and sidewalks? Who’s responsible for those?

And since Old Town is technically an historic district does that change any of how the apples and trees are managed?