Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Ann Arbor is the one Michigan city that genuinely protects big trees on private land, and it does it by species and diameter rather than by a tree permit. A landmark tree is "Any tree of 24-inch DBH or greater, or that is a type and DBH equal to or greater than shown on the landmark tree list," and a landmark tree is a protected natural feature. The Unified Development Code then says no one may do "any clearing or land or trees that results in any disturbance of natural features... unless the Person has a valid Grading Permit issued by the Planning Manager." What the city does not publish is any homeowner-facing way to get that permit, and its site-plan table exempts residential lots of one to four dwelling units from natural-feature review. So the text reaches your oak and the published process does not. Call Planning at 734-794-6265 before you cut a large tree. The street tree out front is a separate and absolute rule: no permission, no cutting, at any size.
Size threshold
Landmark tree, from UDC Section 5.37.2: "Any tree of 24-inch DBH or greater, or that is a type and DBH equal to or greater than shown on the landmark tree list in the land development regulations, and that has a health and condition standard factor of over 50% based on the standards established by the Internal Society of Arboriculture." DBH is "The diameter of a tree measured 4.5 feet above the existing grade." The species table at Table 5.23-1 sets 18 inches for ash, basswood, beech, buckeye, black cherry, elm, fir, Douglas fir, Kentucky coffee tree, silver maple, pine, spruce, sycamore and London plane, tuliptree and black walnut; 16 inches for hickory, honey locust, maple and oak; 12 inches for arborvitae, bald cypress, birch, black tupelo, flowering cherry, crabapple, dawn redwood, eastern hemlock, ginkgo, hackberry, hawthorn, larch and tamarack, pear, persimmon, poplar, sassafras, sweetgum and yellow wood; and 8 inches for American chestnut, butternut, cedar, cedar of Lebanon, eastern redbud, flowering dogwood, hornbeam and blue beech, ironwood, mountain and striped maple, and pawpaw. Trees on the city's Invasive Species list are excluded by definition. A separate canopy trigger applies with no species test: a cumulative loss of more than 10,000 square feet of canopy per calendar year needs a Grading Permit.
What's protected in Ann Arbor
- Natural Features, of which there are seven. UDC Section 5.23.2: "Seven natural features are protected and regulated in the City: endangered species habitats, floodplains, woodlands, landmark trees, steep slopes, watercourses and wetlands."
- Landmark trees, per the definition and species table above. Designation is self-executing: a tree qualifies by species, diameter and health, with no city listing action required.
- Woodland — "A forested area of 1/2 acre or more with a gross basal area of 30 square feet per 1/2 acre, containing 20 trees per 1/2 acre greater than 6 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH), or a plantation of 1/2 acre or more with a minimum average DBH of 10 inches. The critical root zone of all trees in the perimeter of the forested area or plantation defines the area of a woodland."
- Street right-of-way and lawn extension trees, which are absolutely off limits. UDC Section 5.20.10.A and Code Section 3:12: "No Person without written permission of the City Administrator shall plant, remove, break, spray or take any action that will injure or destroy any tree or shrub, the base of which is located in the public right-of-way or other City land." The lawn extension is "the area between the sidewalk and the curb" — the strip most homeowners assume is theirs.
- Critical Root Zone — "The circular area surrounding a tree that is considered to contain tree roots within 18 inches of the ground surface. The radius of the critical root zone is, in feet, the same numerical value as the tree's diameter at breast height (DBH) in inches."
How to apply in Ann Arbor
- 1
For a city street or park tree, register an account at stream.a2gov.org, then "navigate to the Apply screen to search for your application type. For forestry permits, search Right-of-Way Street Tree."
- 2
You may hire your own company for city street tree work. The city says residents "interested in hiring a tree care company, at their own expense, to do tree planting or tree work on a city street tree (ex: tree pruning, stump removal, insect/disease/fertilization treatment) can do so by filling out a street tree permit."
- 3
For a landmark tree on private land, the code route is a Grading Permit. Section 5.29.3.C: "An application shall be required for each Grading Permit and shall be submitted to the Planning Manager by the landowner." Applications also go through STREAM.
- 4
The engineer or architect seal can be waived, but not where natural features are involved. The Planning Manager may waive it where the work "does not disturb any natural features, does not include the construction of a fill upon which a structure may be erected, or is for construction of or addition to one single-family or two-family dwelling or accessory structure on a parcel zoned solely for residential purposes."
- 5
To document tree health, the city publishes a Landmark/Woodland Tree Health/Condition Form that must be completed by an ISA Certified Arborist and asks for the arborist's certification number. "A TOTAL score of 16 points equals 50 percent health/condition."
- 6
Call Planning at 734-794-6265 first. There is no published homeowner tree removal application, and the decisive question of whether a Grading Permit is actually required for one landmark tree on an existing house lot cannot be answered from the published material.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- The street tree permit is free: the city states "The permit is free, however, a canopy loss fee and/or tree appraisal may be charged for the removal of any city-owned street or park tree." The canopy loss fee rate is "$250/inch," calculated by "subtracting the total caliper inches of replacement street trees from the total DBH (diameter at breast height) inches of trees removed multiplied by the current average tree replacement cost per caliper inch," and the city's own worked example is "(24 inches minus 6 inches) x $250/inch = $4,500." Grading Permit fees, from a schedule marked effective July 1, 2017: "Residential Grading Permit (Includes plan review and up to four inspection) .....$250" and "Residential Grading Permit - New Residence .....$400," with additional residential inspections at $95.
- Penalties
- UDC Section 5.36.1: "If the City chooses to enforce a violation of this chapter through issuance of a civil infraction the following penalties shall apply to each day that the violation remains uncorrected, with a maximum fine of up to $30,000. The first offense shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500. The second offense shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000. The third offense shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $2,500." Grading Permit violations are worse: Section 5.36.2.A says a knowing violation of Section 5.29.3 "is subject to the payment of a civil fine of not more than $10,000.00 for each day of violation," and a knowing violation after notice "is subject to the payment of a civil fine of not less than $2,500.00 or more than $25,000.00 for each day of violation." The replanting penalty bites hardest: Section 5.23.6.E.2 requires replacement trees "to equal a minimum of 200% of the original DBH for each landmark tree that is removed without the approval required by this chapter," against 50 percent for an approved removal. Chapter 40 Section 3:19 sets right-of-way and clearance violations at "a civil fine of up to $1,000.00, plus costs," escalating from not less than $100 to not less than $500 within a two-year period, and unpaid penalties become "a special assessment against the property."
- Ordinance
- Ann Arbor Code Chapter 55, the Unified Development Code, adopted by Ordinance No. ORD-18-08, approved July 16, 2018. The current published text is the Eleventh Edition, amendments through Ordinance No. 25-25, effective August 10, 2025. Tree provisions are at Section 5.20.10 (trees in the public right-of-way, last amended by ORD-22-12, September 4, 2022), Section 5.23 (Natural Features) including Section 5.23.6 (Landmark Trees), Section 5.29.3 (Grading Permit, last amended by ORD-20-33 effective January 31, 2021), Section 5.30.2 (Natural Features Mitigation), Section 5.36 (Penalties) and Section 5.37 (Definitions). Separately, Code Chapter 40 — Trees and Other Vegetation, Sections 3:11 through 3:19, most recently amended by Ordinance No. 25-34, Section 1, adopted December 1, 2025. Note that Chapter 62 (Landscape and Screening) and Chapter 57 (Subdivision and Land Use Control) were repealed and folded into the UDC in 2018; several city forms still cite them. Code current through Ordinance No. 26-10, enacted May 4, 2026 (Supp. No. 26, Update 3). Ann Arbor's natural-features regulation dates back to December 5, 1994, per the nonconforming-activity clause at Section 5.33.2.
Worth knowing
- Approved removal of a landmark tree carries replanting. Section 5.23.6.E.1: "A replacement tree or a combination of trees of a species native to Michigan shall be provided to equal a minimum of 50% of the original DBH for each landmark tree that is removed. Replacement trees shall be non-sterile varieties. The minimum size of deciduous replacement tree shall be one inch caliper. The minimum size of an evergreen replacement tree shall be five feet in height."
- Paying instead of planting is capped at half, and it is a site-plan mechanism. Section 5.30.2.A allows alternative mitigation "for not more than 50% of the required mitigation... specifically approved by a motion of the Planning Commission or City Council," including alternatives that provide "funds for the management and restoration of important natural features or public lands in the vicinity" or "funds to the City Street tree planting program."
- You have an affirmative duty to remove a hazard tree. Section 3:13 and UDC Section 5.20.11: "No tree or other vegetation which by virtue of disease, damage or insect infestation presents a hazard to persons or vegetation on public property shall be maintained on private property." Section 3:14 adds clearance: "Trees, shrubs, and other vegetation on private property shall be maintained to allow 8 feet of clearance over sidewalks and 14 feet of clearance over streets."
- Ann Arbor does not license tree service companies. All of Title VII (Businesses and Trades) was checked, including the alphabetical license fee schedules at Sections 7:33 through 7:38; there is no tree service, arborist or tree surgeon license. Contractors working for the city must carry heavy insurance, but nothing in the code governs whom a homeowner hires.
- During construction, protected trees get fenced. Section 5.23.6.D.3: "Barrier fencing shall be installed at the limits of the critical root zone for landmark trees... a minimum of four feet in height... No filling, excavating, storage or trespass by Person or machine shall take place within the fenced area." Section 5.23.6.D.4 then makes the owner replace any protected landmark tree found "dead, dying or severely damaged due to on-site construction activities within three years after issuance of a certificate of occupancy or final permit approval."
- The city advises against pruning oaks in the growing season: "Do Not Prune Oak Trees from March to November." That is guidance on the Forestry page, not a codified seasonal ban.
- There is no landmark tree registry to check. The published Landmark Tree List is a species and diameter table, not a list of individual trees, so a tree qualifies automatically once it meets species, size and health.
- Ann Arbor has not amended its landmark tree or natural features mitigation sections since the Sixth Circuit decided F.P. Development v. Charter Township of Canton in October 2021. The last ordinance citation inside Section 5.23 is ORD-20-33, effective January 31, 2021. What distinguishes Ann Arbor from Canton is that its baseline mitigation is on-site replanting and the payment route is a discretionary alternative capped at half, rather than a mandatory fee.
What we could not confirm
We would rather tell you what we don't know than guess. Call the office below to confirm these before you cut.
- — The decisive question: whether Ann Arbor actually enforces the Section 5.29.3 Grading Permit against a homeowner removing a single landmark tree on an existing one- to four-unit residential lot with no earth change. The code text reaches it, no published city page or form describes such a permit, and Table 5.29-1 leaves the Residential 1-4 Dwelling Units column blank for "Removal or disturbance of any natural feature." Both readings are reported here rather than reconciled. Call 734-794-6265.
- — Whether the 50 percent DBH replanting requirement is imposed on a homeowner outside site plan review. Section 5.23.6.E states no applicability trigger of its own, and the payment alternative in Section 5.30.2 is expressly Planning Commission and Council scoped.
- — Whether the $250 residential grading permit fee is current. The published schedule is marked effective July 1, 2017.
- — A drafting conflict in the city's own documents. The UDC definition says a landmark tree is any tree of 24 inches DBH "or" one meeting the species table, while the city's published Landmark Tree List PDF drops the "or" and reads as though a tree must be both, and still cites the repealed Chapter 57. The Health/Condition Form also still cites "Chapter 57... Section 5:127(d)," a repealed section. The UDC wording is treated as controlling.
- — The published UDC contains a grammatical error in the operative clause, Section 5.29.3.A.1, which reads "any clearing or land or trees" where "of" is plainly intended. That is in the official city PDF, not a transcription slip.
- — Whether the Historic District Commission requires a certificate of appropriateness for tree removal. Chapter 103 does not name trees, though Section 8:407 defines "site" to include "undeveloped land, a naturally landscaped area," and Section 8:420 references "The deterioration or overgrowth of landscape elements that are of historic significance."
- — Whether any storm damage or emergency exemption exists in practice. None was found. The Grading Permit exception for "An earth change of a minor nature, such as an emergency utility repair" is itself conditioned on there being no disturbance to natural features.
- — The effective date of the UDC. The published PDF cover page says September 22, 2018; Municode's editor's note says July 29, 2018.
Sources
- City of Ann Arbor — Unified Development Code, 11th Edition, effective August 10, 2025 (PDF)
- City of Ann Arbor — Planning, Codes and Guidelines
- City of Ann Arbor — Planning, Development Review
- City of Ann Arbor — Forestry, Street Tree Permits
- City of Ann Arbor — Forestry, Trees and Development (canopy loss fee)
- City of Ann Arbor — Landmark Tree List (PDF)
- City of Ann Arbor — Landmark/Woodland Tree Health/Condition Form (PDF)
- Ann Arbor Code Ch. 40 — Trees and Other Vegetation (Municode)
- Ann Arbor Code Ch. 55 — Unified Development Code node (Municode)
- City of Ann Arbor — Grading and Soil Erosion Permit Fees (PDF)