Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Bloomington's tree permit applies to public places only. City Code section 18.07 says no person may plant or remove trees or shrubs "in public places" without a permit from the City Forester, which leaves private property outside the requirement. Bloomington also puts boulevard tree care on the abutting owner and says plainly that no permit is required for it. The City Forester can still order a diseased or unsafe tree removed from private land.
What's protected in Bloomington
- Trees and shrubs in public places, which need a City Forester permit to plant or remove
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Ordinance
- Bloomington City Code Chapter 18 (Trees): 18.03 prohibited trees, 18.04 order to treat or remove, 18.05 order procedures, 18.06 regulations for planting trees, 18.07 permits, 18.09 abuse or mutilation, 18.11 penalty.
Worth knowing
- Verbatim from 18.07(a): "No person shall plant or remove trees or shrubs in public places, without first filing an application and obtaining a permit from the City Forester."
- Verbatim from 18.07(b)(3): "The boulevard (area between the property line and curb or street) is public right-of-way. The maintenance and care of the trees in the boulevard area shall be the responsibility of the abutting property owner." The city's forestry page adds: "No permit is required for this care."
- Section 18.04 lets the City Forester enter private property to inspect for diseased trees and "order the trimming, treatment or removal of trees or plants upon public or private property" when necessary to public safety or to stop the spread of disease or insects.
- Section 18.03 bans planting seven kinds of tree anywhere in the city: all ash species and cultivars, female ginkgo, boxelder, eastern cottonwood, Lombardy poplar, and common and glossy buckthorn.
- Dead and dying boulevard trees with emerald ash borer, Dutch elm disease or oak wilt come out under the city's Tree Disease Management program, stumps ground and site reseeded, at no charge to the abutting owner.
- When the city marks a private tree for disease removal you may use the city's bid contractor or hire your own. The contract is rebid every spring, so a price can be quoted at the time of marking.
- Because of disease transmission, Bloomington advises pruning oaks and elms only in December, January and February.
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.
- — Whether Bloomington's zoning and land development code (Chapter 21) or subdivision code (Chapter 22) adds tree preservation or replacement requirements during construction. The code host blocked automated access to those chapters.
- — The fee for a permit to remove a tree in a public place.
- — Penalties. Chapter 18 has a penalty section at 18.11 whose text we could not retrieve.