Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Franklin adopted a new zoning ordinance effective January 13, 2026, and it keys the tree rules to lot size rather than trunk size. Exempt from the whole section is any tree "On a single-family residential lot of one acre or less that is not noted as a critical lot." Above an acre, or on a critical lot, you need a tree removal permit from Building and Neighborhood Services before the saw touches the tree. Two things override the exemption on any lot: a specimen tree, meaning 24 inches DBH or more, can never be approved for removal under a tree removal permit, and a tree inside a tree save area, conservation easement or open space lot is off limits.
Size threshold
The permit trigger is lot size, not trunk size — one acre. Trunk size defines what is protected: "Specimen Tree. Any canopy tree with a diameter of 24 inches or greater measured at diameter breast height (DBH)." A "Canopy Tree" is "A tree that has an expected height at maturity greater than 40 feet and which produces significant shade because it has a crown that is oval, round, vase-shaped, or umbrella-shaped."
What's protected in Franklin
- Specimen trees — 24 inches DBH or greater. Section 17.2.9.E is absolute on this point: a tree removal permit may be approved "only when the tree proposed for removal is not... A specimen tree."
- Trees "Located in an open space lot or conservation easement," which likewise cannot be approved for removal.
- Trees that are "Part of required landscape material or contributes to the screening function of a required landscape area," or that are "The subject of a condition of approval requiring their retention."
- Trees on a critical lot — "An individual lot in a recorded subdivision that requires a more detailed review prior to the issuance of a building permit due to topography, steep slopes, soils, potential land disturbance, stormwater, floodplain, public infrastructure, specimen trees, or other site conditions that warrant additional administrative review." A critical lot loses the one-acre exemption.
- Critical Root Zone — "A circular area measured outward from a tree trunk, representing the essential area of the roots that must be maintained for the tree's survival. The CRZ is measured one foot of radial distance for every inch of tree at diameter at breast height, with a minimum of ten feet."
How to apply in Franklin
- 1
Work out whether you are exempt first. A single-family lot of one acre or less that is not a critical lot is outside Section 17.2 entirely. Your recorded plat or site plan is what says whether the lot is critical.
- 2
If you need one, download the Tree Removal Permit Application from the Building and Neighborhood Services permit page. The form asks for the subdivision and lot number, any building permit number, the project address, owner and contractor details, and tree removal details: removal date, approximate number of trees, approximate caliper inches to be cut, and largest tree caliper.
- 3
Planning and Sustainability and the City arborist review the application and make a recommendation.
- 4
Building and Neighborhood Services then "shall review the application and approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the tree removal permit."
- 5
If construction is involved, note the sequencing rule: "No building permit or grading permit shall be issued unless the City department issuing the permit receives a written decision from the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services that the proposed development has received a tree removal permit or is exempt from the requirement to obtain a tree removal permit."
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Two published figures, both from the City, reported rather than reconciled. The Municipal Code fee schedule, Appendix A Chapter 14, lists "Tree removal permit | $50.00." The Building and Neighborhood Services fee schedule PDF, published July 1, 2026, lists "Tree Removal Permit $25.00." Confirm by phone before you write the cheque.
- Penalties
- Zoning Ordinance 22.5: "Any person violating any provision of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined under the general penalty clauses of Title 12 of the Municipal Code. Each day each violation continues shall constitute a separate offense." The tree-specific consequence is replanting, at 17.2.9.G: "Specimen trees removed shall be replaced at a two caliper inches for each caliper inch of specimen tree removed"; replacements go in "within 12 months of removal"; a tree "damaged or removed from a tree save area, conservation easement, or open space shall be replaced at a one caliper inch to one caliper inch ratio with replacement trees having a diameter of at least two inches in caliper"; and "Damage or destruction of trees due to excessive pruning or tree topping shall constitute a violation of this Ordinance." A surety and maintenance agreement is required for replacement trees.
- Ordinance
- Franklin Zoning Ordinance Chapter 17 (Natural Resources), Section 17.2 — Tree Protection, Subsections 17.2.1 through 17.2.9. Adopted by Ordinance 2025-25 and effective January 13, 2026; every page of the published ordinance carries the line "Franklin Zoning Ordinance Effective January 13, 2026." Definitions in Chapter 23, penalties at 22.5, critical lots at 20.15.4. Separately, Franklin Municipal Code Title 2, Chapter 1 establishes the Franklin Tree Commission and regulates "the planting, maintenance, and removal of public trees within the City of Franklin" only; the Municipal Code is current through Ordinance No. 2025-15, adopted February 24, 2025 (Supp. No. 30, Update 1).
Worth knowing
- Even on a non-exempt lot there are broad outs. Section 17.2.1 exempts removal of trees determined unhealthy by Planning and Sustainability or shown "as dead, dying, or structurally unsound as prepared by a certified arborist"; nuisance trees or "a threat to an existing structure, underground utility, or public safety"; trees encroaching "into established utility easements"; trees causing root damage to utilities or structures; species on the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council invasive list; and "extraordinary circumstances, such as weather-related emergencies, natural disasters, or similar occurrences."
- Topping is prohibited and defined. Municipal Code section 2-102(1): "Topping means the severe, nonselective cutting or heading back of limbs to stubs which are two inches or more in diameter, within the tree's crown area to such a degree as to remove more than 25 percent of the tree crown, and disfigure the tree." Section 2-112(1) bars it on all public trees, and the zoning ordinance makes it a violation anywhere it damages a tree.
- Your tree company has to register. Municipal Code section 9-103(1): anyone in the business of removing or trimming trees "shall register with the city recorder before engaging in any of the aforementioned activities."
- The city can order a hazard tree removed at your expense. Municipal Code section 2-111(3) gives owners 60 days after written notice.
- The landscaping chapter does not reach an existing home. Section 12.1.1: "Review for compliance with this Chapter shall occur at the time of submittal of development plans, site plans, and preliminary plats."
- HOA covenants are on their own. Section 1.1.10: "The City does not enforce the provisions of easements, covenants, or agreements between private or third parties." In a Williamson County subdivision that is often the binding constraint, not the city.
- Two documents on the city site have not caught up with the January 2026 ordinance. The Tree Removal Permit Application is a December 2024 revision, and the city's Tree Care page still cites the superseded zoning section 5.2.4(6)(f) for the topping prohibition; the live provision is 17.2.9.G.4.
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 permit fee. The Municipal Code says $50.00 and the Building and Neighborhood Services fee schedule says $25.00. Both are current city publications.
- — Whether a lot of exactly 1.00 acre is exempt. The ordinance exempts a lot of "one acre or less" while the application form states "Tree removal permit not required for parcels less than one acre." The two do not line up at the boundary.
- — Whether a given lot is a critical lot. That is determined on the recorded plat or approved site plan and cannot be answered generically — check your plat or call Building and Neighborhood Services.
- — The Franklin Municipal-Regional Planning Commission Subdivision Regulations, which the zoning ordinance defers to for final plats and which may contain additional tree save requirements.
- — Whether a Historic Preservation Overlay certificate of appropriateness is ever required for tree removal. Chapter 18 applies to development and redevelopment and does not name trees, but the full certificate procedures were not read. Homeowners in Franklin's historic districts should confirm.
- — Permit processing time, and how the application is actually submitted. The form names no email, portal or turnaround.
- — Williamson County rules for unincorporated addresses that carry a Franklin mailing address.
Sources
- Franklin Zoning Ordinance, effective January 13, 2026 (Chapter 17 Natural Resources, Section 17.2 Tree Protection)
- City of Franklin — Zoning Ordinance landing page
- City of Franklin — Building and Neighborhood Services
- City of Franklin — Permit Applications and Information (hosts the Tree Removal Permit Application)
- City of Franklin — Tree Removal Permit Application (PDF)
- City of Franklin — Building and Neighborhood Services Fee Schedule (PDF)
- City of Franklin — Urban Forestry (Parks Department, public trees)
- Franklin Municipal Code, Appendix A Chapter 14 — Zoning and Land Use Control fees (Municode)
- Franklin Municipal Code, Title 2 Chapter 1 — Franklin Tree Commission (Municode)