Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Grand Rapids regulates public trees, not yours. The permit clause in Chapter 42 reads "no person shall perform tree operations or otherwise disturb any public tree without first obtaining the proper permit," and a Public Tree is "any tree located within the Right-of-way or in any Public Place." No section of Chapter 42 requires a permit for a tree on private property, and no DBH figure appears in the chapter at all. The zoning ordinance does protect 6-inch trees, but only on development projects, and it exempts single-family lots by name. The catch here is unusually strict: the strip between your sidewalk and the curb is a city tree, and the city says you may not even prune it yourself.
Size threshold
None in the tree ordinance. Chapter 42 contains no DBH figure; the practical trigger on the permit form is "a shade or ornamental tree, plant or shrub with a mature height greater than 3 feet in any street of the City of Grand Rapids." On the zoning side, which reaches development projects only, Section 5.16.02 defines a "TREE, PROTECTED" as "Any tree having a diameter of six (6) inches DBH or larger or having an aggregate diameter of fifteen (15) inches DBH or greater," with DBH measured "at four and one-half (4 1/2) feet above the existing grade."
What's protected in Grand Rapids
- Public Tree — "any tree located within the Right-of-way or in any Public Place as defined herein."
- Right-of-Way, which is the front-yard trap — "any public street or other public place used for street or sidewalk purposes, including the area between the sidewalk and curb line."
- Public Place — "any publicly owned area used or reserved for park, pool, playground or recreational purposes, and the grounds of any public building."
- Public Landmark Tree — "A public tree, in fair or better condition, that is determined to be of unique and intrinsic value to the City and residents because of its size, age, historic significance, or ecological value can be designated by the City Commission as a Public Landmark Tree after recommendation by the Urban Forestry Committee."
- Private Landmark Tree, which is voluntary and carries no removal restriction — "Any private tree, in fair or better condition, that is determined to be of unique and intrinsic value... can be designated as a Private Landmark Tree... To achieve Landmark Tree designation, property owner approval is necessary."
- Protected Tree under the zoning ordinance — 6 inches DBH, or 15 inches aggregate DBH. This attaches only to projects requiring a Land Use and Development Services permit.
How to apply in Grand Rapids
- 1
These steps are for a right-of-way or public tree. A tree behind your lot line needs nothing.
- 2
Apply online through the city's Tree Removal / Pruning Request form, or mail or hand-deliver the paper form.
- 3
Section 3.50(1) requires the application "not less than two (2) weeks in advance of the time the work is to be done."
- 4
The city says: "We'll review your request within three business days and contact you if we need additional information. Once approved, we'll email or mail your permit to you."
- 5
Understand who does the work. The city is explicit: "The City Forestry Division will not be performing the work. You are responsible for locating public utility lines and hiring a company to perform the work if the permit is approved."
- 6
If the job needs the street, Section 3.51(5) requires "a Certificate of Insurance which shall have a minimum combined single limit of liability for bodily injury and property damage of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) for each occurrence," naming the city as Additional Insured, plus a separate street or lane closure permit and flaggers in both directions.
- 7
Section 3.50(5): "Notice of completion shall be given within five (5) days to the City Manager for inspection."
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Two city sources disagree and both are reported. The current application form states "There is no fee for the permit." The code contemplates one: Section 3.38 says "Fees associated with the administration of this Chapter shall be set from time to time by resolution of the City Commission," and Section 3.50(1) says "No permit shall be issued under this Chapter until the application is submitted and the appropriate fee is paid not less than two (2) weeks in advance." No fee resolution was located.
- Penalties
- Section 3.69: "A violation of this Chapter or of the Rules and Regulations promulgated hereunder shall constitute a municipal civil infraction punishable by a fine as established in Chapter 170 of the City Code." Section 3.70: "Each day during which any violation of this provision of this Chapter shall occur or continue to occur shall be a separate offense." The fine schedule at Section 9.857.42 prices "Remove, prune, damage, harm City tree" at 250 dollars initial, 500 dollars first repeat, and 750 dollars second and subsequent. Section 3.71 adds the tree itself: "If a violation of any provision of this Chapter causes the injury, mutilation or death of a public tree, the cost of repair or replacement of such tree shall be borne by the party in violation."
- Ordinance
- Grand Rapids Code of Ordinances Chapter 42 — Trees, the "Grand Rapids Tree Ordinance," Sections 3.31 through 3.71. Enacted by Ordinance No. 2018-40, Section 2, on July 10, 2018, which "repealed the former Ch. 42, Sections 3.31-3.41, 3.45-3.49, 3.53-3.60, and Section 2 of such ordinance enacted a new Ch. 42." The only later amendment is Ordinance No. 2024-02, Section 1, January 9, 2024, which touched the Urban Forestry Committee membership only. Zoning Ordinance Chapter 61, Article 11 (Landscaping and Green Infrastructure), Sections 5.11.01 through 5.11.15, adopted by Ordinance No. 2017-27 on March 28, 2017, effective April 27, 2017. Code current through Ordinance No. 2026-08, enacted April 14, 2026 (Supp. No. 70).
Worth knowing
- You may not prune your own street tree. The city FAQ is blunt: "Am I allowed to prune my own city tree? No. To ensure the health of our urban forest and the safety of the public, the City maintains strict standards of care... Alternatively, you may file a permit request to have a qualified, private company prune the tree at your expense." The code's only self-help carve-out, Section 3.46, is narrower than most people assume: "the clearance pruning of small woody limbs from trees or shrubs less than one (1) inch in diameter, which work is performed from the ground by means of hand-held, non-motorized equipment."
- Storms suspend the permit. Section 3.47: "A permit is not required to perform work on any public tree to abate Storm Damage when such work is performed by an abutting property owner, contractor for the abutting property owner, utility, or the city." Section 3.48 lets the City Manager waive permit requirements "in cases of emergency, storm damage, disease outbreak, insect infestations, and any situation where immediate abatement of a hazard is necessary."
- Grand Rapids does not license tree services. A full sweep of the code found no tree-service, arborist or tree-trimmer licensing chapter and nothing making it unlawful to hire an unregistered firm. That is unusual for Michigan and is worth knowing, because it means the burden of vetting your contractor is entirely yours.
- Your dead tree is a code violation. Section 9.108(6) declares "Any dead tree or any portion thereof, or any dying tree that presents a hazard to any member of the public or to property" a nuisance, and Building Maintenance Code Section 8.213 adds "No dead tree, trees, or parts thereof shall be permitted on any property regulated by this Chapter." Section 3.57 separately makes diseased and listed-invasive trees a public nuisance "whether on private or public property."
- If the city abates a nuisance tree on your land it bills you. Section 3.59(1): "The owner of the property shall be liable for all costs incurred by the City in connection with the abatement of a public nuisance on private property," and the cost "may be assessed as a lien on the property."
- The zoning tree rules only bite when you are developing. Section 5.11.02.A: "The requirements of this Article shall apply to all development projects that require a Land Use and Development Services (LUDS) permit." The canopy section exempts houses outright at Section 5.11.09.B.1: "Single-family attached, single-family detached, or two-family residential units on an individual, existing lot are not required to meet the provisions of this Section."
- Heavy pruning can count as removal on a development site. Section 5.11.10.D.2: "Removal of more than twenty-five (25) percent of the leaf surface of a tree within an annual growing season shall be considered tree removal and necessitate replacement."
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.
- — No city page or code section says in plain words that a homeowner needs no permit for a private tree. The conclusion rests on the express right-of-way-only framing of Chapter 42 and the Forestry page, not on an affirmative statement.
- — The Tree Manual and Standards of Practice, which Section 3.36 requires be "published on the City's website" and which Section 3.68(9) makes independently enforceable, could not be found on grandrapidsmi.gov. It may contain private-property provisions not visible in the codified text. This is the largest gap.
- — Whether the permit is genuinely free. The form says no fee; the code contemplates a fee set by City Commission resolution, and no resolution was located.
- — Whether zoning Section 5.11.10 (Tree Preservation and Protection) reaches a homeowner pulling a permit for a deck or an addition on an existing single-family lot. Section 5.11.09 exempts single-family and two-family by name; Section 5.11.10 has no parallel exemption. The two sections diverge on their face and no city guidance resolves it.
- — Whether the Historic Preservation Commission requires a certificate of appropriateness for tree removal in a historic district. Chapter 68 defines regulated "Work" as "construction, addition, alteration, repair, moving, excavation or demolition" and does not name trees, but "Resource" does include "open spaces."
- — Contact details conflict across city sources and are reported as found: 1500 Scribner Ave. NW versus 201 Market Ave. SW, and 616-456-4230 versus 616-456-3221 versus 311.
- — Whether Grand Rapids has revisited its zoning payment-in-lieu provision since F.P. Development v. Canton Township. Section 5.11.09.F.1.b still offers "Payment in lieu to the Grand Rapids Tree Bank's tree planting program," and the nexus findings in Section 5.11.01.H date to the 2017 text, four years before the decision.
Sources
- City of Grand Rapids — Forestry Division
- City of Grand Rapids — Tree Removal / Pruning Request
- City of Grand Rapids — Application for a Permit to Remove or Prune a Tree (PDF)
- Grand Rapids Code Ch. 42 — Trees (Municode)
- Grand Rapids Code Sec. 3.45 — Permit required for work on public trees (Municode)
- Grand Rapids Zoning Ch. 61 Art. 11 — Landscaping and Green Infrastructure (Municode)
- Grand Rapids Zoning Sec. 5.11.09 — Minimum Tree Canopy (Municode)
- Grand Rapids Code Sec. 9.857.42 — Trees, civil infraction fine schedule (Municode)