Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Harrisburg answers this one in its own words: "The City has jurisdiction over the trees planted along streets and in public parks. It does not regulate trees growing elsewhere on private property." A tree permit is required to plant, prune or remove a street tree, and the first step there is requesting a street tree inspection so the City Forester can look at it. Trees in your back yard are yours. The city also runs two assistance programs, for seniors and for low-income owners, but both are strictly for street trees.
What's protected in Harrisburg
- Shade trees, which section 10-101.1 defines as "the trees on and along the streets and highways in the City," over which the Department has "exclusive custody and control over the planting, removal and protection."
- Trees in public parks.
- On a development site only: section 7-307.13(C) of the zoning code provides that "To the maximum extent feasible, while still permitting reasonable use of the property, existing healthy trees on private property with a trunk diameter of 12 inches or more shall be preserved."
How to apply in Harrisburg
- 1
Request a street tree inspection first. The city states: "A Tree Permit is required for planting, pruning, or removing street trees. The first step is to request a street tree inspection."
- 2
Submit the Tree Inspection Request form and the Tree Permit Form electronically (preferred), or call the office at (717) 232-3017 and give the information by phone.
- 3
The City Forester, a Certified Arborist, visits the property to assess the condition of the tree and determine what work is needed.
- 4
If you are 65 or older, select "Senior Property Owner" on the inspection and permit request. The city maintains a limited fund for street tree pruning and removal approved by the City Forester.
- 5
If you meet the low-income thresholds, select "Low-Income Property Owner," email the form titled "Low-Income Tree Assistance" with your name, address and phone in the body, and supply income documentation. Approved work is scheduled under the city contract at no cost to the property owner, with at least a week's notice.
- 6
Section 10-101.6 lets the Department attach a replacement condition to any removal permit: "the Department may require that the applicant plant, at the applicant's expense, another tree in place of the one removed," directing type, size, location and the deadline.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Penalties
- Section 10-101.18: "Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the general code penalty, section 1-301.99 of these Codified Ordinances." Separately, section 10-101.7 lets the Department assess a charge against anyone who damages a shade tree for "repairs to the tree, plus the devaluation of the tree," and for a destroyed tree "the appraised value of the tree, plus the cost of removal and replacement thereof."
- Ordinance
- Codified Ordinances of the City of Harrisburg, Title 10 (Parks, Recreation and Enrichment), Part 1 (10-100), Chapter 10-101 — Shade Trees. Adopted by Ord. No. 13-1995 and amended in its entirety 3-25-2003 by Ord. No. 8-2003; section 10-101.1 further amended 6-8-2010 by Ord. No. 6-2010. The zoning tree-preservation provision is at Title 7, Part 3 (7-300), Chapter 7-307 — Development Standards, section 7-307.13, adopted 7-8-2014 by Ord. No. 5-2014. Code current through legislation of 04-14-2026.
Worth knowing
- The city draws the line in plain language: "Street trees are trees that are in the city's right-of-way, generally between the sidewalk and curbing of a public street. Street trees are regulated by the City of Harrisburg. However, street trees are owned and must be maintained by the owner of the property on which the street tree is located. Trees growing elsewhere on a property are not regulated by the City."
- Maintenance of a street tree after planting is the abutting owner's cost under section 10-101.3 — with one exception: "this section shall not apply to owner-occupants over the age of 65."
- Section 10-101.16 lists the reasons the city itself will order a shade tree removed: roots getting into water or sewer lines or causing structural damage; the tree is infected or diseased; the tree is dead; primary roots lifting sidewalks or pavement more than six inches; or other circumstances approved by the Department Director.
- Section 10-101.14 reaches private trees in one narrow way: "Any shade tree or any tree growing on private property that overhangs any street or highway of the City in such manner that it obstructs the visibility of any traffic control device or, in the opinion of the Department or the Bureau of Police, endangers the life, health, safety or property of the public, or which is affected by any contagious disease or insect infestation, shall be declared a public nuisance." The owner gets written notice and a reasonable time to fix it before the city does and bills them.
- After a storm, section 10-101.7 makes the owner responsible for clearing a private tree that falls across a public street, with the city stepping in and assessing the cost if the owner does not act immediately.
- You must keep branches over the street trimmed to a clear height of 15 feet and clear of traffic control devices and street lights, under section 10-101.13.
- The Bureau of Parks Maintenance looks after over 530 acres of parkland and 15 miles of right-of-way containing over 2,500 street trees.
- A naming mismatch to expect on the phone: the code assigns the program to the "Department of Parks, Recreation and Enrichment," while the city website calls it the "Department of Parks, Recreation & Facilities."
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 the tree permit carries a fee. Neither the code nor the city website states one.
- — The specific dollar amount of the general code penalty at section 1-301.99.
- — How long a street tree inspection takes, or how long permit review takes.
- — Whether the city treats section 7-307.13(C) as reaching a homeowner who removes a 12-inch tree with no development proposed. The clause sits inside a development-standards chapter that opens with "All plans shall show ...", which points to development review, but the sentence itself is written as a general obligation.
- — Whether Harrisburg requires tree contractors to be licensed or registered with the city.
Sources
- Codified Ordinances of the City of Harrisburg, Chapter 10-101 — Shade Trees (eCode360, current through 04-14-2026)
- Codified Ordinances of the City of Harrisburg, Chapter 7-307 — Development Standards (section 7-307.13 Tree preservation)
- City of Harrisburg — Park & Tree Maintenance / Shade Tree Program
- City of Harrisburg — Tree Work Permit Form