Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Indianapolis regulates the right-of-way, not your yard. The city's permit — called a flora permit — is required for tree work in the public right-of-way, which includes the lawn strip between the sidewalk and the street. For a tree standing on your own property the city's position is short: "You are responsible for trees on your property." No permit, no diameter threshold, no fee. If you are not sure which side of the line your tree is on, the city will send an inspector to tell you.
What's protected in Indianapolis
- All trees and flora growing on city property, protected by Chapter 701 of the Revised Code
- Trees in the public right-of-way — public streets, lawn strips, alleys and parks
- Heritage trees, but only on development or redevelopment sites (see notes) — a tree over 18 inches DBH of a listed heritage species
How to apply in Indianapolis
- 1
Confirm whether the tree is in the right-of-way. If you are unsure, call the Mayor's Action Center at (317) 327-4622 and an inspector will determine whether it is right-of-way or private property.
- 2
If it is in the right-of-way, fill out the Flora Permit Application linked from the city's Urban Forestry page.
- 3
Email the completed application to UrbanForestry@indy.gov, with planting and maintenance plans attached if your work needs them.
- 4
Allow three to five business days, or seven to ten days during peak planting season.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No cost. The city states of the flora permit: "There is no cost to apply." The code agrees at Sec. 701-16: "No charge shall be made for any specials permit, unless otherwise provided by ordinance."
- Penalties
- Sec. 701-22(a) covers private-property violations of the chapter after notice: a "fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00)," and anyone who causes loss or damage to flora "may be additionally required to make restitution to the extent of such loss or damage." Sec. 701-24(b) covers everything else, including unpermitted work on public trees: "a fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day for a maximum period of twenty-five (25) days." If the city abates, Sec. 701-21 bills it back at $10 per inspection, $8 to determine ownership, $10 to perfect a lien, $10 per man hour of labor, plus actual equipment costs.
- Ordinance
- Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County, Chapter 701 — Trees and Flora (permit requirement at Sec. 701-4; property owner duties at Sec. 701-6). Heritage tree conservation is separate, in the zoning ordinance at Sec. 744-503.K, with applicability at Sec. 744-502.C and the definition at Sec. 740-202.
Worth knowing
- The city's own words on the scope: "A flora permit is required for any tree planting, landscaping, spraying, bracing, removal, or pruning work in the city's right-of-way. The public right-of-way is city-owned property such as public streets, lawn strips, alleys, and parks. The shoulder or lawn strip between the street and sidewalk is in the right-of-way."
- Removing a living right-of-way tree is hard: "Removal of living trees in the right-of-way will not be approved without a reasonable cause. Living trees removed from the right-of-way must be replaced with a number of new trees determined by the city."
- Pruning in the right-of-way must be done by an ISA Certified Arborist who has already obtained the flora permit. If you hire a private company to work on a right-of-way tree, they need the permit before they start.
- Even with no permit needed, Sec. 701-6 puts affirmative duties on you: trim branches overhanging a street or sidewalk to 8 feet above a right-of-way and 14 feet above a street or alley, and completely remove your tree once it is dead.
- Heritage tree conservation applies only to "all development or redevelopment on lots and parcels in any zoning district that contain (i) more than 20,000 square feet of lot area, and (ii) a primary structure with a use other than those described above in Section 744-502.A." — plus any new lot of record. A heritage tree is "a tree over 18 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) and one of the heritage tree species," a list that includes sugar maple, shagbark hickory, hackberry, yellowwood, American beech, Kentucky coffeetree, walnut, tulip poplar, sweet gum, black gum, American sycamore, eastern cottonwood, American elm and red elm.
- The city does not remove tree stumps, does not remove trees causing root damage to septic systems, and does not typically replace individual trees in front of a residence.
- Indianapolis and Marion County are one jurisdiction under Unigov, so the Revised Code above governs Marion County as well.
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.
- — Penalties for doing right-of-way tree work without a flora permit. Chapter 701 is enforced by the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, but the city does not publish a fine amount.
- — The replacement ratio for an approved right-of-way removal — the city says the number of trees is "determined by the city" without publishing a formula.
- — Whether any Indianapolis property outside a development context is subject to heritage tree conservation. The applicability language is written around development and redevelopment, and we found no provision reaching an established lot with no construction proposed.
- — A direct phone line for Urban Forestry. The city routes tree questions through the Mayor's Action Center number above.
Sources
- City of Indianapolis — Urban Forestry (flora permits, tree ownership, requesting tree work)
- Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County — Chapter 701, Trees and Flora
- Revised Code — Sec. 744-502 Applicability and Sec. 744-503 General landscaping standards (heritage trees)
- City of Indianapolis — Indianapolis-Marion County Tree Board