Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government has a tree article and a landscaping section, and both stop short of your yard. The tree article, Code Article V, says its own purpose is "to encourage the protection of existing trees and shrubbery on public property and in public rights-of-way," and the approval requirement at Section 78-296(a) reaches only "any tree or shrub on public property or in a public right-of-way." The Development Code landscaping section is even more explicit: Section 89-36(a)(1)(b) says it "does not apply to Single-family detached residences." Read the definition of "tree" carefully though, because Lafayette measures in an unusual place - twelve inches above the ground, not four and a half feet.
Size threshold
For public-property trees, the threshold is built into the definition. Code Section 78-291: "Tree means any self-supporting woody perennial plant which has a trunk diameter of six inches or more when measured at a point 12 inches above ground level and which normally attains an overall height of at least 16 feet at maturity." Twelve inches above ground is not the usual DBH convention and it will read larger than a 4.5-foot measurement on a flaring trunk. The Development Code uses ordinary DBH for its credit table at Section 89-36(f)(1)(a), which runs 9 to 19 inches for 5 credits, 20 to 25 inches for 6, 26 to 29 inches for 7, 30 to 35 inches for 8, and 36 inches or greater for 9 - but none of that applies to a single-family detached house.
What's protected in Lafayette
- Trees and shrubs on public property or in a public right-of-way. Code Section 78-296(a): "any person desiring to remove, destroy, prune (including the root system) or treat any tree or shrub on public property or in a public right-of-way, or place upon the ground any impervious substance within the covered area or dripline of any tree in such public place, shall first consult with the arborist."
- Street trees, defined at Section 78-291 as "trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation planted or growing on land lying within public rights-of-way between the paved areas and the property lines of parcels fronting on the rights-of-way."
- Live oaks and southern magnolias, but only as a credit bonus on qualifying commercial lots. Section 89-36(f)(1)(b): on lots of one acre or less in certain districts, "Live Oaks and Southern Magnolias with DBHs of 18 inches or greater may count toward 100 percent of the tree requirement," where other species cap at 50 percent.
- Required trees inside an approved landscape area on a non-exempt site. Section 89-36(b)(5): "The removal of a required tree or installation of an impermeable surface within a required landscape area requires approval of the DPD."
How to apply in Lafayette
- 1
For a tree on your own single-family lot there is no application.
- 2
For a tree on public property or in a public right-of-way, Section 78-296(a) requires you to "first consult with the arborist," the designated agent in the Public Works Department. Call (337) 291-8200 or 311.
- 3
Section 78-296(d) sets the timetable: "Plans for planting, pruning, maintenance and/or destruction of trees shall be submitted to the arborist. The arborist shall review those plans within 14 days of original receipt and provide appropriate comments... Comments of the arborist shall be followed."
- 4
Removal of a public tree is only approvable on one of four grounds under Section 78-296(e): it unreasonably restricts the permitted use of the public property or of adjacent private property; it unreasonably interferes with publicly approved construction projects; it unreasonably interferes with free and safe passage including sight distance at intersections; or "The tree is diseased, injured beyond restoration, in danger of falling, prohibits continued use of utility service, or is so close to existing structures so as to endanger them."
- 5
To PLANT a tree on public property you need an actual permit, not just a consultation. Section 78-296(b): "Any person desiring to plant a tree or shrub upon any public property or public right-of-way must also obtain a permit from the arborist."
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No fee is published for the Section 78-296 consultation or the Section 78-296(b) planting permit; the article states neither. There is no private-property tree permit and therefore no fee.
- Penalties
- The tree article carries no penalty of its own, so Code Section 1-9(c) supplies it: "Except as otherwise provided, or if any penalty contained in this Code is found unconstitutional, a person convicted of a violation of this Code shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500.00 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both such fine and imprisonment."
- Ordinance
- Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances chapter 78 (Streets, Sidewalks and Other Public Places), Article V - Trees and Shrubs in City of Lafayette, Sections 78-291 through 78-298, all derived from City Code 1965, Sections 22 1/2-21 through 22 1/2-27, with no later codified amendment shown. Private-site landscaping is Chapter 89 (Development Code), Article 3, Section 89-36 (Landscaping, buffers and screening). Code current through Ordinance No. JO-067-2024, enacted November 18, 2024 (Supp. No. 65) - note that this is the oldest codification currency of any city in this file.
Worth knowing
- Jurisdiction is split and this matters if your mailing address says Lafayette but you live outside the city. Code Section 78-292: "The provisions of this article apply only in the city." Development Code Section 89-36(a)(1)(a) is the opposite - it "applies to all areas within the jurisdiction of the City of Lafayette and the unincorporated areas of Lafayette Parish."
- The definition of "destroy" is broad enough to catch accidental harm on a public tree, and it looks two years ahead. Section 78-291: "Destroy means any intentional or negligent act which will cause a tree to decline and die within a period of two years, including but not limited to such damage inflicted upon the root system of a tree by the application of toxic substances, the operation of heavy machinery, including trenching devices, the change of natural grade by excavation or filling the covered area or around the trunk of a tree, and damages from injury or fire inflicted on trees which result in or permit pest infestation."
- You may not nail anything to a public tree. Section 78-297 bars attaching "any rope, wire, chain, sign or other device whatsoever, except for the purpose of protecting the tree or the public."
- Utilities get blanket approvals but removals are supposed to stay individual. Section 78-296(c): individual approval is not required of utility companies whose "written pruning and trenching specifications have been first approved by the arborist; provided, however, that whenever practical, requests for removal of trees shall be handled on an individual permit basis."
- The landscaping section names state horticulture law as its baseline. Section 89-36 states its requirements are "consistent with Louisiana Horticulture Law Rules and Regulations."
- The critical root zone formula in the Development Code is a formula, not a number: Section 89-36(f)(1)(d) says to "Determine this dimension by measuring the diameter of the tree trunk in inches at breast height (DBH), multiplied by 12."
- Lafayette declares the city government responsible for public trees rather than the abutting owner. Section 78-294(a) gives the city-parish "the right and responsibility to plant, prune, maintain and remove trees, plants and shrubs within the lines of all streets, alleys, avenues, lanes, squares and public grounds."
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 Lafayette licenses or registers tree services at the local level. Chapter 18 (Businesses) contains only Article I - In General and Article II - Bingo Halls, and no arborist provision was found anywhere in the code. The state license under La. R.S. 3:3801 still applies.
- — The direct phone number and email for the Public Works arborist and for the Development and Planning Department. Only the consolidated government main line and general inbox are published.
- — Whether the Section 78-296(b) planting permit or the Section 78-296(a) consultation carries a fee or a published form. Neither is stated.
- — Whether Lafayette's historic districts (Development Code Section 89-34 and Appendix B) add any tree approval. Those provisions were not read in full.
- — Whether the tree article has been amended since the 1965 City Code. Municode prints only the 1965 derivation on every section, and the Code Comparative Tables were not checked line by line.
- — How the six-inch-at-twelve-inches measurement in Section 78-291 is applied in practice to multi-trunk trees. The definition speaks of a single "trunk diameter."
- — Whether the separate Lafayette City Council and Parish Council, split since 2020, have diverged on any tree provision. The code is published as one document.
Sources
- Lafayette Code of Ordinances ch. 78 art. V - Trees and Shrubs in City of Lafayette (Municode)
- Lafayette Development Code Sec. 89-36 - Landscaping, buffers and screening (Municode)
- Lafayette Code of Ordinances Sec. 1-9 - General penalty (Municode)
- Lafayette Consolidated Government - Planning and Development (contact)
- Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry - Arborist Licensing