Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Lake Charles has no tree removal permit for private property and no diameter threshold. Its zoning landscape section applies only to new construction or to an existing development expanded by 30 percent or more of floor area, and the only tree obligation it puts on an ordinary house runs the other direction - builders of single-family and duplex lots must PLANT two Class A trees, one of them in the front yard. What Lake Charles does regulate on private land, and regulates hard, is what the tree looks like afterward: overhanging limbs must be trimmed to nine and fourteen feet of clearance over the right-of-way, and a downed tree within ten feet of your property line is a property standards violation. In a city that lost a large share of its canopy to Hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020, the downed-tree rule is the one most likely to reach you.
Size threshold
None for removal. Two different measurement conventions appear in the same section and both are quoted here because they are not interchangeable. For new plantings, Section 24-5-210(6) sets "Class 'A' trees shall be a minimum of three inches in caliper as measured 36 inches above the ground" and Class B at one inch caliper measured the same way. For preservation credit, Section 24-5-210(7)(a) says "For purposes of this section, caliper measurement shall be taken at a height of 4 1/2 feet above the ground, and shall be rounded to the nearest whole number," with credits of 2 trees at 6 to 8 inches, 3 at 9 to 15 inches, 4 at 16 to 30 inches, 5 at 31 to 46 inches, and 8 at 47 inches or more. Property standards use a third figure: Section 23-2 defines Tree as "a woody plant having a well-defined stem or trunk, a more or less definite crown, a height at maturity of at least eight feet, and the trunk diameter exceeds two inches."
What's protected in Lake Charles
- Trees and shrubs on a right-of-way where a utility permit is in play. The city's standard right-of-way permit condition in Chapter 18 states "That the felling or trimming of trees and shrubs on the right-of-way is expressly prohibited unless authorized in writing by the Director of Public Works."
- Trees preserved for landscaping credit on a non-exempt site. Section 24-5-210(9)(c)(1): "If any tree which was preserved and used as a credit toward landscaping requirements is later removed for any reason, it shall be replaced by the number of trees for which it was originally credited. Replacement trees shall have a minimum trunk diameter of three inches measured 36 inches above the ground."
- Trees in city parks. Code Chapter 15 carries Section 15-38 (Injury, removal, etc., of trees, plants, etc.) and Section 15-39 (Climbing, sitting, etc., on trees, monuments, etc.).
How to apply in Lake Charles
- 1
For a tree on your own lot there is no application to file.
- 2
If you are building new, budget for the planting requirement rather than a removal permit. Section 24-5-210(6)(p): "For all single-family and duplex parcels, builders shall be required to plant two Class 'A' trees per lot. At least one of the trees shall be located in the front yard. Existing quality trees of at least three inches caliper size located on the lot shall count to meet this standard."
- 3
If your project is a new development or an expansion of 30 percent or more of floor area, a landscape plan goes to the Planning Department before any building, paving, grading or construction permit issues. Section 24-5-210(4)(b) requires it to be "prepared by a person knowledgeable in plant material usage and landscape design (e.g. landscape architect, landscape contractor, landscape designer, etc.)" and to show the "Location, size, and species of all trees to be preserved."
- 4
To work on a tree in the right-of-way, get written authorization from the Director of Public Works first. Call 337-491-1220.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- There is no private-property tree permit and therefore no fee. The one dollar figure attached to trees is a cost-recovery charge, not a permit: Section 18-4(b) provides that where the city has to trim your overhanging trees after notice, "the minimum charge shall be $25.00 per hour for the actual time involved in performing such work or for the amount of the contract."
- Penalties
- Section 18-4(c) routes failure to trim to the general penalty at Section 1-8. The practical consequence is the cost recovery: after ten days' written notice from the director of public works, "the city may trim the trees or shrubs to comply... The costs of the work performed, whether by the city or by contract, shall be assessed to the owner or occupant of the property, which charges shall be due and payable within ten days from completion of said work." Landscape violations under Section 24-5-210(2)(c) give the owner 30 days to make reasonable progress and 90 days to fully restore, with a possible 30-day extension for extreme seasonal conditions, before the property is "held in violation of this Ordinance."
- Ordinance
- Lake Charles Code of Ordinances chapter 24 (Zoning), Article V, Section 24-5-210 (Landscape requirements) and Section 24-5-209 (Bufferyards). Right-of-way trimming duties are chapter 18 (Streets and Sidewalks), Section 18-4, from Code 1956 Section 23-4 and amended by Ord. No. 1438 (12-4-63), Ord. No. 6058 (6-21-78), Ord. No. 10882 (12-18-96) and Ord. No. 17540, Section 1, adopted April 20, 2016. Downed-tree and vegetation duties are chapter 23 (Property Standards), Sections 23-2 and 23-3, from Ord. No. 18783, Section 8, October 21, 2020 and Ord. No. 18916, Section 1, July 7, 2021 - both adopted in the two years after Hurricanes Laura and Delta, though the city does not state a causal connection and none is claimed here. Code current through Ordinance No. 20441, enacted December 17, 2025 (Supp. No. 20).
Worth knowing
- The clearance numbers are worth writing down. Section 18-4(a): trees must be trimmed so there is "no less than nine feet in height of clear space above that portion of the public right-of-way not used for vehicular travel and no less than 14 feet in height of clear space above that portion of the public right-of-way used for vehicular traffic." Parade routes need more: "All trees along a parade route must have 16 feet in height of clear space."
- The duty falls on you even if the tree is not on your land. Section 18-4(a) puts the trimming obligation on "the owners or occupants of the private property upon which the trees or shrubs are growing or by the owners or occupants of the abutting private property when the trees or shrubs are growing over the public right-of-way."
- A downed tree is a code violation on a clock. Section 23-3(b)(4) prohibits, on easily maintained lots of five acres or less, "Any downed tree within ten feet of a property line, public right-of-way or street." Section 23-3(c)(4) repeats it for lots over five acres, and Section 23-3(d)(3) tightens the distance to five feet on lots that cannot be cut by ordinary equipment.
- Tree harvesting is expressly carved out of the "developed lot" definition. Section 23-2 defines a developed lot as one with manmade changes "excluding the grading or the harvesting of trees," and an undeveloped lot the same way.
- Sight-triangle trees have their own allowance rather than a ban. Section 24-5-203(2) permits trees in the sight triangle if the diameter is at or below a stated limit and the canopy is kept clear - check that subsection before planting near a corner.
- Preservation credit is generous at the top of the scale. A single 47-inch tree preserved on a qualifying site counts as eight required trees under Section 24-5-210(7)(a).
- The planning director can waive landscape requirements case by case. Section 24-5-210(2)(b): the director "shall have the ability to waive landscape requirements on a case-by-case basis if unique circumstances exist on the property that make application of these regulations unduly burdensome," but only where there is no adverse impact on development or on public health, safety and general welfare.
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 Lake Charles has any tree removal permit at all. None was found in chapter 18 (Streets and Sidewalks), chapter 15 (Parks and Recreation), chapter 12 (Licenses and Regulations), chapter 12.5 (Nuisance Abatement), chapter 23 (Property Standards) or chapter 24 (Zoning). That is a search result, not an affirmative city statement.
- — Whether the city licenses or registers tree services locally. The word "arborist" was not found in chapter 12, Licenses and Regulations. The state arborist license under La. R.S. 3:3801 still applies.
- — Whether Appendix A (Fee Schedule for the City of Lake Charles) or Chapter 24 Appendix D (Fee Schedule) carries any landscape or tree line item. Neither was read in full.
- — Whether any post-hurricane emergency proclamation suspended or modified these provisions after Laura or Delta. The city publishes no standing storm exception in the tree or property standards provisions.
- — Whether the Lake Charles Historic Preservation provisions at Section 24-5-307 reach trees. That section was not read in full.
- — Email addresses for the Planning Director and the Streets, Drainage and Grounds Superintendent. The city publishes contact forms rather than addresses.
- — Whether Calcasieu Parish rules apply to properties with a Lake Charles mailing address outside the city limits. The parish police jury code was not examined.
Sources
- Lake Charles Code of Ordinances Sec. 24-5-210 - Landscape requirements (Municode)
- Lake Charles Code of Ordinances ch. 18 art. I - Sec. 18-4, trees overhanging rights-of-way (Municode)
- Lake Charles Code of Ordinances ch. 23 - Property Standards, Secs. 23-2 and 23-3 (Municode)
- City of Lake Charles - Planning and Development (contact)
- City of Lake Charles - Street and Drainage Maintenance (contact)
- Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry - Arborist Licensing