Tree Removal Permits in Lansing, MI

Verified against Lansing city sources · last checked 2026-08-06

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Lansing's only tree permit provision is scoped to public land. Section 688.01: "No person shall, without first obtaining a written permit to do so from the City Forester, remove, destroy, break, cut, deface, trim or in any way injure or interfere with any tree, plant or shrub in any highway, park or boulevard of the City." A tree standing on your own lot is not in a highway, park or boulevard, so no permit and no diameter threshold apply. The only size figure in the whole code, 12 inches caliper, is a tree survey item in the zoning landscaping chapter and attaches to site plan review, which expressly exempts "individual single or two-family principal or accessory structures." The trap is the parkway: Lansing defines the strip between the roadway and the sidewalk as right-of-way, requires you to maintain it, and then says those lawns "shall be deemed to be public parks."

Size threshold

None for a private removal. There is no DBH, diameter or caliper trigger anywhere in the Lansing Codified Ordinances, and Chapter 688 applies to "any tree, plant or shrub" of any size but only in public locations. The one caliper figure, at Section 1252.02(a)(7), is a planting-plan submittal: "A tree survey identifying the location and species of existing trees 12 inches or greater in caliper, measured at 12 inches off the ground, and identifying which trees are to be preserved."

What's protected in Lansing

Any tree, plant or shrub in a highway, park or boulevard of the city, under Section 688.01.
Trees in streets, highways, parks and grassplots, under Section 688.05: "No person shall climb, peel, cut, deface, remove, injure or destroy any tree, in any street, highway, park or grassplot of the City."
The parkway, which Section 1020.01 defines as "the area between the edge of the roadway and the sidewalk, or the property line where there is no sidewalk," and which Section 1020.03(a) says "shall be deemed to be public parks." That section adds: "No plant, shrub or tree shall be planted or allowed to grow in the right-of-way unless authorized by the Director of Public Service."
There is no protected, heritage, landmark or significant tree class in Lansing. A full-code search returned no hits for arborist, tree trimmer, woodland, Dutch elm or emerald ash borer. Protection is defined by location, not species or size.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: Not published. Chapter 688 states no fee, and Lansing's Permits Office describes its scope without mentioning trees: "The Permits Office is responsible for issuing soil erosion permits, occupy right of way permits, special transportation, banner permits, sewer permits, utility permits, and boring permits in the City of Lansing." No tree removal fee appears in any published Lansing fee schedule.
Penalties: Section 688.99 points to the general penalty at Section 202.99, which provides: "Unless a violation of these Codified Ordinances or any other ordinance of the City is specifically designated as a Municipal civil infraction, the violation shall be deemed to be a misdemeanor," and "The penalty for a misdemeanor violation shall be a fine not exceeding $500.00 plus costs of prosecution, or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days, or both." Because Section 688.01 is not designated a civil infraction, cutting a right-of-way or park tree without the City Forester's permit defaults to a misdemeanor. Sections 688.05 and 688.07 are civil infractions, where "the civil fine for a violation shall be not less than $150.00, plus costs," rising to not less than $250 for a first repeat and not less than $500 for later repeats. "Each day during or on which a violation... occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offense." And Section 202.99(h) reaches whoever hires the cutter: "Every person who commits or procures, counsels, aids or abets the commission of any act declared in these Codified Ordinances to be an offense... shall be guilty of or responsible for such offense."
Ordinance: Lansing Codified Ordinances Part 6 (General Offenses Code), Chapter 688 — Trees, Plants and Shrubs, Sections 688.01 through 688.99. Enacted by Ordinance No. 749, adopted April 13, 1987. Section 688.05 was amended by Ordinance No. 1286, Section 1, adopted June 21, 2021, and Section 688.07 by Ordinance No. 1287, Section 1, the same day, both converting the offences to municipal civil infractions; Section 688.01, the permit clause, has not been amended since 1987. Section 688.08 was repealed by Ordinance No. 1007, adopted September 27, 1999. The zoning landscaping and site plan chapters, Chapter 1252 and Chapter 1260, were adopted in their current form by Ordinance No. 1331, Section 1, adopted May 5, 2025. Code current through Ordinance No. 1343, adopted October 27, 2025 (Supp. No. 64).

Worth knowing

Your own hazard tree is the real private-property exposure. Section 655.03 defines a nuisance to include "Hazards, such as open excavations, open wells, pits, trees or parts thereof in danger of falling on any street, sidewalk or portion of a public right of way," and Section 655.01 says the chapter provides "for the removal and abatement of unhealthy, noxious or dangerous substances, structures and conditions, at private expense." So you need no permit to take your own tree down, but you can be ordered to take it down at your own cost if it threatens a street or sidewalk.
Lansing does not license tree services. The city's published business licence categories run from auctioneer through waste hauler and include no tree service, arborist or tree trimmer. Chapter 870 licenses only "the business of demolishing or moving buildings or other structures within the City of Lansing." Hiring an unlicensed tree service is not a city offence here.
Right-of-way work has three separate hooks, not one. Section 688.01 needs the City Forester's written permit; Section 1020.03(a) needs Director of Public Service authorization for anything planted or growing there; and Section 1022.01 requires a right-of-way permit "prior to commencement of any construction or maintenance activities within any City right-of-way," expressly including "landscaping, excavation filling, tunneling."
Even planting in the right-of-way needs two signatures. Section 1252.06(a)(1): "Public rights-of-way shall be planted with grass. Trees, shrubs, or other ground covers may be planted within the right-of-way with permission from the City Forester and the City Engineer, or their assigns."
There is no homeowner storm exemption written into the ordinance. Section 688.01's only exemption is institutional: "This section does not apply to the Department of Public Service after having notified the City Forester." The city's published forestry scope covers city trees only, including "Broken branches and fallen limbs or trees (from storm damage)."
The zoning preservation standard never reaches a house. Section 1260.02(a) opens "Except for individual single or two-family principal or accessory structures," and Section 1260.03(d) then asks that "The landscape shall be preserved in its natural state, insofar as practicable, by minimizing tree and soil removal" — a site plan approval standard, not a permit.
Lansing did not have to respond to F.P. Development v. Charter Township of Canton, because it has no private-property tree permit, no replacement requirement and no fee in lieu for the decision to reach. The two 2021 amendments to Chapter 688 predate the decision.
To report a forestry problem the city routes everything through Lansing Connect, and says "If you are unsure whether or not the issue you want to report can be handled by the City of Lansing, please call the Public Service Department at 517-483-4456."

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.

— The identity, direct phone and email of the City Forester. The office is named in the ordinance but appears in neither the Public Service nor the Parks and Recreation staff directory.
— Whether a Section 688.01 permit application form, fee or turnaround exists in practice. Nothing is published, and a site search returns no results for tree removal, tree removal permit, city forester or boulevard tree.
— Whether Lansing charges anything for a right-of-way tree permit or conditions it on a replacement tree.
— Which department the Forestry Division actually reports to. Section 688.01 vests the permit in the City Forester while Section 688.03 vests electric wire permission in the Director of Parks and Recreation; the city website lists sustainable forestry under Public Service and routes forestry calls there, while the same Forestry and Grounds page describes Parks and Recreation giving away free trees.
— A scope conflict in the landscaping chapter, reported rather than reconciled. Section 1252.01(a) says "Landscaping for all districts in the City shall comply with the standards of this section," which is facially universal, while Section 1252.01(b) conditions the plan requirement on site plan approval and Section 1260.02(a) exempts individual single and two-family structures. Both texts are current as adopted by Ordinance No. 1331.
— Whether Lansing's historic district ordinance, Chapter 1220, reaches tree removal through a certificate of appropriateness. Section 1220.06 governs review of permit applications but no text expressly extending it to trees or landscape features was located.
— Whether any Lansing street has actually been designated a scenic corridor under Chapter 1032, which would add a public hearing requirement for damaging right-of-way vegetation there. Designations are by council resolution and are not codified; no published list was found.

Sources

Who to contact in Lansing

City Forester, Forestry and Grounds Division, City of Lansing Public Service Department. Section 688.01 vests the permit in the City Forester; no individual holds that title in either department's published staff directory.

517-483-4456 (forestry questions); 517-483-4455 (Public Service main); 517-483-4161 (24/7 maintenance); 517-483-4156 (Permits Office); 517-483-4277 (Parks and Recreation) public.service@lansingmi.gov Official page

124 W. Michigan Avenue, 7th Floor, City Hall, Lansing, MI 48933, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Size threshold

What's protected in Lansing

Any tree, plant or shrub in a highway, park or boulevard of the city, under Section 688.01.

Trees in streets, highways, parks and grassplots, under Section 688.05: "No person shall climb, peel, cut, deface, remove, injure or destroy any tree, in any street, highway, park or grassplot of the City."

The parkway, which Section 1020.01 defines as "the area between the edge of the roadway and the sidewalk, or the property line where there is no sidewalk," and which Section 1020.03(a) says "shall be deemed to be public parks." That section adds: "No plant, shrub or tree shall be planted or allowed to grow in the right-of-way unless authorized by the Director of Public Service."

There is no protected, heritage, landmark or significant tree class in Lansing. A full-code search returned no hits for arborist, tree trimmer, woodland, Dutch elm or emerald ash borer. Protection is defined by location, not species or size.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

Not published. Chapter 688 states no fee, and Lansing's Permits Office describes its scope without mentioning trees: "The Permits Office is responsible for issuing soil erosion permits, occupy right of way permits, special transportation, banner permits, sewer permits, utility permits, and boring permits in the City of Lansing." No tree removal fee appears in any published Lansing fee schedule.

Penalties

Section 688.99 points to the general penalty at Section 202.99, which provides: "Unless a violation of these Codified Ordinances or any other ordinance of the City is specifically designated as a Municipal civil infraction, the violation shall be deemed to be a misdemeanor," and "The penalty for a misdemeanor violation shall be a fine not exceeding $500.00 plus costs of prosecution, or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days, or both." Because Section 688.01 is not designated a civil infraction, cutting a right-of-way or park tree without the City Forester's permit defaults to a misdemeanor. Sections 688.05 and 688.07 are civil infractions, where "the civil fine for a violation shall be not less than $150.00, plus costs," rising to not less than $250 for a first repeat and not less than $500 for later repeats. "Each day during or on which a violation... occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offense." And Section 202.99(h) reaches whoever hires the cutter: "Every person who commits or procures, counsels, aids or abets the commission of any act declared in these Codified Ordinances to be an offense... shall be guilty of or responsible for such offense."

Ordinance

Lansing Codified Ordinances Part 6 (General Offenses Code), Chapter 688 — Trees, Plants and Shrubs, Sections 688.01 through 688.99. Enacted by Ordinance No. 749, adopted April 13, 1987. Section 688.05 was amended by Ordinance No. 1286, Section 1, adopted June 21, 2021, and Section 688.07 by Ordinance No. 1287, Section 1, the same day, both converting the offences to municipal civil infractions; Section 688.01, the permit clause, has not been amended since 1987. Section 688.08 was repealed by Ordinance No. 1007, adopted September 27, 1999. The zoning landscaping and site plan chapters, Chapter 1252 and Chapter 1260, were adopted in their current form by Ordinance No. 1331, Section 1, adopted May 5, 2025. Code current through Ordinance No. 1343, adopted October 27, 2025 (Supp. No. 64).

Worth knowing

Your own hazard tree is the real private-property exposure. Section 655.03 defines a nuisance to include "Hazards, such as open excavations, open wells, pits, trees or parts thereof in danger of falling on any street, sidewalk or portion of a public right of way," and Section 655.01 says the chapter provides "for the removal and abatement of unhealthy, noxious or dangerous substances, structures and conditions, at private expense." So you need no permit to take your own tree down, but you can be ordered to take it down at your own cost if it threatens a street or sidewalk.
Lansing does not license tree services. The city's published business licence categories run from auctioneer through waste hauler and include no tree service, arborist or tree trimmer. Chapter 870 licenses only "the business of demolishing or moving buildings or other structures within the City of Lansing." Hiring an unlicensed tree service is not a city offence here.
Right-of-way work has three separate hooks, not one. Section 688.01 needs the City Forester's written permit; Section 1020.03(a) needs Director of Public Service authorization for anything planted or growing there; and Section 1022.01 requires a right-of-way permit "prior to commencement of any construction or maintenance activities within any City right-of-way," expressly including "landscaping, excavation filling, tunneling."
Even planting in the right-of-way needs two signatures. Section 1252.06(a)(1): "Public rights-of-way shall be planted with grass. Trees, shrubs, or other ground covers may be planted within the right-of-way with permission from the City Forester and the City Engineer, or their assigns."
There is no homeowner storm exemption written into the ordinance. Section 688.01's only exemption is institutional: "This section does not apply to the Department of Public Service after having notified the City Forester." The city's published forestry scope covers city trees only, including "Broken branches and fallen limbs or trees (from storm damage)."
The zoning preservation standard never reaches a house. Section 1260.02(a) opens "Except for individual single or two-family principal or accessory structures," and Section 1260.03(d) then asks that "The landscape shall be preserved in its natural state, insofar as practicable, by minimizing tree and soil removal" — a site plan approval standard, not a permit.
Lansing did not have to respond to F.P. Development v. Charter Township of Canton, because it has no private-property tree permit, no replacement requirement and no fee in lieu for the decision to reach. The two 2021 amendments to Chapter 688 predate the decision.
To report a forestry problem the city routes everything through Lansing Connect, and says "If you are unsure whether or not the issue you want to report can be handled by the City of Lansing, please call the Public Service Department at 517-483-4456."

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.

— The identity, direct phone and email of the City Forester. The office is named in the ordinance but appears in neither the Public Service nor the Parks and Recreation staff directory.
— Whether a Section 688.01 permit application form, fee or turnaround exists in practice. Nothing is published, and a site search returns no results for tree removal, tree removal permit, city forester or boulevard tree.
— Whether Lansing charges anything for a right-of-way tree permit or conditions it on a replacement tree.
— Which department the Forestry Division actually reports to. Section 688.01 vests the permit in the City Forester while Section 688.03 vests electric wire permission in the Director of Parks and Recreation; the city website lists sustainable forestry under Public Service and routes forestry calls there, while the same Forestry and Grounds page describes Parks and Recreation giving away free trees.
— A scope conflict in the landscaping chapter, reported rather than reconciled. Section 1252.01(a) says "Landscaping for all districts in the City shall comply with the standards of this section," which is facially universal, while Section 1252.01(b) conditions the plan requirement on site plan approval and Section 1260.02(a) exempts individual single and two-family structures. Both texts are current as adopted by Ordinance No. 1331.
— Whether Lansing's historic district ordinance, Chapter 1220, reaches tree removal through a certificate of appropriateness. Section 1220.06 governs review of permit applications but no text expressly extending it to trees or landscape features was located.
— Whether any Lansing street has actually been designated a scenic corridor under Chapter 1032, which would add a public hearing requirement for damaging right-of-way vegetation there. Designations are by council resolution and are not codified; no published list was found.