Tree Removal Permits in Lee's Summit, MO

Verified against Lee's Summit city sources · last checked 2026-08-06

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Lee's Summit has no tree removal permit. The tree chapter is titled "Public Trees, Park Trees and Ground Cover" and it does what the title says: the only permission provision runs the other direction and covers planting, and the only prohibition is that "It shall be unlawful for any person to top any public tree or park tree." The city's published list of construction permits runs to eleven types and includes no tree permit, and the Development Services fee schedule has no tree fee. What you do owe is maintenance: the adopted property maintenance code requires that "Dead, dying or diseased trees, or portions thereof, shall be treated, pruned or removed so as not to pose a threat to adjoining private or public property." The one thing worth a phone call is the tree at your curb, because whether the city maintains it or you do depends on an unpublished list kept in the Public Works director's office.

Size threshold

None for a private residential removal. Size only matters on a development site, where a tree conservation plan must show "All significant trees to be removed and all other trees of ten-inch caliper or larger to be removed." A significant tree is defined as "Hardwood trees such as oaks and hickories that are of a 12-inch caliper or more and soft-wood trees such as pines and cedars, which are 16 feet in height or more, and small hardwoods such as dogwoods, redbuds or sourwoods with calipers of 6 inches or more." One size figure does reach homeowners, and it is about the trash: "Tree limbs less than four (4) inches in diameter and brush shall be securely tied in bundles not longer than forty-eight (48) inches long and eighteen (18) inches in diameter when not placed in disposal containers."

What's protected in Lee's Summit

Public trees — "trees, shrubs and bushes planted and maintained by the City, as listed on the Tree Schedule kept in the Office of the Director of Public Works, or their designee, located on land within the right-of-way of City streets and on property owned by the City." Note that the definition turns on being on a list, not on where the tree stands.
Park trees — "trees, shrubs and bushes on land designated as City park property."
Other trees — "trees, shrubs and bushes that are not public trees or park trees, including trees and shrubs located in the right-of-way which are not public trees or park trees." These are the abutting owner's responsibility, not the city's.
Topping a city tree is banned outright with no permit path: "It shall be unlawful for any person to top any public tree or park tree."
Significant trees and trees of 10-inch caliper or larger on a development site — "Removal of significant trees and other trees ten-inch caliper or larger shall be permitted only in conjunction with an approved preliminary tree conservation plan, an approved grading plan, and actual grading of building pads (i.e., not simply to clear the lot)."
There is no landmark, heritage or champion tree program. The only preservation program in Lee's Summit is historic-structure preservation, and there is no protected-individual-tree registry.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee, because there is no tree permit. The adjacent fees on the current schedule are a land disturbance permit at $206.00 for one acre and less effective July 1, 2026 (up from $200.00 the prior year), a business license at $55.00 flat, and a contractor license at $35.00 per master certification. A right-of-way permit is "$100.00 per unit ... Additional Right-of-Way fees are $100.00 per street cut; $100.00 per street crossing."
Penalties: Chapter 30 routes to the general penalty: "the violation of any such provision of this Code or any ordinance shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both ... Each day any violation of this Code or of any ordinance continues shall constitute a separate offense." For municipal ordinance violations the amount is capped at "Two hundred dollars ($200.00) for the first violation, two hundred seventy-five dollars ($275.00) for the second violation, three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00) for the third violation, and four hundred fifty dollars ($450.00) for the fourth and any subsequent violations." Property maintenance violations run $50 for a first offense, $100 second, $300 third and $500 for the fourth and beyond. Development ordinance violations are "a fine of not less than $10.00 and not more than $250.00 for each and every day that such violation continues," rising to $100 to $500 per day on a repeat, plus "a civil penalty of $250.00" for ignoring a removal order for ten days.
Ordinance: Lee's Summit Code of Ordinances Chapter 30 (Vegetation), Article IV — Public Trees, Park Trees and Ground Cover, Sections 30-40 through 30-56, adopted in full by Ord. No. 9574 Section 2 on December 20, 2022. The same ordinance created the Tree Board at Chapter 2, Article V, Division 5. Articles I and II of Chapter 30 were repealed by Ord. No. 4934 in 2000 and remain reserved. The tree maintenance duty on private property sits in Chapter 16, which adopts the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code and adds Section 302.10 by Ord. No. 8583 (March 19, 2019), amended by Ord. Nos. 9533 and 9563 in late 2022. Development-side tree conservation is Unified Development Ordinance Section 8.740, last amended by Ord. No. 9782 Section 4 on November 14, 2023. No section of Chapter 30 Article IV carries a history note later than Ord. No. 9574, so the tree law has not been amended in 2024, 2025 or 2026. The Code of Ordinances is at Supplement No. 55 and the UDO is "Codified through Ordinance No. 10229, enacted October 21, 2025 (Supp. No. 15)."

Worth knowing

The single most useful call you can make is to Public Works at 816.969.1800 to ask whether the tree at your curb is on the Tree Schedule. If it is a public tree, the city prunes and removes it "in accordance with the most current ANSI A300 Tree Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance - Standard Practices." If it is an "other tree," Section 30-50.C puts it on you: "The owner of property or property adjacent to right-of-way when and where such other tree is located in right-of-way shall be responsible for other tree care, including but not limited to planting, pruning, maintenance, and removal as may be necessary to ensure public safety." The city says the right-of-way is generally 10 to 15 feet behind the edge of the street or curb.
You have an enforceable duty to deal with a failing tree. The adopted property maintenance code, Section 302.10, says "Dead, dying or diseased trees, or portions thereof, shall be treated, pruned or removed so as not to pose a threat to adjoining private or public property." Separately, Section 30-51 gives the Director of Development Services "the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased trees or shrubs on private property within the City, when such trees or shrubs constitute a hazard to life or property, or harbor insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees."
If the city does the work, it bills you, but the tree chapter does not create a lien. Section 30-52.B: "In the event of failure to comply with such notice, the City shall have the right and authority to prune, maintain and/or remove such trees or shrubs and charge the cost of removal to the person occupying, in charge or control of or owning the property." The special tax bill mechanism in Lee's Summit lives in the dangerous buildings and stormwater codes, not in Chapter 30.
In an emergency the city can skip notice entirely. Section 30-53: "whenever, in the opinion of the Director of Public Works or their designee, there is an emergency or other condition which poses an imminent danger to life and/or property due to a tree or shrub, the Director ... shall order any necessary work to be done to abate the dangerous condition whether or not any notice or other procedure described herein has been instituted."
You have real appeal rights, which is unusual for a tree provision. Section 30-55 lets an aggrieved person file written notice of appeal with the City Manager within ten days; a Hearing Officer is appointed within thirty days; "The hearing shall be conducted by the Hearing Officer as a contested case under the provisions of RSMo. Ch. 536, and the City Manager shall issue a final decision within ten (10) days of the hearing date."
Lee's Summit has no tree trimmer or arborist license. Contractor licensing defines a contractor as one who undertakes "to construct, alter, repair, or demolish any structure" and authorizes only four classes: general, building, residential, and mechanical/electrical/plumbing. There is no tree, arborist, landscape or line clearance class anywhere in the code. A tree service does need a general business license, since "It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any business or manufacturing within the City without first having obtained a license therefor," and tree services are not on the exempt-professions list.
The insurance number to ask for is $300,000. Section 7-130.3: "All contractors shall maintain general liability coverage in an amount not less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00). In addition, every such contractor shall procure and maintain workers compensation insurance as required by law ... a current copy of the Certificate of Insurance naming the City of Lee's Summit, Missouri as a certificate holder." Since the city only holds insurance on file for contractor licensees, ask the tree service for both the Lee's Summit business license and that certificate.
Nothing makes it unlawful for a homeowner to hire an unlicensed tree service. The duty runs to the business: "It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the construction contracting business without first obtaining a business license." No aiding-and-abetting or customer-liability provision appears anywhere in the relevant chapters.
Do not obstruct the sidewalk. Section 30-47: "No person occupying, in charge or control of or owning any property in the City shall permit the trees or shrubs on such property, or other tree, to hang over so as to obstruct or interfere with the safe and accessible use of sidewalks, streets and alleys." Planting setbacks are ten feet from a fire hydrant or storm box, two feet from any curb or sidewalk, ten feet from overhead utility wire and five lateral feet from underground utilities.
It is a separate offense to get in the crew's way. Section 30-54 makes it unlawful "to prevent, delay or interfere with the Director of Public Works, the Administrator of Parks and Recreation, the Director of Development Services, their designees, or any employees, contractors, or agents, while engaging in and about the planting, cultivating, mulching, pruning, spraying or removing of any public tree, park tree, or other tree, trees and shrubs on private property."
The Tree Board is a staff board, not a citizen board, and it has no permit power. Its five members are appointed by the City Manager and "should include the Manager of Public Works Operations, the City Engineer, an Assistant City Manager, the Manager of Codes, and the City Arborist," and its jurisdiction is public and park trees. It exists partly so the city can hold Tree City USA designation.
Missouri law punishes cutting a tree that is not yours. RSMo 537.340 awards treble damages for cutting down, injuring or destroying "any tree placed or growing for use, shade or ornament" on another person's land, and the claimant "need not prove negligence or intent."

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 Tree Schedule that decides whether your curb-strip tree is the city's problem or yours is "kept in the Office of the Director of Public Works" and is not published online. This is the single most consequential unknown for a Lee's Summit homeowner with a street tree. Call 816.969.1800.
— Whether the development code's tree conservation plan requirement reaches a single-family homeowner. Section 8.740.A reads broadly ("A tree conservation plan shall be submitted to the Department prior to any grading, bulldozing, or other removal of existing vegetation that may affect existing tree coverage") and contains no express exemption, while the single-family exemption sits one section over and is worded as covering "landscaping requirements." Against the broad reading, the division's stated purpose is conservation "in conjunction with the development of land," every content item keys to a development site, and the city lists no tree permit or tree plan application and charges no tree fee. Both readings are reported. A homeowner clearing a wooded lot before building should call Development Services at 816.969.1200.
— A Municode currency contradiction, reported both ways. The Code of Ordinances banner says "Codified through Ordinance No. 9645, enacted April 4, 2023 (Supp. No. 55)," but the Supplement History Table for the same supplement shows ordinances included through Ord. No. 10351 (March 24, 2026) and reviewed through Ord. No. 10403 (June 9, 2026). Either way, no section of Chapter 30 Article IV carries a history note later than December 2022.
— The name and direct number of the City Arborist. The code names the position as a Tree Board member, but no arborist page, name or phone appears anywhere on cityofls.net.
— Whether the Tree Board currently meets. It does not appear on the city's published Boards and Commissions page, which is consistent with it being an internal staff board but does not confirm activity.
— The Comprehensive Tree Plan and Public Tree Plan, both required by ordinance, and the recommended species list that Section 30-45.A says "shall be available to residents and property owners of the City upon request." None could be located online.
— Whether stump grinding in the right-of-way needs a right-of-way permit. That permit is framed around making "an excavation" in the public right-of-way, and neither the code nor the city page says whether grinding counts. Public Works decides.
— Jackson County rules. Lee's Summit is an incorporated charter city so county land-use rules would not normally apply inside the city limits, but that was not independently verified.

Sources

Who to contact in Lee's Summit

Development Services Department (private property, codes and licensing) and Public Works Department (right-of-way and city trees)

816.969.1200 (Development Services); 816.969.1800 (Public Works, and the number to call about the Tree Schedule); 816.969.7407 (after-hours emergency via Fire Dispatch); 816.969.1500 (Parks and Recreation, for park trees) devtech@cityofls.net; publicworks@cityofLS.net Official page

220 SE Green St., Lee's Summit, MO 64063

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Size threshold

What's protected in Lee's Summit

Public trees — "trees, shrubs and bushes planted and maintained by the City, as listed on the Tree Schedule kept in the Office of the Director of Public Works, or their designee, located on land within the right-of-way of City streets and on property owned by the City." Note that the definition turns on being on a list, not on where the tree stands.

Park trees — "trees, shrubs and bushes on land designated as City park property."

Other trees — "trees, shrubs and bushes that are not public trees or park trees, including trees and shrubs located in the right-of-way which are not public trees or park trees." These are the abutting owner's responsibility, not the city's.

Topping a city tree is banned outright with no permit path: "It shall be unlawful for any person to top any public tree or park tree."

Significant trees and trees of 10-inch caliper or larger on a development site — "Removal of significant trees and other trees ten-inch caliper or larger shall be permitted only in conjunction with an approved preliminary tree conservation plan, an approved grading plan, and actual grading of building pads (i.e., not simply to clear the lot)."

There is no landmark, heritage or champion tree program. The only preservation program in Lee's Summit is historic-structure preservation, and there is no protected-individual-tree registry.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee, because there is no tree permit. The adjacent fees on the current schedule are a land disturbance permit at $206.00 for one acre and less effective July 1, 2026 (up from $200.00 the prior year), a business license at $55.00 flat, and a contractor license at $35.00 per master certification. A right-of-way permit is "$100.00 per unit ... Additional Right-of-Way fees are $100.00 per street cut; $100.00 per street crossing."

Penalties

Chapter 30 routes to the general penalty: "the violation of any such provision of this Code or any ordinance shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both ... Each day any violation of this Code or of any ordinance continues shall constitute a separate offense." For municipal ordinance violations the amount is capped at "Two hundred dollars ($200.00) for the first violation, two hundred seventy-five dollars ($275.00) for the second violation, three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00) for the third violation, and four hundred fifty dollars ($450.00) for the fourth and any subsequent violations." Property maintenance violations run $50 for a first offense, $100 second, $300 third and $500 for the fourth and beyond. Development ordinance violations are "a fine of not less than $10.00 and not more than $250.00 for each and every day that such violation continues," rising to $100 to $500 per day on a repeat, plus "a civil penalty of $250.00" for ignoring a removal order for ten days.

Ordinance

Lee's Summit Code of Ordinances Chapter 30 (Vegetation), Article IV — Public Trees, Park Trees and Ground Cover, Sections 30-40 through 30-56, adopted in full by Ord. No. 9574 Section 2 on December 20, 2022. The same ordinance created the Tree Board at Chapter 2, Article V, Division 5. Articles I and II of Chapter 30 were repealed by Ord. No. 4934 in 2000 and remain reserved. The tree maintenance duty on private property sits in Chapter 16, which adopts the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code and adds Section 302.10 by Ord. No. 8583 (March 19, 2019), amended by Ord. Nos. 9533 and 9563 in late 2022. Development-side tree conservation is Unified Development Ordinance Section 8.740, last amended by Ord. No. 9782 Section 4 on November 14, 2023. No section of Chapter 30 Article IV carries a history note later than Ord. No. 9574, so the tree law has not been amended in 2024, 2025 or 2026. The Code of Ordinances is at Supplement No. 55 and the UDO is "Codified through Ordinance No. 10229, enacted October 21, 2025 (Supp. No. 15)."

Worth knowing

The single most useful call you can make is to Public Works at 816.969.1800 to ask whether the tree at your curb is on the Tree Schedule. If it is a public tree, the city prunes and removes it "in accordance with the most current ANSI A300 Tree Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance - Standard Practices." If it is an "other tree," Section 30-50.C puts it on you: "The owner of property or property adjacent to right-of-way when and where such other tree is located in right-of-way shall be responsible for other tree care, including but not limited to planting, pruning, maintenance, and removal as may be necessary to ensure public safety." The city says the right-of-way is generally 10 to 15 feet behind the edge of the street or curb.
You have an enforceable duty to deal with a failing tree. The adopted property maintenance code, Section 302.10, says "Dead, dying or diseased trees, or portions thereof, shall be treated, pruned or removed so as not to pose a threat to adjoining private or public property." Separately, Section 30-51 gives the Director of Development Services "the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased trees or shrubs on private property within the City, when such trees or shrubs constitute a hazard to life or property, or harbor insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees."
If the city does the work, it bills you, but the tree chapter does not create a lien. Section 30-52.B: "In the event of failure to comply with such notice, the City shall have the right and authority to prune, maintain and/or remove such trees or shrubs and charge the cost of removal to the person occupying, in charge or control of or owning the property." The special tax bill mechanism in Lee's Summit lives in the dangerous buildings and stormwater codes, not in Chapter 30.
In an emergency the city can skip notice entirely. Section 30-53: "whenever, in the opinion of the Director of Public Works or their designee, there is an emergency or other condition which poses an imminent danger to life and/or property due to a tree or shrub, the Director ... shall order any necessary work to be done to abate the dangerous condition whether or not any notice or other procedure described herein has been instituted."
You have real appeal rights, which is unusual for a tree provision. Section 30-55 lets an aggrieved person file written notice of appeal with the City Manager within ten days; a Hearing Officer is appointed within thirty days; "The hearing shall be conducted by the Hearing Officer as a contested case under the provisions of RSMo. Ch. 536, and the City Manager shall issue a final decision within ten (10) days of the hearing date."
Lee's Summit has no tree trimmer or arborist license. Contractor licensing defines a contractor as one who undertakes "to construct, alter, repair, or demolish any structure" and authorizes only four classes: general, building, residential, and mechanical/electrical/plumbing. There is no tree, arborist, landscape or line clearance class anywhere in the code. A tree service does need a general business license, since "It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any business or manufacturing within the City without first having obtained a license therefor," and tree services are not on the exempt-professions list.
The insurance number to ask for is $300,000. Section 7-130.3: "All contractors shall maintain general liability coverage in an amount not less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00). In addition, every such contractor shall procure and maintain workers compensation insurance as required by law ... a current copy of the Certificate of Insurance naming the City of Lee's Summit, Missouri as a certificate holder." Since the city only holds insurance on file for contractor licensees, ask the tree service for both the Lee's Summit business license and that certificate.
Nothing makes it unlawful for a homeowner to hire an unlicensed tree service. The duty runs to the business: "It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the construction contracting business without first obtaining a business license." No aiding-and-abetting or customer-liability provision appears anywhere in the relevant chapters.
Do not obstruct the sidewalk. Section 30-47: "No person occupying, in charge or control of or owning any property in the City shall permit the trees or shrubs on such property, or other tree, to hang over so as to obstruct or interfere with the safe and accessible use of sidewalks, streets and alleys." Planting setbacks are ten feet from a fire hydrant or storm box, two feet from any curb or sidewalk, ten feet from overhead utility wire and five lateral feet from underground utilities.
It is a separate offense to get in the crew's way. Section 30-54 makes it unlawful "to prevent, delay or interfere with the Director of Public Works, the Administrator of Parks and Recreation, the Director of Development Services, their designees, or any employees, contractors, or agents, while engaging in and about the planting, cultivating, mulching, pruning, spraying or removing of any public tree, park tree, or other tree, trees and shrubs on private property."
The Tree Board is a staff board, not a citizen board, and it has no permit power. Its five members are appointed by the City Manager and "should include the Manager of Public Works Operations, the City Engineer, an Assistant City Manager, the Manager of Codes, and the City Arborist," and its jurisdiction is public and park trees. It exists partly so the city can hold Tree City USA designation.
Missouri law punishes cutting a tree that is not yours. RSMo 537.340 awards treble damages for cutting down, injuring or destroying "any tree placed or growing for use, shade or ornament" on another person's land, and the claimant "need not prove negligence or intent."

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 Tree Schedule that decides whether your curb-strip tree is the city's problem or yours is "kept in the Office of the Director of Public Works" and is not published online. This is the single most consequential unknown for a Lee's Summit homeowner with a street tree. Call 816.969.1800.
— Whether the development code's tree conservation plan requirement reaches a single-family homeowner. Section 8.740.A reads broadly ("A tree conservation plan shall be submitted to the Department prior to any grading, bulldozing, or other removal of existing vegetation that may affect existing tree coverage") and contains no express exemption, while the single-family exemption sits one section over and is worded as covering "landscaping requirements." Against the broad reading, the division's stated purpose is conservation "in conjunction with the development of land," every content item keys to a development site, and the city lists no tree permit or tree plan application and charges no tree fee. Both readings are reported. A homeowner clearing a wooded lot before building should call Development Services at 816.969.1200.
— A Municode currency contradiction, reported both ways. The Code of Ordinances banner says "Codified through Ordinance No. 9645, enacted April 4, 2023 (Supp. No. 55)," but the Supplement History Table for the same supplement shows ordinances included through Ord. No. 10351 (March 24, 2026) and reviewed through Ord. No. 10403 (June 9, 2026). Either way, no section of Chapter 30 Article IV carries a history note later than December 2022.
— The name and direct number of the City Arborist. The code names the position as a Tree Board member, but no arborist page, name or phone appears anywhere on cityofls.net.
— Whether the Tree Board currently meets. It does not appear on the city's published Boards and Commissions page, which is consistent with it being an internal staff board but does not confirm activity.
— The Comprehensive Tree Plan and Public Tree Plan, both required by ordinance, and the recommended species list that Section 30-45.A says "shall be available to residents and property owners of the City upon request." None could be located online.
— Whether stump grinding in the right-of-way needs a right-of-way permit. That permit is framed around making "an excavation" in the public right-of-way, and neither the code nor the city page says whether grinding counts. Public Works decides.
— Jackson County rules. Lee's Summit is an incorporated charter city so county land-use rules would not normally apply inside the city limits, but that was not independently verified.