Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Manchester used to have a tree chapter and repealed it. Chapter 50 of Title V, Public Works, now reads "[RESERVED]" with the note "(Previous chapter repealed on 4-16-02)," and the chapter that would otherwise carry street tree rules - Chapter 97, Streets and Sidewalks - runs from Section 97.00 to Section 97.99 without a single tree section. There is no tree removal permit in the Manchester Code of Ordinances at any diameter, for a private tree or a street tree. What can still catch you is state law rather than city law: the NHDES shoreland rules under RSA 483-B on land within 250 feet of the Merrimack River, and a Notice of Intent to Cut under RSA 79:10 if you are clearing rather than removing one tree.
Size threshold
None. The Manchester Code of Ordinances sets no diameter, circumference or canopy threshold for tree removal anywhere. If your lot is inside the RSA 483-B protected shoreland, the state thresholds in the waterfront buffer point score apply instead, measured as diameter at 4 1/2 feet above the ground.
What's protected in Manchester
- Trees within 250 feet of the reference line of the Merrimack River, under the state Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act, RSA 483-B. This is administered by NHDES, not by the City. Manchester has not adopted a local shoreland overlay that we could find in the codified ordinances.
- Trees in a City park. Chapter 96 (Parks and Recreation) sets a park operating policy at Section 96.04 and rules of behavior at Section 96.06. We did not confirm the exact text of those sections, so treat park trees as regulated and ask Parks first.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Penalties
- No tree-specific penalty exists in the Manchester code. State penalties still apply: RSA 231:156 makes a violation of the public shade tree subdivision a violation for a natural person and a misdemeanor for any other person, "liable for all damage occasioned thereby," and RSA 79:10, I(g) makes starting a cutting operation before a Notice of Intent to Cut is filed and signed a violation.
- Ordinance
- Manchester, New Hampshire Code of Ordinances, hosted by American Legal Publishing. Title V (Public Works) Chapter 50 is "[RESERVED]" and carries the note "(Previous chapter repealed on 4-16-02)." Title IX (General Regulations) Chapter 97, Streets and Sidewalks, contains Sections 97.00-97.06, 97.15-97.20, 97.30-97.43, 97.55-97.57 and 97.99, none of which concerns trees; its only statutory reference is "Authority of city to regulate all streets and public ways, see R.S.A. 47:17 (VII)." Title XV Chapter 155, Zoning Code, consists of only Section 155.01 "Continued in effect" and Section 155.02 "Notice of hearing on rezoning amendments," which means the operative Manchester Zoning Ordinance is a separate document maintained outside the code.
Worth knowing
- The repeal is the story here. Manchester once codified something in Chapter 50 of the Public Works title and took it out on April 16, 2002. Whatever the city does about trees today, it does administratively rather than by ordinance.
- Manchester will pay half the cost of planting a tree at your house. The Green Streets program offsets "50% of the cost - up to $800 total per property" for trees professionally planted by the City contractor, capped at two trees per property in any 12 months and 25 to 30 trees a year citywide.
- Green Streets planting locations are all in or near the right-of-way: the tree "must be visible from the street," "on the street-facing side of the property," "in planting areas between the curb and sidewalk of at least 4 feet" or "in tree wells no smaller than 4 feet by 6 feet." That is a good clue about which strip the City considers its own.
- Once a Green Streets tree is planted it is yours to maintain. The city states that "Property owners are responsible for the ongoing maintenance and care of trees" and "does not guarantee the life span of the tree(s) planted."
- Manchester licenses no tree services. There is no arborist, forestry or tree trimmer license anywhere in Title XI, Business Regulations.
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 Manchester Zoning Ordinance itself. Code Chapter 155 only says the zoning ordinance is "continued in effect," and the operative document is maintained separately by the Planning and Community Development Department; we could not retrieve it. If Manchester has a wetland, steep slope or conservation overlay that limits clearing, it would be in that document, not in the code. Call Planning and Community Development before clearing near a wetland or a steep slope.
- — The exact text of Chapter 96 (Parks and Recreation) Sections 96.04 through 96.06. The section headings are confirmed; the text is not.
- — Whether Manchester has an appointed tree warden under RSA 231:139. Nothing in the code creates the office and the city publishes no tree warden contact.
- — Whether the Highway Division charges anything for work in the right-of-way that touches a street tree. Chapter 97 has an excavation and obstruction permit at Section 97.30 but no tree fee.
- — A direct phone number for the Green Streets program or for a City arborist. The city publishes only an email address for the program.
Sources
- Manchester, NH Code of Ordinances - Title V: Public Works (Chapter 50 [RESERVED])
- Manchester, NH Code of Ordinances - Chapter 97: Streets and Sidewalks
- Manchester, NH Code of Ordinances - Chapter 155: Zoning Code
- City of Manchester - Streets and Sidewalks (Highway Division)
- City of Manchester - Green Streets tree planting program
- NH RSA 231:139 Tree Wardens
- NH RSA 483-B:9 Minimum Shoreland Protection Standards