Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
For an ordinary Martinsburg lot the answer is no permit. The Shade Tree Commission, in the city's own words, "holds full power and authority over all trees, plants and shrubs located within street rights-of-way, parks and public places of the City" - public land, not your back yard - and the codified ordinances contain no trees article at all. The exception is real and it is about water, not slope. Zoning Ordinance Section 5.12 says "All lands within a Riparian Buffer shall be left in an undisturbed, vegetated condition, except that removal of dead trees or trees of immediate threat to human safety, as well as reasonable pruning of existing trees, is permitted." If a stream runs through your property, healthy trees in that buffer may not be taken out at all.
Size threshold
None. Neither the codified ordinances nor the Zoning Ordinance sets any diameter, caliper or height trigger for tree removal. The riparian buffer rule turns on where the tree stands and whether it is dead or dangerous, not on how big it is.
What's protected in Martinsburg
- Every healthy tree inside a Riparian Buffer, which is closer to a ban than a permit. The same rule appears twice, identically, at codified Section 1329.12(a)(1) and Zoning Ordinance Section 5.12(1): "All lands within a Riparian Buffer shall be left in an undisturbed, vegetated condition, except that removal of dead trees or trees of immediate threat to human safety, as well as reasonable pruning of existing trees, is permitted." Subsection (2) adds "The creation of new lawn areas within Riparian Buffers is not permitted." The buffer standard is not written out - it adopts by reference the United States Department of Agriculture's Chesapeake Bay Riparian Handbook: A Guide for Establishing and Maintaining Riparian Forest Buffers (Palone and Todd, USDA Forest Service, 1998).
- Trees in street rights-of-way, parks and public places, which belong to the Shade Tree Commission. The city describes the Commission as holding "full power and authority over all trees, plants and shrubs located within street rights-of-way, parks and public places of the City," with "the right to plant, prune, maintain and remove trees, plants and shrubs within the public right-of-way, Public Square, and other publicly owned grounds as may be necessary to ensure public safety or to preserve or enhance the symmetry and beauty of such public lands."
- Sensitive areas generally, for density purposes. Zoning Ordinance Section 5.02 deducts "Sensitive areas including: Type I, II, III and IV wetlands, Riparian Buffers, Flood Plain area, and Sinkholes" from the Net Buildable Land Area of a site. Martinsburg is karst country and sinkholes are named alongside wetlands.
How to apply in Martinsburg
- 1
For a tree on an ordinary lot away from any watercourse, there is nothing to file.
- 2
Before cutting anything near a stream, confirm with Planning, Zoning and Building at 304-264-2136 whether the tree is inside a Riparian Buffer. The buffer width is not stated in the ordinance - Section 5.12 adopts the USDA Chesapeake Bay Riparian Handbook by reference, so the city has to tell you where the line is.
- 3
If your project involves subdivision or land development, Subdivision and Land Use Ordinance Section 1.10(A)(1) requires a Land Disturbance Permit from the City Engineer/Planning Director, because "Development" is defined at Article 2 to include "Clearing of natural vegetative cover (with the exception of agricultural activities)." Section 1.10(A)(1)(c) exempts "Any activity for which approval of a Final Subdivision and/or Land Development Application is not required under this Ordinance," and also exempts "Any emergency activity which is immediately necessary for the protection of life, property or natural resources."
- 4
If the disturbance will exceed one acre or create or replace 5,000 square feet of impervious area, Section 1.10(A)(1)(a)(4) additionally requires an approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan.
- 5
For a tree in the street right-of-way, in a park or on the Public Square, the Shade Tree Commission has the authority. Route the request through Public Works at 304-264-2126.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No fee exists for tree removal because no tree removal permit exists. The Land Disturbance Permit under Subdivision and Land Use Ordinance Section 1.10(A)(1) carries "applicable fees" set by the City Engineer/Planning Director, but that permit does not reach an activity for which no final subdivision or land development approval is required.
- Penalties
- No tree-specific penalty was located. Zoning and subdivision violations are handled through the general enforcement provisions of each ordinance, which were not read in full for dollar figures. Ask Planning, Zoning and Building at 304-264-2136 before assuming there is no exposure - the riparian buffer rule is a zoning requirement and zoning violations in Martinsburg are enforceable.
- Ordinance
- Two documents, and the operative one is not the code. The Codified Ordinances of Martinsburg, West Virginia are hosted by American Legal Publishing; Part Nine - Streets, Utilities and Public Services Code contains Articles 905 (Excavations; Paving) and 909 (Street and Sidewalk Regulations) and no trees article, and Part Thirteen carries riparian buffers at Article 1329. The tree rule that binds a private lot is in the separate Zoning Ordinance of the City of Martinsburg, West Virginia, Section 5.12 (Riparian Buffers), published as a PDF by the Planning, Zoning and Building Department. The companion Subdivision and Land Use Ordinance was approved November 2022 and carries the Land Disturbance Permit at Section 1.10.
Worth knowing
- Martinsburg is the flattest city in this file and it shows in the code: there is no steep slope, hillside or landslide provision anywhere in the Zoning Ordinance. What Martinsburg regulates instead is water. It sits in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and in karst terrain, and its two environmental constraints are riparian buffers and sinkholes.
- The riparian buffer permits list is narrow and worth reading before you touch anything by a stream. Section 5.12(4) allows only hand pulling of named invasive species - "Eurasian milfoil, water chestnut, purple loosestrife and reed grass (Phragmites)" - buffer re-establishment using "soft" techniques such as tree revetments and root wads, and "Encroachments necessary to rectify a natural catastrophe for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare."
- Anything beyond that in a buffer is a Special Exception, which means the Board of Zoning Appeals and, per Section 5.12(5), the jurisdiction of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers as well.
- The Zoning Ordinance encourages, rather than requires, restoring buffers: "Property Owners already encroaching on the Riparian Buffer are encouraged to return mowed areas to their naturally vegetated state."
- Subdivision plans have to show the trees. Subdivision and Land Use Ordinance requirements include "important features such as existing permanent Buildings, large trees," "Riparian areas and tree lines," and "Forested areas and tree groves." Street tree planting is required at "A minimum of one (1) tree... along every fifty (50) feet of Street Frontage on both sides of Street" for new streets. None of that reaches an existing house.
- The Shade Tree Commission is not a busy body. It has nine members, meets "as needed," and the most recent agenda the city publishes is dated March 3, 2022.
- The Planning, Zoning and Building Department also staffs the Historic Preservation Review Commission, so if you are in a historic district that is the same phone number to ask.
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.
- — How wide a Riparian Buffer is in Martinsburg. Section 5.12 adopts the USDA Chesapeake Bay Riparian Handbook by reference rather than stating a distance, and this file will not invent one. Call Planning, Zoning and Building at 304-264-2136 with your address.
- — The ordinance number and adoption date creating the Shade Tree Commission. The Commission is described on the city website but the creating ordinance sits in Part One of the codified ordinances, which was not retrieved.
- — The ordinance number and date adopting Section 1329.12 and the rest of Article 1329.
- — The currency date of the Martinsburg codified ordinances on American Legal. The overview page was reached but the currency banner was not captured.
- — The adoption date of the Zoning Ordinance itself. The PDF the city publishes was last updated in the file name in 2023; the Subdivision and Land Use Ordinance is dated November 2022.
- — The penalty for removing a healthy tree from a riparian buffer. No figure was found.
- — Whether the Historic Preservation Review Commission's Certificate of Appropriateness reaches tree removal. The word "tree" does not appear in the Zoning Ordinance's historic provisions, and no separate design guidelines were read.
- — Whether a tree service needs a Martinsburg business license.
Sources
- City of Martinsburg - Shade Tree Commission (scope of authority)
- City of Martinsburg Zoning Ordinance (PDF) - Sec. 5.12 Riparian Buffers
- Martinsburg Codified Ordinances Sec. 1329.12 - Riparian buffers (American Legal)
- City of Martinsburg Subdivision and Land Use Ordinance, approved November 2022 (PDF) - Sec. 1.10 Land Disturbance Permit
- Codified Ordinances of Martinsburg, WV (American Legal)
- City of Martinsburg - Public Works
- City of Martinsburg - Planning, Zoning and Building Department
- City of Martinsburg - Zoning Information (document links)