Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Nashua has no citywide tree removal permit and no diameter threshold for an ordinary yard tree. It does have the strictest private-tree rule of any city in this file, and it is hidden in the wetlands article of the Land Use chapter: cut a tree inside a wetland buffer and Section 190-117 makes you replace it inch for inch, post a bond worth three times the replacement value, and hire a landscape architect to draw the plan. Buffers in Nashua run 75 feet from a primary wetland - which by resolution includes the Merrimack River, the Nashua River, Salmon Brook, Pennichuck Brook and their wetlands - and 40 feet from a critical wetland. Check where your wetland line is before you cut.
Size threshold
None citywide. Inside a wetland buffer the definitions in Section 190-117B govern and they reach small trees: "TREE - Any living, self-supporting woody perennial plant at maturity, which attains a trunk diameter of at least three inches or more when measured at a point 4 1/2 feet above ground level and which normally attains an overall height of at least 15 feet." DBH is defined at the same section as "the measurement of a tree's trunk diameter in inches at breast height 4 1/2 feet above ground level," with a multi-trunk rule summing the individual trunks - and, notably, a rule for when you already cut it: "If the DBH is not determinable because cut trees have been removed from the site, DBH shall be determined from the 'DBH in Relation to Stump Diameter' tables found in the Forestry Handbook, 2nd ed., 1984, by the Society of American Foresters."
What's protected in Nashua
- Trees inside a wetland buffer. Section 190-117A: "A tree that has been substantially damaged or unlawfully removed from a wetland buffer that is protected by City ordinances must be replaced with its equivalent replacement in trees. Replacement trees shall be a type of species having shade potential and other positive values at least equal to that of the tree that was removed and shall be a minimum of six feet in height when planted."
- Primary wetlands and their 75-foot buffer. Table 112-1 of Section 190-112 sets the buffer at 75 feet and identifies primary wetlands by Resolution R-90-84, listing the Merrimack River and its wetlands, the Nashua River and its wetlands, Salmon Brook and its wetlands, Pennichuck Brook, Bowers Pond, Harris Pond, Holts Pond, Pennichuck Pond, Supply Pond and their wetlands, Lovewell's Pond, Horse Pond, the Old Ridge Road wetland, the Nashua Canal and Nashua Cove.
- Critical wetlands and their 40-foot buffer, which Table 112-1 extends to "any perennial streams that are tributaries to prime wetlands."
How to apply in Nashua
- 1
These steps are what happens after an unlawful cut, not a pre-approval process - Nashua does not issue tree permits. Before you cut anywhere near wet ground, call Planning at 603-589-3040 and ask whether your tree is inside a mapped wetland buffer.
- 2
If work is proposed in a wetland or its buffer, Section 190-115A(1) requires review by the Conservation Commission and "A wetlands-related special exception is required prior to and in addition to other relevant approvals." That special exception comes from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
- 3
If a tree has already been removed unlawfully, Section 190-117D gives you 30 days from the written notice of violation to replace it, extendable by the Administrative Officer only so planting falls inside the season the ordinance names, "April-June and September-November."
- 4
Section 190-117F: have a professional landscape architect prepare a landscape (tree replacement) plan and get it approved by the Administrative Officer, who consults the Conservation Commission.
- 5
Replace on an equivalent-diameter basis. Section 190-117B defines EQUIVALENT REPLACEMENT as "one tree the same diameter or a combination of smaller trees that will equal that removed tree's DBH."
- 6
Post the financial security at three times the fair market value of the replacement trees; the City holds it for one year.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No fee is set for tree removal because there is no tree permit. What Section 190-117E requires instead is money held by the City: "A financial security shall be held by the City of Nashua for one year to ensure tree replacement in the event that tree replacement results in the death of any replacement trees. The security amount shall be assessed at three times the fair market value of the required replacement tree(s)."
- Penalties
- Section 190-117H: "The removal of each tree in a buffer zone shall constitute a separate zoning violation, punishable in a court of competent jurisdiction per RSA Chapter 676." Each tree is counted separately.
- Ordinance
- Nashua Revised Ordinances Chapter 190 (Land Use), Part 2, Article XI (Wetlands), Sections 190-111 through 190-117. Section 190-111C was added 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-53. Table 112-1 in Section 190-112 was amended 12-13-2023 by Ord. No. O-23-059. Code includes legislation through 02-10-2026.
Worth knowing
- The exemption is narrow and discretionary. Section 190-117G: "During emergency conditions caused by a hurricane or other disaster, or to protect public safety, the Administrative Officer may suspend provisions of this section." That is a suspension the City grants, not a right you exercise.
- Replacement species are prescribed. Section 190-117B requires native trees "as defined in Trees and Shrubs in New Hampshire, A Guidebook for Natural Beauty Projects, by Cooperative Extension Service, University of New Hampshire," and "Replacement species shall not include those species that are not recommended in the guidebook."
- A wetland line is not something you can eyeball. Section 190-111B requires that "The location of a wetland boundary in any particular case must be determined by a certified wetlands scientist, licensed by the State of New Hampshire, through an on-site inspection."
- There is a second trigger 100 feet out. Section 190-115C makes "Any use or activity proposed within 100 feet of a wetland" reviewable by the Administrative Officer against six performance standards.
- A shoreland exemption can switch the rules off. Section 190-111C: "All areas granted a shoreland exemption pursuant to RSA 483-B:12 from the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act, RSA 483-B, shall not be designated as a prime wetland pursuant to RSA 482-A:15 or Article XI, Wetlands."
- Nashua licenses no tree services.
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 Nashua treats a tree in the tree belt or strip in front of your house as a City tree. Nothing in the Streets and Sidewalks chapter answers it and we found no street tree ordinance. Ask Public Works before pruning one.
- — Whether Nashua has an appointed tree warden under RSA 231:139. The code does not create the office.
- — Whether the Administrative Officer publishes any written guidance or a form for the Section 190-117F landscape plan.
- — The direct phone number for the Nashua Conservation Commission. Only the Planning Department main line is published.
- — Whether any part of Nashua falls inside the RSA 483-B protected shoreland after the Section 190-111C exemptions. Both the Merrimack and the Nashua are large rivers; ask NHDES.
Sources
- Nashua Revised Ordinances Sec. 190-117 - Trees unlawfully cut or damaged within a wetland buffer
- Nashua Revised Ordinances Sec. 190-112 - Wetlands buffer (Table 112-1)
- Nashua Revised Ordinances Sec. 190-115 - Wetlands standards
- Nashua Revised Ordinances Sec. 190-111 - Generally (wetland definition, shoreland exemption)
- City of Nashua - Department Directory (phone numbers)
- NH RSA 483-B:9 Minimum Shoreland Protection Standards