Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
In New Rochelle it comes down to your lot. On an improved lot smaller than one acre — most city house lots — removing a tree is permitted by right. On a lot of one acre or more, removing any regulated tree needs a Tree Removal Permit from the Bureau of Buildings, and "regulated" starts at eight inches DBH. Trees under eight inches are not covered at all, and emergency removals to protect life or property are permitted by right.
Size threshold
§ 301-20: "TREE — Any living, woody plant which has a DBH of eight inches or more." "SPECIMEN TREE — Any tree with a DBH of 24 inches or greater." DBH is measured at 4 1/2 feet above ground level on the uphill side. § 301-25C makes removal of trees with a DBH of less than eight inches permitted by right.
What's protected in New Rochelle
- Any tree of eight inches DBH or more on a lot comprised of one acre or more
- Any specimen tree (24 inches DBH or greater) on an unimproved lot of less than one acre
- More than three trees removed in any twelve-month period from an unimproved lot of less than one acre
- Any tree on a lot while it is subject to site plan or subdivision review by the Planning Board
- Trees of a species on the New York State list of endangered trees or trees of special concern — grounds for denial or conditions
How to apply in New Rochelle
- 1
Check § 301-25 first — these are permitted by right: removal of any tree on an improved lot of less than one acre; removal of any tree under an actual or ongoing emergency to protect life or property; removal of trees with a DBH of less than eight inches; and removal of two or fewer trees within twelve months on an unimproved lot of less than one acre.
- 2
If you do need a permit, apply to the New Rochelle Bureau of Buildings on its forms. The application is made by the owner, or by a person, firm or corporation authorized to do the work on the owner's behalf.
- 3
Pay the per-tree fee set in Chapter 133, Fees.
- 4
Notify every abutting property owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 15 days before the Building Official may decide. All post office receipts must be returned to the Building Official before a decision is rendered.
- 5
If the tree is dangerous or diseased, a Department of Public Works Tree Inspector must inspect and concur — and no fee is charged in that case.
- 6
Plan for replacement. A replacement tree is required for every tree removed: minimum two-inch caliper, aggregate DBH at planting equal to the total DBH removed, same species where that species is on the Commissioner of Public Works' official list. Where on-site replanting is technically impractical or impossible, a fee-in-lieu is paid to the City Tree Fund. Planting or payment must be satisfied within one year of approval.
- 7
If your lot is already in Planning Board site plan or subdivision review, no separate tree removal permit application is needed — the landscape plan and schedule filed with that application covers it.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- § 301-22A: "The permit fee for each tree to be removed shall be as set forth in Chapter 133, Fees, of the Code of the City of New Rochelle." No fee is charged for removing a tree a Department of Public Works Tree Inspector determines to be dangerous, or diseased and a threat to other trees. A fee is charged where the tree is removed because it substantially interferes with proposed construction or development.
- Penalties
- § 301-32: a violation under the Penal Law of the State of New York, punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or both. Each tree removed, cut down or destroyed in violation, and each day the violation continues, is a separate violation. The violator must also replace each tree in kind or pay the fee in lieu, and no building permit or certificate of occupancy will be issued for any new construction on the property until the article has been satisfied.
- Ordinance
- Code of the City of New Rochelle, Chapter 301 — Trees and Shrubs, Article III: Removal of Trees on Private Property (§§ 301-19 through 301-33), adopted 4-21-1998 and amended in its entirety 4-20-2004 by L.L. No. 2-2004
Worth knowing
- Replacement plantings must go in between September 1 and May 15, with at least nine square feet of pervious soil per inch of DBH and at least 20 feet of horizontal spacing between trunks.
- No permit is valid for more than one year after approval unless the approving authority says otherwise.
- The Building Official enforces the article and may issue a stop-work order suspending or revoking a permit.
- The City Council amended § 301-24(C) on 2026-03-17 by Ord. No. 2026-31, but the change concerns unspent City Tree Fund money returning to the Fund — it does not change who needs a permit or the size thresholds.
- The city's Bureau of Forestry, which handles city-owned trees, is a separate office at (914) 235-3549; Public Works is (914) 654-2130.
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 dollar amounts of the per-tree permit fee and the fee-in-lieu, which live in Chapter 133, Fees, of the New Rochelle City Code. Call the Bureau of Buildings for the current figures.