Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Norfolk's tree ordinance requires a permit from the director before anyone removes, prunes, root-prunes or otherwise disturbs a tree on city-owned property — and, the part that catches homeowners, the same requirement applies on private land inside the Resource Protection Area or an Intensely Developed Area of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Overlay District. A tree on ordinary private property away from the water is not covered.
Size threshold
Inside the Chesapeake Bay buffer, City Code § 45-15(1): "Trees in excess of three (3) inches in diameter at breast height (four and one-half (4.5) feet above the ground) shall not be pruned or removed except as necessary to provide minimal sight lines and vistas, and provided that where removed they will be replaced with other vegetation that in the discretion of the director is equally effective in retarding runoff, preventing erosion and filtering nonpoint source pollution from runoff."
What's protected in Norfolk
- Any tree, shrub or other vegetation on city-owned property — live, diseased, declining or dead (§ 45-13(a))
- Any tree, shrub or vegetation in the Resource Protection Area or Intensely Developed Areas of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Overlay District, including on private property (§ 45-13(b))
How to apply in Norfolk
- 1
Fill out the city's Tree Permit Application, naming the species and size of the tree, the address or project name, and checking every box that applies (prune, remove, excavate within the dripline, root prune, store equipment within the dripline).
- 2
State the purpose for which the permit is requested.
- 3
Sign it. Norfolk accepts only a signed original — "No faxed forms or photocopies accepted."
- 4
Return it to the Bureau of Parks & Urban Forestry, 2839 Dana Street, Norfolk, VA 23509. Questions to treepermits@norfolk.gov.
- 5
The director must act within ten working days of receiving a complete application (§ 45-17(a)).
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Penalties
- Violating Chapter 45 or a permit condition is, on conviction, a Class 1 misdemeanor "for each day such violation shall occur or continue." The director may also require trees removed or damaged beyond recovery to be replaced or mitigated (§ 45-13(d)), require a bond up front (§ 45-17(c)), and revoke a permit and restore the site at the applicant's expense (§ 45-19).
- Ordinance
- Norfolk City Code Chapter 45, Article II — the Norfolk Tree Ordinance
Worth knowing
- Work approved in the Chesapeake Bay overlay on city-owned property must be done by a VNLA certified horticulturist, an ISA Certified Arborist, or an ISA Certified Tree Worker (§ 45-15(4)).
- Narrow exemptions exist for emergency utility restoration and for residents pruning crape myrtle sucker growth under one inch or watering right-of-way plantings (§ 45-16).
- A denial can be appealed to the city manager within ten days (§ 45-18).
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 permit fee, if any.
- — Whether Norfolk requires any permit to remove a tree on private property outside the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Overlay District.