Tree Removal Permits in O'Fallon, MO

Verified against O'Fallon city sources · last checked 2026-08-06

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

O'Fallon writes the homeowner exemption into the first line of its tree preservation article, and it is one of the cleanest in Missouri: the article "shall apply to all real property (including all agricultural, commercial, industrial, office, multi-family and residential property) located within the City of O'Fallon, with the following exemption: It shall not apply to any parcel of land used exclusively for a single-family or two-family dwelling." Beyond that exemption, Chapter 402 does not contain any section requiring a permit to remove a tree at all, and the city's own Do I Need a Permit list has no tree entry. The city says it plainly: "Residents and businesses are responsible for tree removal on their property including trees between the sidewalk and the street." Note that last part, which is unusual: in O'Fallon the strip between your sidewalk and the curb is your responsibility, not the city's. Do not confuse this with O'Fallon, Illinois.

Size threshold

None. No DBH, caliper or trunk size figure triggers a removal permit anywhere in the O'Fallon code. The two size definitions that exist are used for development-stage preservation math: a tree is "A perennial woody plant typically having one (1), but possibly multiple main trunks reaching a mature height greater than fifteen (15) feet and a mature trunk of at least eight (8) inches in diameter at one (1) foot above the ground," and caliper is "A measurement of the tree trunk diameter measured at twelve (12) inches above ground level."

What's protected in O'Fallon

Trees on any parcel that is not a single-family or two-family dwelling, where the rule is a prohibition rather than a permit — "Prior To Development. The destruction of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the trees on any one parcel shall be prohibited."
Trees on a site under development — "Once a site plan or preliminary plat approval has been requested, a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of the existing trees or fifteen (15) trees per acre of the entire development (whichever is greater) shall be retained." Replacements must be "minimum mature trunk caliper four (4) inches and a height of eight (8) feet" and maintained "for a period of at least eighteen (18) months from the date planted."
Trees in city parks — no person shall "Damage or remove any rock, stone, tree, shrub or plant, down timber or other wood or materials ... except on special written permit as provided for in this Chapter."
Trees in the right-of-way, as against utility and right-of-way contractors — "Unless otherwise approved in writing by the City, a ROW user shall not remove, cut or damage any trees or their roots within the ROW," and "Nothing in this Subsection shall authorize the trimming of trees on private property without permission of the property owner."
No landmark, heritage or specimen tree program exists. The word landmark in the O'Fallon code refers only to historic buildings and structures designated by Council ordinance, and no tree has ever been designated.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No tree removal permit fee exists because no tree removal permit exists. The only adjacent fee is on land development, not homeowners: "Grading permit (including stockpiling, clearing, etc.) — 2% of the estimated cost of improvements reviewed by the Planning and Engineering Department, less $200.00 submittal fee ($200.00 minimum)."
Penalties: Section 402.280: "The City will typically give a ten-day written notice of a violation ... If, after the proper notice, no action has been taken, the City ... may plant, maintain and remove all vegetation as may be necessary to ensure public safety. The City will then invoice the property owner in question and if the invoice is not paid within the required time frame, a lien will be placed on the property. It shall be a violation of this Section for any person to interfere with the City's planting, pruning, maintenance or removal of trees, and a violator shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each occurrence and, in addition thereto, shall be required to replace the trees required by the Chapter." The general penalty is "a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment not to exceed three (3) months, or by both," but nuisance and zoning violations are capped at $200 for the first, $275 for the second and $350 for the third within twelve months. Clearing or grading in violation draws "a fine in an amount of a minimum of two hundred dollars ($200.00) and not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) per charge and/or imprisonment for a period of time not to exceed ninety (90) days per charge."
Ordinance: O'Fallon Municipal Code Title IV (Land Use), Chapter 402 — Trees and Landscaping, Sections 402.010 through 402.280, enacted in full by Ord. No. 5752 Section 1 on December 8, 2011, which repealed and consolidated the former Tree Advisory Board chapter, the old Preservation of Trees chapter and the zoning landscaping article. The only amendment since is Ord. No. 5831 Sections 9 and 10 (December 13, 2012), which touched the landscape plan requirements and the species list. There are no 2024, 2025 or 2026 amendments to Chapter 402. The grading and clearing plan process at Section 405.070 was amended more recently, by Ord. No. 7056 (October 26, 2023) and Ord. No. 7138 (September 26, 2024). The code was recodified by Ord. No. 6908 (May 26, 2022) and the published version "Includes legislation through 05-14-2026," with pending new laws through July 23, 2026 that do not affect trees.

Worth knowing

The right-of-way tree in front of your house is yours to deal with. Section 402.210(F): "Maintenance of trees on private property is the responsibility of the property owner. Maintenance of trees located within City right-of-way adjacent to an individual lot, either residential or commercial, is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner." The city maintains right-of-way trees on only eight named road segments, listed in Section 402.210(G).
The real gotcha is replanting, not removing. Section 402.080(C): "Prior to the adoption of this Article, City codes had allowed trees on lots to be placed within the City right-of-way, specifically between the sidewalk and back of curb. It has been observed that this has caused damage to City and private infrastructure as well as sight-distance issues, safety issues and property damage. Unless otherwise provided by this Code, trees will no longer be located within fifteen (15) feet from back of curb." Removal is free; putting a new tree back in the same spot is prohibited. Also keep 25 feet from a street light, 25 feet from traffic control or street signs, and 10 feet from stormwater inlets or manholes.
A dead or dying tree is a code-enforceable nuisance. Section 220.020(A)(11) lists "Dead or dying trees" as a nuisance affecting public health, and Code Enforcement actively enforces it. After written notice and a hearing you get twenty days to abate, and if you do not, "the appropriate City Official shall proceed to abate the nuisance ... and the cost of same shall be assessed as a special tax against the property so improved ... and shall be a lien against said property," with the lien recorded at the St. Charles County Recorder of Deeds. Appeals go to the City Administrator within seven days, then to the Circuit Court of St. Charles County. Imminent dangers can be abated without notice.
O'Fallon does not license tree services or arborists. The only trades the city requires to be licensed are mechanical, electrical, plumbing and drainlaying, and even those are licensed by St. Charles County or the state rather than the city. Nothing makes it unlawful to hire an unlicensed tree service. What does apply is the general business license: "All merchants doing business within the City of O'Fallon shall be required to purchase and keep on display at their usual place of business a City of O'Fallon business license," at $50 per year for up to 5,000 square feet plus 3 cents per additional square foot, capped at $1,000 per year per location.
The one insurance hook has no number attached. Section 402.230 says only that "The City may require a person seeking an application under this Section to demonstrate that it is insured under an insurance policy in an amount sufficient to cover potential damage." No dollar minimum appears anywhere in the code.
Storms suspend the chapter. Section 402.070: "In the case of emergencies, such as wind storms, ice storms, or other disasters, the requirements of this Chapter may be waived during the emergency period so as not to hamper private or public work to restore order in the City."
The required tree board is city staff, not citizens. Section 402.260(B): "The Landscape Manager and Landscape Division staff shall assume all the responsibilities and duties of the Tree Advisory Committee ... and each member of the Landscape Division shall be a member of the Tree Advisory Committee." The predecessor citizen board was created in 2003 for the express purpose of qualifying for Tree City USA.
A drafting gap worth knowing: Sections 402.220 and 402.230 both refer to "a permit" for work on a City tree, but no section of the code actually establishes such a permit. The gap exists in the 2011 ordinance as adopted, not just in codification, so in practice there is no city-tree work permit to apply for.
One city form is stale. The Engineering Grading Permit Application still tells applicants to "Provide for the requirements of the City's Tree Preservation Ordinance (Chapter 230)." Chapter 230 was repealed in 2011 and replaced by Chapter 402.
For many O'Fallon homeowners the binding constraint is not the city at all but subdivision covenants. The city's own emerald ash borer page directs residents to their homeowners associations and subdivision trustees on ash removal, and those covenants are private documents outside the code.
Missouri law punishes cutting a tree that is not yours. RSMo 537.340 awards treble damages for cutting down, injuring or destroying "any tree placed or growing for use, shade or ornament" on another person's land, and the claimant "need not prove negligence or intent."

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.

— One facially broad sentence could not be fully resolved. Section 405.070(G)(1) reads "A clearing permit is required for any lots." Every contextual signal says it is a developer requirement: it sits inside the Grading Or Clearing Plan Process within the subdivision and land development chapter, subsection (B) conditions the whole process on the owner having "first obtained approval of the applicable site plan, preliminary plat or area plan ... for a proposed land development project," and the city grading application sets the trigger at altering grade by fifty cubic yards or more. But subsection (G)(2) describes clearing as "chainsaw tree only and let it drop" with no root disturbance, which is exactly what a homeowner does. No city statement resolves whether Engineering would demand a clearing permit from a homeowner felling trees on an already-built lot. If you are clearing multiple trees or an undeveloped lot, call Engineering at 636-379-7630.
— The live permit-type list in the city's online portal. The portal is JavaScript-rendered and returned no readable permit menu, so the absence of a tree permit is confirmed from the code and the published Do I Need a Permit list but not from the portal dropdown.
— An insurance minimum for tree contractors. Section 402.230 states only "an amount sufficient," with no published dollar figure in the code or on the city site.
— Whether an out-of-city tree service with no O'Fallon premises must buy a business license. The definition of merchant is broad ("doing business within the City"), but the operative command is to "keep on display at their usual place of business" a license, which is location-oriented. The professional exemptions do not list tree services or landscapers. Direct contractors to Finance at 636-379-5522.
— Tree City USA current-year recertification. It is confirmed as a city program from the city's own Landscaping page and from the 2003 ordinance's stated purpose, but the current recertification year was not verified.
— St. Charles County rules for unincorporated areas, and the rules of neighboring St. Peters and the City of St. Charles, which are separate jurisdictions.

Sources

Who to contact in O'Fallon

Landscape Division, O'Fallon Parks and Recreation (city trees and Tree City USA; David James, Landscape Superintendent), with Building and Code Enforcement handling dead-tree nuisance complaints

636-474-2732 (Parks and Recreation); 314-568-3037 (Landscape Superintendent, as published); 636-379-5691 (Code Enforcement Supervisor); 636-379-5435 (Code Enforcement complaint intake); 636-379-7630 (Engineering permits); 636-240-2000 (City Hall) djames@ofallonmo.gov; engineering@ofallonmo.gov Official page

100 North Main Street, O'Fallon, MO 63366

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Size threshold

What's protected in O'Fallon

Trees on any parcel that is not a single-family or two-family dwelling, where the rule is a prohibition rather than a permit — "Prior To Development. The destruction of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the trees on any one parcel shall be prohibited."

Trees on a site under development — "Once a site plan or preliminary plat approval has been requested, a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of the existing trees or fifteen (15) trees per acre of the entire development (whichever is greater) shall be retained." Replacements must be "minimum mature trunk caliper four (4) inches and a height of eight (8) feet" and maintained "for a period of at least eighteen (18) months from the date planted."

Trees in city parks — no person shall "Damage or remove any rock, stone, tree, shrub or plant, down timber or other wood or materials ... except on special written permit as provided for in this Chapter."

Trees in the right-of-way, as against utility and right-of-way contractors — "Unless otherwise approved in writing by the City, a ROW user shall not remove, cut or damage any trees or their roots within the ROW," and "Nothing in this Subsection shall authorize the trimming of trees on private property without permission of the property owner."

No landmark, heritage or specimen tree program exists. The word landmark in the O'Fallon code refers only to historic buildings and structures designated by Council ordinance, and no tree has ever been designated.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No tree removal permit fee exists because no tree removal permit exists. The only adjacent fee is on land development, not homeowners: "Grading permit (including stockpiling, clearing, etc.) — 2% of the estimated cost of improvements reviewed by the Planning and Engineering Department, less $200.00 submittal fee ($200.00 minimum)."

Penalties

Section 402.280: "The City will typically give a ten-day written notice of a violation ... If, after the proper notice, no action has been taken, the City ... may plant, maintain and remove all vegetation as may be necessary to ensure public safety. The City will then invoice the property owner in question and if the invoice is not paid within the required time frame, a lien will be placed on the property. It shall be a violation of this Section for any person to interfere with the City's planting, pruning, maintenance or removal of trees, and a violator shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each occurrence and, in addition thereto, shall be required to replace the trees required by the Chapter." The general penalty is "a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment not to exceed three (3) months, or by both," but nuisance and zoning violations are capped at $200 for the first, $275 for the second and $350 for the third within twelve months. Clearing or grading in violation draws "a fine in an amount of a minimum of two hundred dollars ($200.00) and not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) per charge and/or imprisonment for a period of time not to exceed ninety (90) days per charge."

Ordinance

O'Fallon Municipal Code Title IV (Land Use), Chapter 402 — Trees and Landscaping, Sections 402.010 through 402.280, enacted in full by Ord. No. 5752 Section 1 on December 8, 2011, which repealed and consolidated the former Tree Advisory Board chapter, the old Preservation of Trees chapter and the zoning landscaping article. The only amendment since is Ord. No. 5831 Sections 9 and 10 (December 13, 2012), which touched the landscape plan requirements and the species list. There are no 2024, 2025 or 2026 amendments to Chapter 402. The grading and clearing plan process at Section 405.070 was amended more recently, by Ord. No. 7056 (October 26, 2023) and Ord. No. 7138 (September 26, 2024). The code was recodified by Ord. No. 6908 (May 26, 2022) and the published version "Includes legislation through 05-14-2026," with pending new laws through July 23, 2026 that do not affect trees.

Worth knowing

The right-of-way tree in front of your house is yours to deal with. Section 402.210(F): "Maintenance of trees on private property is the responsibility of the property owner. Maintenance of trees located within City right-of-way adjacent to an individual lot, either residential or commercial, is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner." The city maintains right-of-way trees on only eight named road segments, listed in Section 402.210(G).
The real gotcha is replanting, not removing. Section 402.080(C): "Prior to the adoption of this Article, City codes had allowed trees on lots to be placed within the City right-of-way, specifically between the sidewalk and back of curb. It has been observed that this has caused damage to City and private infrastructure as well as sight-distance issues, safety issues and property damage. Unless otherwise provided by this Code, trees will no longer be located within fifteen (15) feet from back of curb." Removal is free; putting a new tree back in the same spot is prohibited. Also keep 25 feet from a street light, 25 feet from traffic control or street signs, and 10 feet from stormwater inlets or manholes.
A dead or dying tree is a code-enforceable nuisance. Section 220.020(A)(11) lists "Dead or dying trees" as a nuisance affecting public health, and Code Enforcement actively enforces it. After written notice and a hearing you get twenty days to abate, and if you do not, "the appropriate City Official shall proceed to abate the nuisance ... and the cost of same shall be assessed as a special tax against the property so improved ... and shall be a lien against said property," with the lien recorded at the St. Charles County Recorder of Deeds. Appeals go to the City Administrator within seven days, then to the Circuit Court of St. Charles County. Imminent dangers can be abated without notice.
O'Fallon does not license tree services or arborists. The only trades the city requires to be licensed are mechanical, electrical, plumbing and drainlaying, and even those are licensed by St. Charles County or the state rather than the city. Nothing makes it unlawful to hire an unlicensed tree service. What does apply is the general business license: "All merchants doing business within the City of O'Fallon shall be required to purchase and keep on display at their usual place of business a City of O'Fallon business license," at $50 per year for up to 5,000 square feet plus 3 cents per additional square foot, capped at $1,000 per year per location.
The one insurance hook has no number attached. Section 402.230 says only that "The City may require a person seeking an application under this Section to demonstrate that it is insured under an insurance policy in an amount sufficient to cover potential damage." No dollar minimum appears anywhere in the code.
Storms suspend the chapter. Section 402.070: "In the case of emergencies, such as wind storms, ice storms, or other disasters, the requirements of this Chapter may be waived during the emergency period so as not to hamper private or public work to restore order in the City."
The required tree board is city staff, not citizens. Section 402.260(B): "The Landscape Manager and Landscape Division staff shall assume all the responsibilities and duties of the Tree Advisory Committee ... and each member of the Landscape Division shall be a member of the Tree Advisory Committee." The predecessor citizen board was created in 2003 for the express purpose of qualifying for Tree City USA.
A drafting gap worth knowing: Sections 402.220 and 402.230 both refer to "a permit" for work on a City tree, but no section of the code actually establishes such a permit. The gap exists in the 2011 ordinance as adopted, not just in codification, so in practice there is no city-tree work permit to apply for.
One city form is stale. The Engineering Grading Permit Application still tells applicants to "Provide for the requirements of the City's Tree Preservation Ordinance (Chapter 230)." Chapter 230 was repealed in 2011 and replaced by Chapter 402.
For many O'Fallon homeowners the binding constraint is not the city at all but subdivision covenants. The city's own emerald ash borer page directs residents to their homeowners associations and subdivision trustees on ash removal, and those covenants are private documents outside the code.
Missouri law punishes cutting a tree that is not yours. RSMo 537.340 awards treble damages for cutting down, injuring or destroying "any tree placed or growing for use, shade or ornament" on another person's land, and the claimant "need not prove negligence or intent."

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.

— One facially broad sentence could not be fully resolved. Section 405.070(G)(1) reads "A clearing permit is required for any lots." Every contextual signal says it is a developer requirement: it sits inside the Grading Or Clearing Plan Process within the subdivision and land development chapter, subsection (B) conditions the whole process on the owner having "first obtained approval of the applicable site plan, preliminary plat or area plan ... for a proposed land development project," and the city grading application sets the trigger at altering grade by fifty cubic yards or more. But subsection (G)(2) describes clearing as "chainsaw tree only and let it drop" with no root disturbance, which is exactly what a homeowner does. No city statement resolves whether Engineering would demand a clearing permit from a homeowner felling trees on an already-built lot. If you are clearing multiple trees or an undeveloped lot, call Engineering at 636-379-7630.
— The live permit-type list in the city's online portal. The portal is JavaScript-rendered and returned no readable permit menu, so the absence of a tree permit is confirmed from the code and the published Do I Need a Permit list but not from the portal dropdown.
— An insurance minimum for tree contractors. Section 402.230 states only "an amount sufficient," with no published dollar figure in the code or on the city site.
— Whether an out-of-city tree service with no O'Fallon premises must buy a business license. The definition of merchant is broad ("doing business within the City"), but the operative command is to "keep on display at their usual place of business" a license, which is location-oriented. The professional exemptions do not list tree services or landscapers. Direct contractors to Finance at 636-379-5522.
— Tree City USA current-year recertification. It is confirmed as a city program from the city's own Landscaping page and from the 2003 ordinance's stated purpose, but the current recertification year was not verified.
— St. Charles County rules for unincorporated areas, and the rules of neighboring St. Peters and the City of St. Charles, which are separate jurisdictions.