Tree Removal Permits in Parkersburg, WV

Verified against Parkersburg city sources · last checked 2026-08-07

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Parkersburg has a Tree Commission and a tree removal permit, and both are written to public land. Section 165.05 requires a permit only to plant, trim or remove a tree "upon any public right of way, street, alley, or other public grounds," so a tree standing entirely on your own lot needs nothing, at any size. Two other approvals can still catch a private lot: a grading permit is required for "stripping," which Section 1759.01(s) defines to include "clearing and grubbing operations," and inside the three Residential Historic Districts the Architectural Review Board must approve work on appurtenant features that expressly include trees. The rule most Parkersburg homeowners actually hit is the opposite of a permit - Section 905.03 gives you 36 hours after notice to remove a decayed tree along a street.

Size threshold

None governs removal. There is no DBH, caliper, height or circumference trigger anywhere in the tree articles. The zoning definitions at Article 1327 do carry a split measuring convention, used for nursery stock and landscaping rather than removal: "CALIPER - A horticultural method of measuring the diameter of nursery stock. For trees less than four (4) inches in diameter, the measurement should be taken at six (6) inches above the ground level. For trees greater than four (4) inches in diameter up to and including twelve (12) inches, the caliper measurement must be taken twelve (12) inches above the ground level. For trees greater than twelve (12) inches in diameter, the trunk is measured at breast height, which is 4.5 feet above the ground." The same article defines DBH as "the diameter in inches of a tree measured at four and one-half (4 1/2) feet above the existing grade."

What's protected in Parkersburg

Trees in the public right of way, street, alley or other public grounds. Section 165.05: "No person shall plant, trim or remove any tree or shrub upon any public right of way, street, alley, or other public grounds unless he or she shall have first obtained a permit from the Public Works Director or the Director's designee." Section 165.04 limits the Tree Commission the same way, to trees "in public ways, streets, alleys, and other public grounds."
The same public trees, plus a worker-qualification rule. Section 165.06: "No person shall perform the work operations of planting, cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying or otherwise treating any tree or shrub upon the public right of way, street, alley or other public grounds within the City, without first completing an approved maintenance course for tree care operations utilizing American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 or its equivalent or without first being certified or licensed as an arborist."
Trees inside the Residential Historic Districts, named expressly. Section 1348.09(a): "No person, corporation, partnership, association or society shall cause the exterior portion of any building or structure owned or leased by them including walls, fences, light fixtures, steps, pavement, path, trees or any other appurtenant features... to be erected, altered, restored or moved within the Residential Historic District until after an application as to exterior architectural features has been submitted to and approved by the Architectural Review Board." The districts created by Section 1348.02 are Julia-Ann Square and Parkersburg High School/Washington Avenue, with an Avery Historic District referenced at Sections 1348.07 and 1348.11.
Any site being graded or stripped, which reaches private lots with no acreage threshold. Section 1759.02: "No person shall do or cause to be done any grading, stripping or cutting upon any site within the City unless and until he has obtained a grading permit approved by the City Engineering Division." Section 1759.01(s): "Stripping means any activity which removes or significantly disturbs the vegetative surface cover, including clearing and grubbing operations."
Vegetation in the flood protection setback. Section 1761.07(8)A: "A Flood Protection Setback equal to twice the width of the watercourse channel measuring from the top of one bank to the top of the opposite bank or 50 feet, whichever is less, shall be maintained from the top of the banks of all watercourses. To reduce erosion, natural vegetation shall be maintained in this area."
City-owned trees as city property. Section 533.11(a)(1) makes it an offense to "injure, deface, destroy, burn, take, remove or relocate" city property "including but not limited to: (1) Buildings, fences, trees, shrubbery, landscaping."

How to apply in Parkersburg

1
For a tree entirely on your own lot there is no tree application. The city publishes none, which is consistent with there being no requirement.
2
For a tree in the right of way, street, alley or on public grounds: get a permit from the Public Works Director or designee under Section 165.05. The permit "shall state the person who is to perform the actual work operations," and for planting must specify size, type, species and location. Route the request through (304) 424-8400.
3
Whoever does that right-of-way work must be qualified. Section 165.06 requires an approved ANSI A300 maintenance course or arborist certification or licensure.
4
If your project involves grading or clearing ground cover, file for a grading permit first. Section 1759.03(l): "All applications for grading permits shall be made in writing upon a form provided by the City Engineering Division and shall be made under oath and signed by the owner of the site, or for the owner by the contractor proposing to do the work, or another authorized person." Section 1759.03 also requires a stormwater management plan with a plat or boundary survey showing existing topography, wetlands, streams and steep slopes plus the limits of clearing.
5
If you are in Julia-Ann Square, the Parkersburg High School/Washington Avenue district or the Avery district, apply to the Architectural Review Board through the zoning administrator. Section 1348.07: "All applications shall be ruled upon within sixty days of the date of application," and no building permit issues until the Board approves.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee is stated in Section 165.05 for the right-of-way tree permit. The grading permit fee is a formula, quoted rather than computed - Section 1759.07: "Upon being granted a grading permit, the permittee shall pay five dollars ($5.00) for each one thousand dollars ($1,000) of the estimated cost of grading as shown on the application, but in any event a minimum fee of five dollars ($5.00), and the payment of such fee shall be a prerequisite to the granting of any grading permit."
Penalties: Three different articles, three different numbers. Section 165.99: "Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), and in addition shall pay all costs and expenses involved in the case." Section 905.99: "Whoever violates any provision of this article shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00)." Section 1759.10: "Any owner, lessee, contractor and any workmen who perform any work or labor, or cause, permit or allow the same to be performed in the grading, stripping or cutting of any site within the City without obtaining a permit therefor... shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation continues after notice of said violation shall be deemed a separate offense."
Ordinance: Codified Ordinances of the City of Parkersburg, hosted by American Legal Publishing, version 2025-01, complete to June 6, 2025. Part One, Article 165 (City Tree Commission): Section 165.01 by Ord. 0-889 passed August 11, 1998; Section 165.02 by Ord. 0-1483 passed August 5, 2014; Section 165.05, the permit section, by Ord. 0-993 passed June 26, 2001; Section 165.06 by Ord. 0-913 passed April 13, 1999. Part Nine, Chapter One, Article 905 (Trees): Section 905.01 by Ord. 0-1634 passed September 24, 2019; Section 905.02 from the 1947 Code Section 25.31; Section 905.03 by Ord. 19041 passed August 7, 1951. Article 1759 (Soil Erosion Control) by Ord. 0-1197 passed July 12, 2005. Article 1348 (Residential Historic District) by Ord. 0-1635 passed September 24, 2019. Article 1761 (Floodplain Regulations) by Ord. 0-1465 passed October 22, 2013. Both tree articles cite W. Va. Code 8-12-5(29) as their enabling authority, and Article 165 also cites Charter Section 2.205.

Worth knowing

The 36-hour hazard tree clock is the shortest found in West Virginia. Section 905.03(a): if a tree along or overhanging a street, sidewalk or alley "becomes decayed or for other reasons is likely to fall," the abutting owner must remove it, and "failure to do so after thirty-six hours after the notice has been served shall constitute a violation." Section 905.02 uses the same 36 hours for a tree interfering with traffic.
Section 905.03(a) is also the clearest statement in the state that private property is different: "If the tree is removed, unless it is entirely upon his own premises, the owner shall cause the stump thereof to be removed."
Required clearance over a sidewalk, street or alley is 13 feet under Section 905.01, enforced against both the abutting owner and the occupant.
Utilities may cut without asking you. Section 905.03(b) lets fire and police signal systems, street lighting and electric, telephone and telegraph utilities "cut, trim or remove so much of the tree or the limbs or branches thereof as may be necessary," and adds "No person shall interfere with or prevent... such cutting, trimming or removal."
Emergency work is exempt from the grading permit. Section 1759.02 excludes "any emergency activity which is immediately necessary for the protection of life, property or natural resources," and also excludes tilling or cultivating a plot for flowers, vegetables or other plants.
The hillside rule binds subdividers, not existing homeowners. Section 1309.10(c): "In a hillside subdivision, the natural ground cover shall not be disturbed except for the grading of those portions of the lot for building sites and for the installation of necessary improvements."
Contractor regulation here is right-of-way only. The ANSI A300 rule in Section 165.06 does not reach work on a private lot, and Article 773's list of licensed professions - attorneys, architects, foresters, landscape architects, surveyors and others - does not include tree services or arborists.
Parkersburg is an EPA-designated MS4 community, which is why Article 1759 exists at all. The city's stormwater pages are public education and impose no separate tree rule.

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 felling a single tree triggers the grading permit. Section 1759.02 has no acreage threshold and no single-family exemption, and "stripping" covers "clearing and grubbing." Grinding a stump plainly disturbs vegetative surface cover; dropping one trunk and leaving the ground cover intact is genuinely ambiguous on the text, and no city interpretation, form or FAQ resolves it. Recorded, not resolved. Ask Engineering at (304) 424-8568.
— Whether the Architectural Review Board reviews tree REMOVAL in the historic districts. Section 1348.09(a) lists trees but its verbs are "erected, altered, restored or moved." The word "removed" appears only in Section 1348.09(c), which is limited to "any building or structure." Section 1348.09(d)(5) exempts "The planting of trees and shrubs when in conformity with sign distance standards at intersections" - planting, not removal. Contradiction recorded rather than resolved.
— Latent authority in Section 165.06. Its final sentence reads that the Commission "may impose specific tests, licensing requirements, certification or other methods to determine the professional status of those individuals performing work on trees and shrubs within the City" - broader than the right-of-way limit in the first sentence. No rule appears to have been adopted under it.
— The Public Works Director's direct phone. The city has no standalone Public Works page or number, though that is the office Section 165.05 names as the permit issuer.
— Whether any fee is charged for the Section 165.05 permit. None is stated in the ordinance.
— Whether a tree service needs a Parkersburg business license. Article 701.01 limits licensing to trades "named in the following articles" and no article names tree work, but the city's business license page directs all businesses to register with Finance. Unresolved.
— Whether the Julia-Ann Square neighborhood association or any other private covenant restricts tree removal. Private covenants sit outside government records.

Sources

Who to contact in Parkersburg

Building and Code Enforcement Department, City of Parkersburg - the right first call for any permit question. The Section 165.05 tree permit itself is issued by the Public Works Director or the Director's designee, and Sections 905.02 and 905.03 duties run to the Director of Public Works, but the city publishes no direct Public Works line. The grading permit is Engineering Division. The Tree Commission sits under Parks and Recreation and, in the city's own words, "is responsible for public planting locations and the maintenance or removal of city trees."

Building and Code Enforcement, best first call for permits and zoning: (304) 424-8477. Code Enforcement Division, for complaints and code compliance: (304) 424-8594. Engineering Division, for the grading permit and stormwater: (304) 424-8568. Parks and Recreation, for the Tree Commission and city or park trees: (304) 424-8572. Main switchboard, to reach the Public Works Director who actually issues the Section 165.05 permit: (304) 424-8400. Stormwater@Parkersburg-WV.com is the only published address, and it covers Engineering and stormwater only. There is no general tree email. Official page

1 Government Square, PO Box 1627, Parkersburg, WV 26102. The Building and Zoning Office is on the 4th floor of the City Municipal Building.

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Size threshold

What's protected in Parkersburg

Trees in the public right of way, street, alley or other public grounds. Section 165.05: "No person shall plant, trim or remove any tree or shrub upon any public right of way, street, alley, or other public grounds unless he or she shall have first obtained a permit from the Public Works Director or the Director's designee." Section 165.04 limits the Tree Commission the same way, to trees "in public ways, streets, alleys, and other public grounds."

The same public trees, plus a worker-qualification rule. Section 165.06: "No person shall perform the work operations of planting, cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying or otherwise treating any tree or shrub upon the public right of way, street, alley or other public grounds within the City, without first completing an approved maintenance course for tree care operations utilizing American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 or its equivalent or without first being certified or licensed as an arborist."

Trees inside the Residential Historic Districts, named expressly. Section 1348.09(a): "No person, corporation, partnership, association or society shall cause the exterior portion of any building or structure owned or leased by them including walls, fences, light fixtures, steps, pavement, path, trees or any other appurtenant features... to be erected, altered, restored or moved within the Residential Historic District until after an application as to exterior architectural features has been submitted to and approved by the Architectural Review Board." The districts created by Section 1348.02 are Julia-Ann Square and Parkersburg High School/Washington Avenue, with an Avery Historic District referenced at Sections 1348.07 and 1348.11.

Any site being graded or stripped, which reaches private lots with no acreage threshold. Section 1759.02: "No person shall do or cause to be done any grading, stripping or cutting upon any site within the City unless and until he has obtained a grading permit approved by the City Engineering Division." Section 1759.01(s): "Stripping means any activity which removes or significantly disturbs the vegetative surface cover, including clearing and grubbing operations."

Vegetation in the flood protection setback. Section 1761.07(8)A: "A Flood Protection Setback equal to twice the width of the watercourse channel measuring from the top of one bank to the top of the opposite bank or 50 feet, whichever is less, shall be maintained from the top of the banks of all watercourses. To reduce erosion, natural vegetation shall be maintained in this area."

City-owned trees as city property. Section 533.11(a)(1) makes it an offense to "injure, deface, destroy, burn, take, remove or relocate" city property "including but not limited to: (1) Buildings, fences, trees, shrubbery, landscaping."

How to apply in Parkersburg

1
For a tree entirely on your own lot there is no tree application. The city publishes none, which is consistent with there being no requirement.
2
For a tree in the right of way, street, alley or on public grounds: get a permit from the Public Works Director or designee under Section 165.05. The permit "shall state the person who is to perform the actual work operations," and for planting must specify size, type, species and location. Route the request through (304) 424-8400.
3
Whoever does that right-of-way work must be qualified. Section 165.06 requires an approved ANSI A300 maintenance course or arborist certification or licensure.
4
If your project involves grading or clearing ground cover, file for a grading permit first. Section 1759.03(l): "All applications for grading permits shall be made in writing upon a form provided by the City Engineering Division and shall be made under oath and signed by the owner of the site, or for the owner by the contractor proposing to do the work, or another authorized person." Section 1759.03 also requires a stormwater management plan with a plat or boundary survey showing existing topography, wetlands, streams and steep slopes plus the limits of clearing.
5
If you are in Julia-Ann Square, the Parkersburg High School/Washington Avenue district or the Avery district, apply to the Architectural Review Board through the zoning administrator. Section 1348.07: "All applications shall be ruled upon within sixty days of the date of application," and no building permit issues until the Board approves.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee is stated in Section 165.05 for the right-of-way tree permit. The grading permit fee is a formula, quoted rather than computed - Section 1759.07: "Upon being granted a grading permit, the permittee shall pay five dollars ($5.00) for each one thousand dollars ($1,000) of the estimated cost of grading as shown on the application, but in any event a minimum fee of five dollars ($5.00), and the payment of such fee shall be a prerequisite to the granting of any grading permit."

Penalties

Three different articles, three different numbers. Section 165.99: "Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), and in addition shall pay all costs and expenses involved in the case." Section 905.99: "Whoever violates any provision of this article shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00)." Section 1759.10: "Any owner, lessee, contractor and any workmen who perform any work or labor, or cause, permit or allow the same to be performed in the grading, stripping or cutting of any site within the City without obtaining a permit therefor... shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation continues after notice of said violation shall be deemed a separate offense."

Ordinance

Codified Ordinances of the City of Parkersburg, hosted by American Legal Publishing, version 2025-01, complete to June 6, 2025. Part One, Article 165 (City Tree Commission): Section 165.01 by Ord. 0-889 passed August 11, 1998; Section 165.02 by Ord. 0-1483 passed August 5, 2014; Section 165.05, the permit section, by Ord. 0-993 passed June 26, 2001; Section 165.06 by Ord. 0-913 passed April 13, 1999. Part Nine, Chapter One, Article 905 (Trees): Section 905.01 by Ord. 0-1634 passed September 24, 2019; Section 905.02 from the 1947 Code Section 25.31; Section 905.03 by Ord. 19041 passed August 7, 1951. Article 1759 (Soil Erosion Control) by Ord. 0-1197 passed July 12, 2005. Article 1348 (Residential Historic District) by Ord. 0-1635 passed September 24, 2019. Article 1761 (Floodplain Regulations) by Ord. 0-1465 passed October 22, 2013. Both tree articles cite W. Va. Code 8-12-5(29) as their enabling authority, and Article 165 also cites Charter Section 2.205.

Worth knowing

The 36-hour hazard tree clock is the shortest found in West Virginia. Section 905.03(a): if a tree along or overhanging a street, sidewalk or alley "becomes decayed or for other reasons is likely to fall," the abutting owner must remove it, and "failure to do so after thirty-six hours after the notice has been served shall constitute a violation." Section 905.02 uses the same 36 hours for a tree interfering with traffic.
Section 905.03(a) is also the clearest statement in the state that private property is different: "If the tree is removed, unless it is entirely upon his own premises, the owner shall cause the stump thereof to be removed."
Required clearance over a sidewalk, street or alley is 13 feet under Section 905.01, enforced against both the abutting owner and the occupant.
Utilities may cut without asking you. Section 905.03(b) lets fire and police signal systems, street lighting and electric, telephone and telegraph utilities "cut, trim or remove so much of the tree or the limbs or branches thereof as may be necessary," and adds "No person shall interfere with or prevent... such cutting, trimming or removal."
Emergency work is exempt from the grading permit. Section 1759.02 excludes "any emergency activity which is immediately necessary for the protection of life, property or natural resources," and also excludes tilling or cultivating a plot for flowers, vegetables or other plants.
The hillside rule binds subdividers, not existing homeowners. Section 1309.10(c): "In a hillside subdivision, the natural ground cover shall not be disturbed except for the grading of those portions of the lot for building sites and for the installation of necessary improvements."
Contractor regulation here is right-of-way only. The ANSI A300 rule in Section 165.06 does not reach work on a private lot, and Article 773's list of licensed professions - attorneys, architects, foresters, landscape architects, surveyors and others - does not include tree services or arborists.
Parkersburg is an EPA-designated MS4 community, which is why Article 1759 exists at all. The city's stormwater pages are public education and impose no separate tree rule.

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 felling a single tree triggers the grading permit. Section 1759.02 has no acreage threshold and no single-family exemption, and "stripping" covers "clearing and grubbing." Grinding a stump plainly disturbs vegetative surface cover; dropping one trunk and leaving the ground cover intact is genuinely ambiguous on the text, and no city interpretation, form or FAQ resolves it. Recorded, not resolved. Ask Engineering at (304) 424-8568.
— Whether the Architectural Review Board reviews tree REMOVAL in the historic districts. Section 1348.09(a) lists trees but its verbs are "erected, altered, restored or moved." The word "removed" appears only in Section 1348.09(c), which is limited to "any building or structure." Section 1348.09(d)(5) exempts "The planting of trees and shrubs when in conformity with sign distance standards at intersections" - planting, not removal. Contradiction recorded rather than resolved.
— Latent authority in Section 165.06. Its final sentence reads that the Commission "may impose specific tests, licensing requirements, certification or other methods to determine the professional status of those individuals performing work on trees and shrubs within the City" - broader than the right-of-way limit in the first sentence. No rule appears to have been adopted under it.
— The Public Works Director's direct phone. The city has no standalone Public Works page or number, though that is the office Section 165.05 names as the permit issuer.
— Whether any fee is charged for the Section 165.05 permit. None is stated in the ordinance.
— Whether a tree service needs a Parkersburg business license. Article 701.01 limits licensing to trades "named in the following articles" and no article names tree work, but the city's business license page directs all businesses to register with Finance. Unresolved.
— Whether the Julia-Ann Square neighborhood association or any other private covenant restricts tree removal. Private covenants sit outside government records.