Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Peoria's Shade Tree Ordinance is built around public trees, and the city's own forestry page directs residents to call "For information regarding trees in the City right-of-way or on City property." But one subsection, section 29-4(b), says a property owner who wants to remove a healthy tree needs approval from the Peoria Urban Forestry Advisory Board and must reimburse the city for the tree's value, and it does not say the tree has to be a public one. That board meets only four times a year. Call the Forestry Division before you cut.
Size threshold
The only diameter in the ordinance applies to contractors working on public land. Section 29-3(a): "No person who performs arboricultural work for hire shall plant, spray, fertilize, preserve, prune, or otherwise disturb any tree larger than four inches in diameter measured one foot off the ground, on any street or municipally owned property without first filing an application and obtaining a permit from the city arborist." Note the measuring point is one foot off the ground, not DBH.
What's protected in Peoria
- Public trees - "all shade and ornamental trees now or hereafter growing on any street or any public land. At least 50 percent of the tree trunk at the base of the tree must be on the city right-of-way for it to be considered a public tree"
- Healthy trees that the city arborist has found to be healthy, which under section 29-4(b) require Peoria Urban Forestry Advisory Board approval before removal
How to apply in Peoria
- 1
Call the Forestry Division at 309-494-8800 first and establish whether your tree is public or private. At least 50 percent of the trunk at the base must be on city right-of-way for it to count as a public tree.
- 2
If the city arborist finds the tree healthy, section 29-4(b) routes you to the Peoria Urban Forestry Advisory Board for approval, and requires you to reimburse the city the value of the tree as determined by the Arbor Day Foundation National Tree Benefit Calculator.
- 3
The Urban Forestry Advisory Board meets at noon on the first Tuesday of March, June, September and December at City Hall, 419 Fulton St., Room 404. Plan around a quarterly cycle.
- 4
A contractor doing arboricultural work for hire on any street or municipally owned property must apply to the city arborist at least 48 hours before the work, except in an emergency where a person or property is in imminent danger. The permit is free and the arborist must be notified for inspection when work is complete.
- 5
Utility line clearance work is exempt: "Necessary maintenance or line clearance work performed by the utilities are not subject to the provisions of this article... The utilities are not required to obtain a permit."
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Section 29-3(b): "There will be no fee for a permit related to this type of work," referring to the contractor permit for work on streets and municipally owned property. No fee is published for a section 29-4(b) board approval, but that route carries reimbursement of the tree's value.
- Penalties
- Section 29-8: "Any person, firm, or corporation violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a petty offense, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined a sum no less than $75.00, nor more than as provided in section 1-5 of this Code with the exception of damage to a tree. The cost of damage to a tree will be determined by the Arbor Day Foundation National Tree Benefit Calculator or other tree benefit calculator as selected by the city arborist." Section 29-6 separately makes the value of a damaged public tree a debt owed to the city, calculated by the International Society of Arboriculture formula.
- Ordinance
- City of Peoria Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29 - Trees and Shrubs, cited as "the Shade Tree Ordinance of the City of Peoria," sections 29-1 through 29-54. Ord. No. 17454, section 1, adopted March 28, 2017, rewrote most of the chapter; Ord. No. 18279, section 2, adopted July 22, 2025, added section 29-2b adopting ANSI A300 and ANSI Z60.1 standards. Code current through Ordinance No. 18364, adopted April 14, 2026 (Supp. No. 119, Update 1).
Worth knowing
- The city can order removal of a dead or diseased tree on private property. Section 29-5(2): "City arborist can declare a tree to be a public nuisance under section 15-96 of the Code of the City of Peoria due to the condition of the tree that is dangerous or detrimental to the health, life, safety or property of any person. The city arborist will serve notice to the property owner by certified mail that if the nuisance is not abated within five days the city may take corrective action and charge the cost of the corrective action and possible fine to the property owner." Five days is a short clock.
- Trimming duty: if your property borders a street, you must prune so trees do not obstruct or shade streetlights, block pedestrians, or hide traffic signs, signals or intersections. Minimum clearance is seven feet over sidewalks and 16 feet over streets. You get 14 days after certified notice before the city prunes and bills you.
- The tree planting side is tightly specified. Minimum spacing is 30 feet for small trees, 40 for medium and 50 for large; no tree within 35 feet of an intersection, ten feet of a fire hydrant, five feet of an underground utility line or 35 feet of a traffic control sign; only small trees under utility lines.
- Forestry moved into the Street and Sewer Division in 2010 and much of the work is contracted out. The city removes between 150 and 200 trees a year under contract.
- The code defines "Licensed tree expert" as "one duly recognized and licensed by the state department of registration and education, to perform arboricultural services," but the defined term is not used anywhere in the operative sections.
- It is not city policy to remove, prune or maintain trees growing in an unopened easement or unopened right-of-way.
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 decisive question here, which is whether section 29-4(b) applies to a tree on your own private property or only to a parkway tree in front of it. The subsection says "If a property owner desires to remove a tree that is found to be healthy by the city arborist the property has to get approval of the Peoria Urban Forestry Advisory Board," without naming public or private. It sits in a section otherwise about right-of-way trees, and section 29-52(a) limits the arborist's authority to "trees on streets and other publicly owned property," but the sentence itself is not qualified. Both readings are reported rather than reconciled. Call 309-494-8800 before you cut.
- — Whether a private-property removal ever triggers reimbursement of the tree's value under section 29-4(b), and how the Arbor Day Foundation National Tree Benefit Calculator figure is computed in practice.
- — Whether Peoria licenses or bonds tree service companies beyond the free public-property work permit in section 29-3. No tree service article appears in Chapter 18 (Licenses and Miscellaneous Business Regulations).
- — Whether Peoria's Illinois River bluff and steep slope areas carry a hillside or erosion overlay restricting tree removal on private residential lots. Chapter 9.5 covers erosion, sediment and stormwater control but was not confirmed to reach single-tree removal.
- — The Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice adopted by the city, which the ordinance keeps on file with the city clerk rather than printing in the code.
- — Any published fee or application form for a homeowner. Peoria publishes neither.