Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Pueblo answers this question in the code itself, in a section headed "Private property; permit for cutting." A property owner may cut down, trim, prune, treat or remove any tree on their own land, licensed or not, with no permit and no size limit. The catch is the parkway — that strip between your sidewalk and the curb. Trees there need a permit from the Parks Department, and that permit is free.
What's protected in Pueblo
- Trees in the parkway adjacent to your property — permit required to trim, prune, treat or remove
- Trees situated on any public way in the City — permit required to cut down, trim, prune, treat or remove
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Free. § 10-2-10 states permits for trees on the public way "shall be issued without charge." No fee applies to trees on your own property, since no permit is required.
- Penalties
- Violation of the Plant Care chapter is a Class 2 municipal offense; a second or subsequent conviction within a three-year period is a Class 1 municipal offense, both punished as provided in § 11-1-103 (§ 10-2-15, Ord. No. 8280 § 5, 11-8-10).
- Ordinance
- Pueblo Municipal Code Title X (Parks and Recreation), Chapter 2 — Plant Care, §§ 10-2-10 and 10-2-11 (1957 Code § 15-36, 15-37; Ord. No. 2624, 5-8-61; Ord. No. 2781, 5-13-63); and Title IX (Licenses and Permits), Chapter 8 — Business of Tree and Shrubbery Care. Code codified through Ordinance No. 11125, adopted February 23, 2026.
Worth knowing
- The controlling sentence, § 10-2-11: "Any property owner of the City, whether licensed or unlicensed, may cut down, trim, prune, treat or remove any trees situated on his or her own property and in the parkway adjacent thereto; provided that, when trimming, pruning, treating or removing trees in the parkway, he or she shall secure a permit and comply with the provisions of this Chapter."
- For the public way, § 10-2-10: "It shall be unlawful for any person to cut down, trim, prune, treat or remove any tree situated on any public way within the limits of the City without first securing a permit therefor from the Parks Department, and such permits shall be issued without charge."
- Pruning style on your own land is your business. § 10-2-7 sets citywide cutting standards but adds "provided that nothing herein contained shall prohibit any owner from trimming or causing any tree upon his or her private property to be trimmed in any desired fashion."
- Pueblo licenses tree trimmers, and the definition uses HEIGHT, not diameter, with a split by type. § 9-8-1(a): it is unlawful to "engage in or solicit the business of cutting, trimming, pruning, removing or spraying trees" without a license, and "the word tree shall include all deciduous growth exceeding ten (10) feet in height and all coniferous growth of whatever height." Every conifer is covered no matter how small.
- Licences are examined by a three-member Board of Tree Trimmer Examiners: the Director of Parks and Recreation, the County Agricultural Agent, and a licensed tree trimmer resident in the City appointed by the Mayor (§ 9-8-2).
- Tree trimmer license fees (§ 9-8-5): $50.00 annual; $75.00 if issued after March 31 but on or before June 30; $100.00 if issued after June 30 but on or before September 30; $150.00 if renewed without examination after September 30 of the following year. The examination fee is $10.00 and is credited toward the first year's license.
- A licensed trimmer must carry workers' compensation, plus vehicle and general liability coverage of at least $150,000 for injury to one person and $500,000 for two or more per occurrence (§ 9-8-4).
- Duties run the other way too. § 10-2-4 obliges owners of property abutting a public place to remove dead plants and dead overhanging boughs dangerous to life, limb or property, and to eradicate any plant on their premises infested with a disease detrimental to other trees.
- If you ignore a Notice and Order you get at least ten days to comply (§ 10-2-5); after that the city may enter and do the work, charging cost plus the greater of 25 percent or $100.00 in administrative costs plus 10 percent annual interest, secured by a perpetual lien on the land (§ 10-2-6).
- The City of Pueblo and Pueblo County are separate jurisdictions. If your address is in unincorporated Pueblo County, call county planning instead.
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 "parkway" is defined anywhere in the code with a precise boundary. § 10-2-1 defines "public place" to include a parkway but does not dimension it, so ask Parks where your property line falls.
- — How to apply for the free parkway permit — the code names the Parks Department but sets out no application procedure.
- — A direct line for Urban Forestry staff or a city arborist. The number above is the Parks and Recreation department line.