Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Most of Saint Paul does not require a permit to remove a tree in your own yard. The city's tree chapters regulate public places, not private lots. The exception is the TP Tree Preservation Overlay District, where removing a tree of 12 inches DBH or larger with no development proposed is prohibited outright unless the tree is dead, dying, diseased, hazardous or a nuisance on a lot that already has a building on it. Check whether your parcel is in the TP district before you cut. Boulevard trees always need a permit, and that permit is free.
Size threshold
Inside the TP Tree Preservation Overlay District: "The removal of trees of twelve (12) inches DBH or larger, when not related to a building permit, grading permit, fill permit, lot split, plat approval or any development requiring site plan review, shall be prohibited unless..." (Sec. 67.204(b)). A tree preservation plan there must inventory every tree six (6) inches DBH or larger within the limits of disturbance.
What's protected in Saint Paul
- Trees 12 inches DBH or larger inside the TP Tree Preservation Overlay District
- Boulevard trees and any tree in a public place. A free permit is required for planting, stumping, treating, trimming or removal.
- Trees on steep slopes and in new subdivisions, reviewed under the zoning and subdivision codes
How to apply in Saint Paul
- 1
For a boulevard tree, download the Tree Work Permit Application, the fillable PDF on the city's Boulevard Tree Permit page.
- 2
Submit the completed application to Forestry. There is no fee.
- 3
Forestry inspects the tree and the site and decides whether to approve the permit.
- 4
Do not start work until an authorized Forestry staff member has signed and returned the permit.
- 5
If the work includes tree planting or stump removal, have Gopher State One Call locate utilities first.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- The Boulevard Tree Permit is free. The city states: "There is no fee for a tree permit application."
- Penalties
- In the TP overlay district: "The removal of trees in violation of this subdivision shall be constitute a petty misdemeanor and subject to a fine as specified in section 1.05 of this Code... The unapproved removal of each tree shall constitute a separate violation." The court is asked to weigh the tree's appraised value under the ISA guide plus the cost to replace it.
- Ordinance
- Saint Paul Legislative Code Title XVII: Chapter 175 (Dutch Elm Disease, Emerald Ash Borer, and Removal of Other Dangerous Trees) and Chapter 176 (Preservation and Protection of Trees). Zoning Code Chapter 67, Article II, sections 67.200 through 67.210 (TP Tree Preservation Overlay District). Chapter 362 (Tree Trimming licensing).
Worth knowing
- Chapter 176, "Preservation and Protection of Trees," is narrower than the title suggests. It makes it unlawful to cut, injure or remove any tree "located, standing or growing... upon any public place of the city." It does not reach your back yard.
- The TP overlay exceptions at 67.204(b) are broad. A tree of 12 inches DBH or more may come out without approval if it sits on a parcel occupied by a main building and the owner determines it to be "a nuisance, hazardous, diseased, dying or dead."
- If you are pulling a building, grading or fill permit, doing a lot split, platting, or going through site plan review in the TP district and one or more trees of 12 inches DBH or larger will come out, a tree preservation plan certified by a state-registered land surveyor, landscape architect or forester must be approved first.
- Replacement in the TP district scales with size: one replacement tree for a tree at least 12 but under 18 inches DBH, two for 18 to under 24 inches, three for 24 inches or larger.
- Saint Paul licenses tree trimmers under Legislative Code Chapter 362. Ask your contractor for the license.
- Under Chapter 175 the city forester may enter private property, and a diseased elm, an EAB-infested ash, or any tree the parks director finds dangerous or unsafe is a public nuisance you have 20 days to abate before the city does it and assesses you.
- The city is blunt about neighbour disputes: "In most cases, however, the City of Saint Paul does not have legal authority to adjudicate private property tree disputes between property owners."
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.
- — Which parcels are actually inside the TP Tree Preservation Overlay District. The code establishes the district but the boundaries live on the official zoning map, so confirm your address with Forestry or Planning before you cut.
- — The dollar amount of the petty misdemeanour fine referenced at section 1.05.
- — Whether removing an approved boulevard tree carries a charge for the value of the tree. The city's boulevard removal page indicates an owner "may be subject to pay for the value of the tree," and we could not confirm how that is calculated.