Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Savannah has a serious tree ordinance and a Park and Tree Commission dating to 1896, but the ordinance exempts your house lot by name. Among the exemptions from the permitting requirements: "Residential lots with an existing single family or duplex until such time it is converted to a non-residential or multi-family use." The 12-inch protected-tree threshold on developed property also carries the words "except for single-family residential lots." The trap here is not your back yard. It is the tree out front, which usually stands in a city tree lawn, and nobody may trim, prune or remove a tree on public property without the administrator's written approval.
Size threshold
Section 8-12005 protects "On undeveloped property, any tree greater than two inches diameter at breast height (dbh)" and "On developed property, any tree equal to or greater than 12 inches diameter at breast height (dbh), except for single-family residential lots." So an undeveloped lot is regulated at 2 inches, a developed commercial or multi-family lot at 12 inches, and a developed single-family lot has no threshold because it is exempt from the permitting requirements.
What's protected in Savannah
- Trees on undeveloped property greater than 2 inches DBH.
- Trees on developed commercial, industrial, institutional or multi-family property at 12 inches DBH or more.
- Any tree retained or planted for tree quality points or greenspace requirements.
- Any tree in a wetland.
- Specimen trees — over 24 inches DBH, a preferred large canopy species, sound and with at least ten years of life expectancy. Designation is available only on commercial, industrial, institutional or multi-family property.
- Exceptional trees — hardwood canopy over 36 inches, softwood over 30 inches, or understory species over 8 inches, designated for historic interest, aesthetic value or unique character. Once designated the tree "will thereafter be considered a public landmark and shall not be destroyed or endangered." Also limited to commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family property.
- Any tree on public property, including the tree lawn between curb and sidewalk in front of a house.
How to apply in Savannah
- 1
For a tree on a developed single-family or duplex lot there is nothing to apply for.
- 2
For a tree on public property, including the tree lawn in front of your house, call 311 during business hours. The code requires "the written approval of the administrator" but the city does not publish a standalone form, so 311 is the published route. After-hours emergencies go to (912) 351-3434.
- 3
For a hazardous tree, note that the exemption is conditional: "Any tree determined by an ISA Certified Arborist to be hazardous or an imminent threat to public safety. A tree assessment must be submitted in writing to the administrator for approval prior to removal." Paperwork comes before the saw even though it is labelled an exemption.
- 4
For an undeveloped lot, a lot being converted to non-residential or multi-family use, or a new subdivision lot, apply for a land disturbance permit through Development Services. The administrator may waive plan requirements "upon finding that three or fewer trees are being proposed for removal, no grading is to occur."
- 5
To appeal, write to the director of the Park and Tree Department, who "will review the request and render a decision within ten working days." Further appeal goes to the city manager, with a hearing within 30 days.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No residential permit fee, because no residential permit exists. The only tree money Savannah publishes is penalty money, in Section 6 of the 2026 Revenue Ordinance: damaging or removing a tree on public property costs "$2,500.00 per tree damaged or removed" plus the actual cost to prune, repair, remove or grind, plus the appraised loss in tree value. Removing a tree on commercial property without a Land Disturbance Permit is likewise "$2,500.00 per tree damaged or removed." There is no category at all for damage to trees on residential property.
- Penalties
- Section 8-12012: violations are punished "in accordance with the city code," and "Each day such violation continues shall be considered a separate offense." Anyone who damages a tree on city property owes the difference in the tree's value before and after, all evaluation and corrective maintenance costs, stump removal and replacement costs if removal is required, and all other costs of the case. Section 8-12011 lets the city issue a stop-work order "When clearing or other development of land is being implemented without an approved permit," with seven calendar days after receipt of a notice of violation to remediate. Dollar amounts come from the annual Revenue Ordinance, currently $2,500 per tree on public or commercial property.
- Ordinance
- City of Savannah Code of Ordinances, Division II, Part 8 (Planning and Regulation of Development), Chapter 12 — Landscape and Tree Ordinance, sections 8-12001 through 8-12013, cited in the code as the "Landscape and Tree Protection Ordinance for the City of Savannah, Georgia." Originally adopted by Ordinance of May 10, 2007 at Part 4, Chapter 10; repealed and re-enacted in its current place by Ordinance of April 16, 2015(3); definitions and design requirements amended by Ordinance of March 16, 2017(1), which added the tree lawn provisions. The tree rules did NOT move into the 2019 zoning rewrite — NewZO defers to this chapter.
Worth knowing
- The city says it plainly on its own Tree Ordinance Administration page: "The provisions of the Landscape and Tree Ordinance apply to all property in the city being developed or redeveloped for commercial, industrial, institutional, multi-family and single family subdivisions."
- The tree lawn is the real trap. Section 8-12005: "Unless otherwise permitted by an applicable city permit or license, no person shall trim, prune, or remove any tree on public property without procuring the written approval of the administrator." A tree lawn is "The linear space between the back of curb and sidewalk for planting trees, flowers, grass and shrubs." Savannah street trees typically sit there, not on the private lot. Measure before you cut.
- Savannah will not haul your debris. The Greenscapes Division states it "does not pick up tree debris from private property."
- The Historic District Board of Review does not review tree removal. The lists of activities requiring a Certificate of Appropriateness in the zoning ordinance cover buildings, structures, walls, fences, paving, demolition, relocation and signs. Trees, landscaping and site vegetation are not on either list.
- The Park and Tree Commission, created by council in December 1895, is advisory. Its ordinance role is reviewing exceptional tree nominations, not issuing removal permits.
- Savannah does not license tree services, but it does require registration. The 2026 Revenue Ordinance lists "Tree Services" as a business tax classification and states that "No person shall conduct business from a location within the City without first registering with the City Revenue Department," with the certificate carried on the person or in the vehicle for businesses with no permanent Savannah location. Ask for the City of Savannah Business Tax Certificate.
- Anyone claiming your tree is hazardous must be an ISA Certified Arborist for the city to accept the determination.
- Savannah has been a Tree City USA since 1985, and the city likes to note that one of the first ordinances of the colony in 1733 was a prohibition against cutting trees. That heritage is expressed through control of the squares, parks and rights-of-way, not through regulating back-yard trees.
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.
- — How current the posted code is. Savannah's live code is hosted on EncodePlus, which publishes no "codified through" banner, and the Code Comparative Table's most recent ordinance entry is dated February 28, 2019. Whether any tree amendment adopted after that exists and is reflected could not be confirmed. Savannah's Municode entry is explicitly archive-only.
- — Whether a wetland tree on an exempt residential lot needs a permit. "Any tree in a wetland" appears in the protected list with no single-family carve-out, while the exemption list exempts residential lots from the permitting requirements generally. The ordinance conflicts with itself here. Call Park and Tree at (912) 651-6610 x2734 before cutting, and note that separate federal and state wetland rules may also apply.
- — The ordinance also contradicts itself on scope. Section 8-12002 says the chapter "shall apply to all lands within the city" and 8-12003 promises protection "for all trees, without a permit, within the city unless exempted," and only then does 8-12005 exempt residential lots. The exemption is the operative text but the broad jurisdiction clause is what is printed first.
- — Three different section numbers are in circulation for the same ordinance. The codified text is 8-12001 to 8-12013; the city's own published PDF of the March 2017 ordinance is numbered 8-11001 to 8-11013; and both the 2026 Revenue Ordinance and the zoning ordinance still cross-reference "Part 4, Chapter 10," which has been repealed and now reads Reserved. The substance is identical across versions.
- — Any published step-by-step or form for the right-of-way "written approval of the administrator." The code requires it; the city routes residents to 311 instead.
- — Any Park and Tree fee schedule beyond the Revenue Ordinance penalties.
Sources
- Savannah Code — Chapter 12, Landscape and Tree Ordinance
- City of Savannah Code of Ordinances (official current host)
- City of Savannah — Park and Tree Department
- City of Savannah — Tree Ordinance Administration
- City of Savannah — Urban Forestry
- City of Savannah — Park and Tree Commission
- Landscape and Tree Protection Ordinance, March 16, 2017 (PDF)
- City of Savannah 2026 Revenue Ordinance — Tree Protection Fees (PDF)
- City of Savannah — Development Services Department