Do you need a permit?
Yes — a permit is required
Trenton rewrote its tree chapter in May 2024. If you plan to remove a tree on your property with a diameter at breast height of 6 inches or more, or a street tree of 2.5 inches or more, you must submit a Tree Permit and wait for city approval before cutting. The application fee runs from $25 to $100 depending on trunk size, and replacement trees are required unless the resident exemption applies.
Size threshold
"Any person planning to remove a street tree, as defined as Tree removal, with DBH of 2.5" or more or any non-street tree with DBH of 6" or more on their property shall submit a Tree Permit to the City of Trenton. No tree shall be removed until City officials have reviewed and approved the removal."
What's protected in Trenton
- Street trees, meaning trees in the sidewalk, planting strip or public right-of-way, including islands, medians and pedestrian refuges (2.5 inch DBH threshold)
- All vegetation, tree posts and tree guards on any property under City of Trenton jurisdiction
How to apply in Trenton
- 1
Measure the tree at diameter at breast height, 4.5 feet above ground on the uphill side. If the trunk divides below 4.5 feet, measure at the highest point before the division. Multi-trunk trees are measured independently and summed.
- 2
If it is a non-street tree of 6 inches DBH or more, or a street tree of 2.5 inches or more, submit a Tree Permit to the City of Trenton with the application fee for its size category.
- 3
If you are claiming an exemption, provide written justification to the Department, including photos and a statement from a New Jersey licensed tree expert or arborist.
- 4
Do not remove the tree until City officials have reviewed and approved the removal.
- 5
Plant the required replacement trees within 12 months of removal, or on an alternative date the city specifies, and monitor them for two years, replacing any that die within 12 months.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Tied to trunk size: $25 for a tree of 2.5 inches DBH (street) or 6 inches (non-street) up to 12.99 inches; $50 for 13 to 22.99 inches; $75 for 23 to 32.99 inches; $100 for 33 inches or greater.
- Penalties
- Punished as provided in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty, but the fine may not be less than the amount of the required replacement trees plus the cost of planting. The Superintendent of Trees and the Superintendent of Parks serve summonses and issue citations.
- Ordinance
- Code of the City of Trenton, Chapter 287, Trees (originally adopted 9-7-1967; amended in its entirety 5-9-2024 by Ord. No. 24-38)
Worth knowing
- Replacement schedule: 2.5 inches DBH (street) or 6 inches (non-street) up to 12.99 inches requires 1 replacement tree of at least 2.5 inch caliper; 13 to 22.99 inches requires 2; 23 to 32.99 inches requires 3; 33 inches or greater requires 4.
- If the official determines replacement trees cannot be planted where the removal happened, you either plant them in a separate area the official approves or pay $300 per tree removed into a dedicated tree planting and maintenance fund.
- Resident exemption: residents who remove fewer than four trees per acre in Categories 1, 2 or 3 within a rolling five-year period are exempt from the replacement standard.
- Hazard trees may be removed with no fee and no replacement requirement.
- Separate written permits from the Department are required to plant a shade tree, to attach anything to a tree or its guard, to place paving that blocks water or air to the roots, and to attach electrical wire or insulators, on any property under city jurisdiction.
- If the Department decides a tree on private property is in danger of falling across a public thoroughfare or is otherwise dangerous, it holds a hearing and can order the owner to remove, prune or cut it down, then bill the owner if the owner does not comply.
- No excavating or operating heavy equipment within six feet of any tree without the Department's permission.
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 exact street address and dedicated intake window for the Department of Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture. The phone number listed is the Shade Tree Bureau line the city publishes for street tree work.
- — Whether the city publishes a downloadable Tree Permit application form.
- — The dollar amount of the Chapter 1, Article III general penalty that Section 287-16 incorporates.