Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Wilmington is the strictest city on this list and the only one that spells out the homeowner test in plain numbers. A tree removal permit is required for any tree 4 inches DBH or greater on a non-residential lot, on a residential lot larger than one acre, inside a conservation resource setback or protective buffer, or anywhere inside a local historic district regardless of lot size - plus any tree in the public right-of-way. A typical residential lot of an acre or less, outside a historic district and outside a buffer, does not need one. The city still asks you to call first, and the penalty for guessing wrong is $150 per inch or $1,200 per tree.
Size threshold
Four inches DBH is the trigger where the permit applies at all. The Land Development Code separately defines regulated trees as hardwoods at least 8 inches DBH, conifers at least 12 inches DBH, and dogwoods, magnolias, other ornamental flowering trees and American hollies at least 4 inches DBH; and significant trees as hardwood, long leaf pine, pocosin pine, black pine and non-pine conifers at least 24 inches DBH, all other pines at least 32 inches DBH, and dogwoods, magnolias, American hollies and other ornamental flowering trees at least 8 inches DBH.
What's protected in Wilmington
- Any tree 4 inches DBH or greater on a residential lot larger than one acre
- Any tree 4 inches DBH or greater on any non-residential lot
- Any tree 4 inches DBH or greater within a conservation resource setback or protective buffer
- Any tree in a local historic district, regardless of property size, which needs both a Tree Removal Permit and a Certificate of Appropriateness
- Specimen trees, which need Board of Adjustment approval to remove in every zoning district except IND
- Any tree in the public right-of-way
How to apply in Wilmington
- 1
Call 910-254-0900 before you cut anything, which is what the city asks first and in bold.
- 2
If a permit is required, submit a tree removal application through the Development and Permitting Services online portal at wilmingtonnc-energovweb.tylerhost.net.
- 3
The application must be accompanied by the fee and by plans showing the trees proposed for removal and the trees or natural areas proposed to be saved.
- 4
In a local historic district, file the tree removal application first, then obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness as well.
- 5
For a specimen tree outside the IND district, you need Board of Adjustment approval, which is a variance process, not an over-the-counter permit.
- 6
Post the approved tree removal permit and tree preservation plan at the job site with the other permits for the duration of the work.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Removal of trees from private property: less than one acre $25; 1 to 5 acres $50; 5 to 10 acres $100; greater than 10 acres $150. Administrative permits where no tree is proposed for removal are $0. Mitigation, where required, is $175 per caliper inch of mitigation.
- Penalties
- Removing a tree from private property without a required permit: $150 per inch of diameter at breast height, or $1,200 per tree, whichever is greater, plus mitigation if required. Where mitigation is required and cannot be met by replanting on site, the mitigation fee is $175 per inch DBH of the trees removed, multiplied by two. Failing to install or maintain tree protection is separately $500 per day plus a stop work order, and the property owner is jointly and severally liable for work done by a contractor.
- Ordinance
- City of Wilmington Land Development Code, tree preservation and tree removal provisions. The city currently cites Section 18-316 and Table 18-316.1 (Protected Trees) in the recodified Land Development Code, Article 5, Site Development Requirements. The corresponding older numbering still carried in the Code of Ordinances is Chapter 18, Article 8, Divisions II and III (Sections 18-455 through 18-474), from Ord. No. O-2008-25 (4-8-2008), amended by Ord. No. O-2010-91 (12-7-2010) and Ord. No. O-2012-85 (12-4-2012). Authority: Sess. Laws 1987, Ch. 786, a local act letting New Hanover County and its municipalities regulate tree removal from public and private property.
Worth knowing
- The city manager may waive the permit requirement during an emergency such as a hurricane, tornado, windstorm, tropical storm or flood, and may authorise removal without a written permit where a protected tree is in a hazardous condition that immediately endangers public health or safety or disrupts public services.
- Wilmington warns that fraudulent invoices have been sent to permit applicants asking for wire transfers. The city never requests payment by wire transfer. Check your dashboard in the permitting portal for real invoices, and call 910-254-0900 if in doubt.
- The local act that gives Wilmington this authority does not extend to agricultural land, forestland or horticultural land as defined in NCGS 105-277.2.
- The Land Development Code also requires, on development sites, that at least 15 trees of 2 inches DBH or more be retained or planted per acre or proportionate area disturbed.
- Removal of a protected tree is only approved on stated grounds, including that essential site improvements cannot be accommodated elsewhere, or that the tree is dead, severely diseased, injured, or in danger of falling near structures.
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 full recodified text of Land Development Code Section 18-316 and Table 18-316.1. The city cites that section and shows the table as an image; the Municode Land Development Code product does not render its text, so the thresholds above come from the city's own Tree Removal page and from the older but still-published Article 8 numbering.
- — The size definition of a "specimen tree" in Wilmington, which triggers Board of Adjustment review.
- — How long tree removal permit review takes.