Tree Protection in Cambridge, MA (2026)
1 verified tree protection rules for Cambridge, Massachusetts, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Heritage & Protected Trees
Cambridge's Tree Protection Ordinance singles out 'Exceptional Trees,' meaning any protected tree thirty inches or more in trunk diameter, for extra-strength safeguards. Removing one costs 1.5 times the standard mitigation payment charged for an ordinary Significant Tree, on top of the City Arborist permit every removal already requires.
Cambridge Exceptional Tree Protections
Significant RestrictionsCambridge Municipal Code § 8.66.080
Except as provided in Section 8.66.070, the following Mitigation Requirements shall apply when Significant Trees are removed from a Lot: The Mitigation Payment for Significant Trees shall be estimated, on a DBH basis, in accordance with the City of Cambridge's most recent tree planting and maintenance contract inclusive of purchasing, planting, watering and maintaining Replacement Trees for a p...