4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Oakland County, Michigan.
Verified from official government sources
Oakland County does not issue a county-wide tree-removal permit for private property. Tree-removal regulation is delegated to each of the 62 cities, villages, and townships under the Michigan Township Zoning Act and Home Rule City Act. Several Oakland County jurisdictions — notably Charter Township of Oakland (Chapter 389), Bloomfield Township (Ord. 608), Farmington Hills (Chapter 31 / Zoning Chapter 34-5.18), and West Bloomfield (Chapter 23) — require a tree-removal permit for any regulated tree at or above the local DBH threshold (commonly 6 to 8 inches DBH).
Charter Township of Oakland Code Ch. 389 (Tree Protection, Preservation and Removal) (Ord. No. 60, 7-10-1990)
No person shall remove, cause to be removed, transplant or destroy, on any land in the Township to which this chapter applies, any tree having six inches or greater diameter breast height, or conifer greater than 20 feet in height, without first obtaining a tree removal permit.
Heritage / landmark tree designations in Oakland County exist only at the municipal level. Bloomfield Township defines a Landmark Tree as any tree 24 inches DBH or greater, plus any species/diameter combination listed in §42-2.86(I). Bloomfield Hills (Ch. 22) uses the same 24-inch DBH landmark threshold. Removal of a landmark tree requires a permit and triggers a 100% DBH replacement ratio (vs. 50% for ordinary protected trees).
Tree replacement after permitted removal is regulated by individual Oakland County municipalities. In Charter Township of Oakland (Ch. 389), replacement is on a total-caliper basis: each removed deciduous tree must be replaced with new trees whose calipers aggregate to the original DBH (no replacement under 2.5 in DBH); conifers are replaced on total-height basis (no replacement under 6 ft tall). Bloomfield Township replaces protected (non-landmark) trees at 50% of DBH and landmark trees at 100% of DBH.
Charter Township of Oakland Code Ch. 389 (Tree Protection, Preservation and Removal)
For deciduous trees, replacement shall be on a total caliper basis -- for example, for each tree with a twelve-inch-diameter breast height, there shall be replacement trees with an aggregate of calipers totaling 12 inches, provided no replacement trees shall have a diameter breast height less than 2 1/2 inches; for conifers, replacement shall be based upon total height, with no replacement tree...
Oakland County does not have a unified countywide tree ordinance for private property. Tree-protection authority rests with the 62 cities, villages, and townships. Major Oakland County tree-protection codes include Charter Township of Oakland Ch. 389 (Ord. 60, 1990), Bloomfield Township Ord. 608 (Tree Preservation), Bloomfield Hills Code Ch. 22, West Bloomfield Code Ch. 23, Farmington Hills Code Ch. 31, and Royal Oak Code Ch. 710 (Trees). Tree work in the public road right-of-way is regulated by the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC).
1 cities in Oakland County have their own tree protection rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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