Toledo, OH Invasive Plant Rules: Tree-of-Heaven Removal (2026)

07 of the Toledo Municipal Code directly addresses Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), the fast-spreading invasive species notorious for aggressive root suckering and weak wood. The ordinance bars anyone from planting it, by name, along the public streets or ways of the City without first obtaining a special permit from the Commissioner of Parks, Forestry and Open Space Planning. Tree of Heaven appears in a named list alongside box-elder, catalpa, cottonwood, Chinese elm, soft or silver maple, mulberry, poplar, walnut and willow, all barred from street-side planting because of root growth, branch or trunk characteristics, or other reasons the Commissioner deems unsatisfactory for public highway use.

07 stops new specimens from going in along city rights-of-way, and it does not by its own text require an owner to cut down an existing Tree of Heaven on private land. 08 gives the City a separate tool, letting the Commissioner declare it a public nuisance and order the owner to remove it or correct the condition, with the City able to do the work and bill the property if the owner does not comply. 99.