Ames, IA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 27.3 lets the City Manager or a designee remove street trees in three circumstances. Dead trees, or ones posing a clear and present danger to public safety, may be removed at any time without notice. Trees identified in a City Council-approved plan to manage an infestation or disease may also be removed by the City Manager, with any appeals handled administratively as an appendix to that plan. For any other removal, the City Manager must post a notice of intention on the tree for at least 15 days; a local resident may file a written objection during that window, and if none is filed the tree may be removed, but if an objection is filed the City Council holds a hearing at its next regular meeting and decides whether to sustain the objection or authorize removal.

Sec. 27.4 separately requires adjoining property owners to keep street and private trees trimmed so they do not interfere with pedestrian sidewalk use, and states that cutting or removing street trees is allowed only with permission and under the supervision of the City Manager's designee; cutting or trimming near electric utility lines additionally needs the electric utility's express permission. Chapter 27's penalty clause, Sec. 27.7, makes a violation a municipal infraction carrying a $500 fine for a first offense and $750 for each repeat.