Birmingham, AL Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 6-5-1 opens Chapter 5 (Trees and Shrubs), Article A, and reads broadly: no person shall, without proper authority, willfully or maliciously cut down, destroy, remove, steal or injure any tree, plant or shrub planted or preserved for shade or ornament in any public street or square, or in any yard, ground or park belonging to the city or to any individual inhabitant of the city, nor remove earth, dirt or turf from such a spot. Because the section is framed around trees belonging to the city or to 'any individual inhabitant,' its bite falls on someone removing or damaging a tree on public property or on another person's land without permission, rather than creating a permit requirement for a homeowner cutting down a tree on their own lot.

Section 6-5-2 defines 'tree surgery work' as cutting, trimming, pruning or removing trees or shrubs in any manner, and the chapter separately regulates that trade: Section 6-5-3 requires anyone in the tree surgery business to haul waste cuttings, trimmings, prunings or cut trees to a city dump, and Section 6-5-4 requires a daily written report to the superintendent of streets and sanitation identifying any address where cuttings were left because they were not waste. 00 permit from the director of finance under Section 6-5-11, refundable under Section 6-5-12 if the lot is certified cleaned within six days after December 25; that permit governs seasonal tree sales, not tree removal.