Burlington, NC Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Chapter 38, Article II governs trees on city rights-of-way, defined as land within and adjoining streets, roads and highways that the city or state owns or maintains. Section 38-27(a) makes it unlawful to prune, treat, trench, grade within the drip line, remove, or add any street tree, shrub or planting in the right-of-way without first filing an application with the Public Works Department and getting a permit from the city Tree Advisory Committee, which reviews each application before deciding whether to issue one. Section 38-27(b) carves out routine maintenance: no permit is needed to remove dead, broken or injured branches, or lower branches under two inches in diameter that obstruct traffic, once the article's administrator, the director of public works or a designee, signs off.

Utility companies installing overhead or underground lines, including CATV, water and sewer work, do not need individual removal permits either, so long as their written pruning and trenching specifications are approved by the administrator and reviewed by the Tree Advisory Committee, and they follow the tree-trimming requirements in the city's rights-of-way management ordinance at section 30-72(j). Anyone unhappy with a Tree Advisory Committee ruling can appeal to the city council under section 38-28, which can hear the matter and issue a final decision. During storms, ice events, fires or other disasters, the administrator can waive the permit requirement to restore order quickly, though section 38-29 makes clear this emergency waiver cannot be used to sidestep the ordinance generally.