De Pere, WI Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 30-9(a) makes it unlawful, absent an order from the city forester, for anyone without a written permit from the board of park commissioners to remove, destroy, cut, break, climb or injure a tree, plant or shrub growing in or upon a public highway or public place, and it also bars injuring or removing any device set up to protect such a tree. Subsection (b) sets the application process: a person wanting to remove, cut, prune or treat a public tree files on blanks the city provides, stating the number and kind of trees involved and the condition of the nearest tree on the adjoining property.

Under subsection (c), if the city forester judges the proposed work and workmanship acceptable, the forester issues a written permit, and the work must then proceed under the terms of that permit and the board of park commissioners' supervision. The chapter treats interference with a permitted public tree seriously elsewhere: discharging gas or other deleterious substances near a public tree's roots is separately unlawful under Sec. 30-9(d), and Sec. 30-16 puts the city forester in charge of enforcing Secs. 30-9 through 30-15. This permit scheme is limited to the public right-of-way and public grounds; De Pere's forestry chapter does not require a permit to remove a tree growing entirely on a private residential lot, only to protect trees that stand in the street, boulevard, park or other public area.