Detroit, MI Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Detroit, MI, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Permit required
- cutting/removing trees on public right-of-way
- Issuing agency
- General Services Department
- Covers
- streets, boulevards, alleys, parkway strips
- Penalty
- up to $500 fine, 90 days jail
- Exception
- DPW-authorized public improvement removals
Summary
Detroit requires a General Services Department permit before anyone cuts, destroys, sprays, or does surgical work on a tree growing on a public street, boulevard, alley, or parkway strip: even the grass strip in front of a private home.
No person shall prune, cut, molest, break, deface, destroy, spray, repair or do surgical work upon any tree or part thereof or in any manner interfere with, disturb or injure any tree, shrub or plant upon the public highways or places of the City, or shall use any chemical for the control of insects or other diseases or for any other reason, or shall permit any chemical, either solids or fluids, to seep, drain or be emptied on or about any tree, shrub or plant growing upon any public highway or place within the City, without first obtaining a permit from the General Services Department.(b)Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to apply to the removal, under the direction of the General Services Department, by the Department of Public Works or any other department or subdivision thereof, of any tree, shrub or plant thereof, when such removal shall be necessary for the construction of any sidewalk, sewer, water main, conduit, or public improvement, after notifying the General Services Department as to the extent of the project proposed. (Code 1964, § 64-1-4; Code 1984, § 57-2-4)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 4).
Full Breakdown
General Services Department controls every tree, shrub, and plant on a "public highway or place": defined as the land between the property lines on either side of city streets, boulevards, and alleys, which includes the terrace strip between the sidewalk and curb that many homeowners think of as their own yard. Before pruning, spraying, breaking, or removing such a tree, a resident or contractor must first get a written permit from General Services. The rule doesn't apply when the Department of Public Works itself clears a tree for an approved sidewalk, sewer, water main, or other public-improvement project after notifying General Services. A tree entirely inside a private backyard falls outside this permit requirement unless the City separately declares it diseased or dangerous under Detroit's nuisance-tree provisions.
Violations & Fines
Violating the permit requirement is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500.00 fine and up to 90 days in jail, or both, for each violation issued, and a continuing violation can draw a separate misdemeanor for every day it persists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to remove the tree between my sidewalk and the street?
Does this permit rule cover a tree in my own backyard?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Detroit
Compare Detroit to another location·View the Michigan landscaping rules overview
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Tree Removal & Heritage Trees in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Wayne County handle tree removal & heritage trees.