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

Section 54-105(a) of the Fitchburg City Code, in Dane County, Wisconsin, makes it unlawful for anyone other than the city or its agents acting within the scope of employment to plant, remove, brace, trim, prune, cut above or below ground, disturb or alter any public tree or shrub without first securing a written permit from the city forester. The only exempted activities are cultivating, fertilizing, mulching or watering public trees, which need no permit. Once the forester confirms a proposed removal or planting meets this division and the city's subdivision ordinance, Section 54-105(b) requires the permit to specify the exact work authorized along with the species, variety, size and location of any replacement planting, and all authorized work must be finished within six months of issuance.

Utilities are covered separately: Section 54-105(c) requires any public utility other than the municipal utility, plus cable and telecommunications companies and other permitted right-of-way users, to hold an annual permit from the forester before trimming, cutting or removing trees, and to give the forester 24 hours' written notice before each job; the forester may approve the work only if it serves the public interest and fits the division's purpose. Section 54-105(d) puts the cost of removing, maintaining and protecting public trees and shrubs on the city itself, not the abutting property owner, except where the code says otherwise.

This permit requirement sits apart from the private-tree nuisance process in Section 54-78, which lets the forester order an owner to abate a diseased or dangerous tree on private land.