Tree removal permit rules in Gladstone, MO — sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances — list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Removing a tree on your own Clay County land needs no permit; Missouri has no statewide tree-protection law. But trees in the public right-of-way are city property, and cutting someone else's tree brings treble damages under RSMo 537.340.
Missouri does not regulate cutting down trees on your own private property, and Clay County has no county tree-removal permit, so you can remove trees on land you own without county approval. Two limits apply. Street and park trees in the public right-of-way belong to the city; in Gladstone and other cities with a forestry program, only the city may remove them. And RSMo 537.340 makes anyone who cuts, injures, or destroys a tree on another person's land liable for three times its value. Developers may face separate landscaping conditions during site-plan review.
No penalty for removing your own trees. Cutting a public street or park tree without city consent violates the municipal forestry ordinance, and destroying a neighbor's tree makes you liable for treble the tree's value plus costs under RSMo 537.340.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Gladstone's tree removal & heritage trees rules stack up against other locations.
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