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

The City Council declared diseased and pest-infested trees a public nuisance under Sec. 22-133, covering Dutch elm disease, emerald ash borer, and any dead or infected elm, ash, or other tree whose bark, logs, branches, or stumps have not been removed and burned or sprayed with an effective insecticide. Sec. 22-134 makes it unlawful for any lot owner in the City to possess, permit, or maintain a nuisance tree, and imposes a duty on every property owner to promptly remove and dispose of it once the City Forester so determines.

The Forester inspects public and private premises at least twice a year under Sec. 22-139 and documents every finding by location, date, and action taken. Under Sec. 22-135, the Forester or an agent may enter any public or private lot at all reasonable hours to inspect, test, sample, and remove nuisance trees, and no additional consent from the owner is required. When the Forester determines removal is in the public interest under Sec. 22-140, the City can remove, burn, or otherwise abate the nuisance itself and bill the owner; unpaid costs become a lien collected through the property tax roll.

An owner may instead attempt private remediation on terms the Forester sets, but if that work is not completed on time the Forester can enter and finish the abatement. Only the affected property owner may appeal a removal order, and the appeal under Sec. 22-141 must be filed in writing within ten days of the Forester's action, heard by the full City Council.