Jersey City, NJ Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Chapter 321, adopted by Ordinance 17-169 and most recently amended by Ordinance 25-033, protects both City trees (on public right-of-way, parks, or City property) and Private trees on private land. Section 321-3 lists eleven prohibited acts against a City tree without needing a permit at all: hitching an animal, bicycle, or vehicle to a tree guard; letting an injurious substance touch the trunk or roots; covering or obstructing the open space around the base; piling building material or mortar within six feet; affixing signs with nails, staples, or wire; placing free-standing signs or garbage/recycling bins in a tree pit; cutting or removing canopy; filling or closing a tree pit; damaging a City or Private tree through improper pruning, cutting, or breaking of roots, trunk, or branches; and driving into a tree.

Section 321-4 separately requires a Division of Forestry permit, one per tree affected, before planting in the right-of-way, removing a City or Private tree, spraying chemicals, climbing, pruning, changing a tree bed's grade or soil, installing electrified lighting, or working within a tree's Protected Root Zone during construction or utility work. Section 321-8 requires anyone controlling a wire carrying electric current near a public right-of-way to guard City trees against injury from that wire or cable, subject to Division of Forestry approval of the method.

Section 321-9 sets penalties of $100 to $2,000 per violation as determined by Jersey City Municipal Court, on top of civil remedies the City may pursue in Hudson County Superior Court for removed, destroyed, or damaged trees, with all payments deposited into a City tree replacement reserve fund. The Jersey City Forestry Standards, adopted by Council resolution under Section 321-10, fill in the technical planting, maintenance, and removal criteria referenced throughout the chapter.