Kenosha County, WI Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Kenosha County, WI, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Buffer width
- 35 feet from ordinary high-water mark
- Default rule
- Vegetation removal prohibited in buffer
- Viewing corridor exception
- Up to 35 ft per 100 ft of frontage
- Forestry exception
- Parcels with 10+ forested acres
- Invasive/hazard removal
- Allowed, replanting required
- Applies to
- Unincorporated shoreland lots only
Summary
Kenosha County bars cutting trees or shrubs within 35 feet of the ordinary high-water mark on unincorporated shoreland lots, a vegetative buffer zone set by Municipal Code § 12.09.020(a). Removal is prohibited by default, with only narrow exceptions for routine maintenance, a permitted viewing corridor, large-parcel forestry management, and clearing invasive, diseased, or hazardous vegetation.
(a) To protect water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and natural scenic beauty, and to promote preservation and restoration of native vegetation, the County ordinance shall designate land that extends from the ordinary high water mark to a minimum of 35 feet inland as a vegetative buffer zone and prohibit removal of vegetation in the vegetative buffer zone except as follows: 1. The County may allow routine maintenance of vegetation. 2. The County may allow removal of trees and shrubs in the vegetative buffer zone to create access and viewing corridors. The viewing corridor may be at least 35 feet wide for every 100 feet of shoreline frontage. The viewing corridor may run contiguously for the for the entire maximum width or shoreline frontage owned.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 37 (2026), passed March 17, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020(a) designates the strip from the ordinary high-water mark to a minimum of 35 feet inland as a vegetative buffer zone and prohibits removing vegetation there except under five listed allowances. 100. 020(b) caps hard-surface coverage on riparian and near-shore lots, layered on top of the vegetation buffer. Because shoreland regulations reach only unincorporated county land, the rule does not govern shoreline parcels inside the City of Kenosha, the City of Lake Geneva, or the county's villages, which administer their own shoreland zoning.
Violations & Fines
Clearing vegetation in the 35-foot buffer without qualifying for one of the five exceptions is a Chapter 12 zoning violation. The general penalty in § 12.53.010 is a forfeiture of not less than $10 nor more than $500 plus the costs of prosecution, with imprisonment in the County Jail of up to 30 days in default of payment, and each day the violation continues is treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cut down trees near the lake on my Kenosha County property?
How wide can a viewing corridor be through the shoreland buffer?
Does the 35-foot buffer rule apply inside the City of Kenosha?
What happens if I clear buffer vegetation without qualifying for an exception?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenosha County
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