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

Chapter 20 of the City Code, adopted April 16, 2024 by Ordinance No. 68-22, makes it unlawful to cut, destroy, remove or trim more than 30% of any healthy mature tree on private or public land in Linden without a permit under § 20-3. Property owners are capped at three tree removals per property per calendar year. Permits are issued by the Director of the Shade Tree Advisory Board, the Director of the Department of Community Services, or a designee, and remain valid for twelve months from issuance; a lapsed approval requires a new application and new fees, though the City can grant up to two six-month renewals if governmental approvals are still pending or development is underway.

An application under § 20-4 must identify the applicant and property owner, the tax lot and block, and include a scaled tree removal plan showing every tree to be removed by number, species and DBH, a temporary tree protection fence line, and the distance of each tree from structures and property lines; the contractor doing the work must also show proof of liability insurance. 5-inch-caliper replacement tree for the smallest category up to four for trees 33 inches DBH or larger, each application carrying a $30 fee.

Where the Shade Tree Advisory Board finds the property cannot hold the required replacement trees, the applicant must either plant them on a City-approved alternate site or pay $500 per required tree into the City's dedicated tree-planting fund. Exemptions exist for land-clearing tied to an approved subdivision or site plan (clearcutting is never permitted), nurseries and garden centers, active forest-stewardship parcels, decommissioning-plan removals, NJDEP- or EPA-approved cleanups, and hazard trees, which can come down with no fee or replacement obligation at all.