Manchester, CT Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Article II of Chapter 298, adopted July 11, 2017, gives Manchester's Tree Warden, appointed by the General Manager under Connecticut's Public Shade Trees Statutes, authority over trees on public property and, in defined circumstances, on private land. Section 298-9 requires any public utility company planning to remove trees on public or private property to notify the Tree Warden at least 30 days in advance, tag each tree marked for removal, notify all property owners on a street where more than one property is affected, and meet with the Tree Warden, who may require the utility to replace removed trees or substitute other landscape material.

Section 298-10 addresses hazardous or diseased trees as a public nuisance: if the Tree Warden finds a nuisance tree on public property, the Warden may order it treated, trimmed or removed outright; on private property, the owner gets written notice and 30 days to remove it before the Tree Warden, with the General Manager's approval, does the work and bills the owner, with unpaid costs becoming a lien on the property. The same section bars anyone, including utilities and government agencies, from pruning, removing, defacing, cutting, marking, injuring or destroying a tree or shrub in a public area or right-of-way without Conservation Commission authorization, and bars fastening signs, wire or climbing spurs to public trees. Violations run up to $100 per offense, with each day of a continuing violation counted separately.