Omaha, NE Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Omaha's North Hills Environmental Resources Overlay District (steep, forested land bounded roughly by 78th Street, Omaha Trace Road, and the Missouri River bluffs) requires a special use permit before removing tree canopy or other vegetation above set thresholds. On slopes under 17 percent, that trigger is destroying or removing more than one-half acre of tree canopy in any 12-month period, or two acres or more over any stretch of six or fewer consecutive years. On steeper ground the thresholds tighten sharply: a permit is required once vegetation removal exceeds 5,000 square feet on 17-30 percent slopes, or just 1,000 square feet on 30-50 percent slopes.

Applicants must submit a landscaping plan showing existing vegetation and proposed plantings, and approved clearing is followed by mandatory revegetation: at least 20 trees planted for every half-acre of canopy removed, using species consistent with the city's Standards for Urban Landscaping. A narrow carve-out exempts vegetation removal done solely for and incidental to building a single-family residence on an existing lot, plus routine agricultural plowing/disking and street or drainage right-of-way work by a political subdivision.