Pottstown, PA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 106 limits street tree removal to four enumerated conditions: the tree is dangerous and can only be made safe by removing it, it is dead or dying with no reversible condition, it is diseased and threatens other Borough trees, or it has damaged roadway facilities such as sidewalk, curb, gutter or pavement beyond what routine maintenance can fix. A tree affecting a building's sanitary sewer lateral qualifies for removal only if the lateral cannot practically be relocated around it, and a tree crowding other trees, utility lines, poles or a fixed obstruction like a flagpole can also be considered.

Once the Public Works Director approves removal, the property owner pays for replacement, either by planting a new tree at an approved location meeting the Section 104 planting standards, or by paying the Borough up to $200 in lieu of replacement. A replacement tree must have a minimum caliper of two and a half inches at four foot height and be a species that will meet mature height requirements. Removal without a permit lets the Director require the owner to replace the tree anyway, at the owner's sole expense. Every removal permit, permitted or ordered, runs for no more than 60 days from issuance, and all work must finish inside that window.