Tree removal permit rules in Kootenai County, ID — sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances — list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Removing trees on private land in unincorporated Kootenai County generally needs no county permit, except within the 25-foot Shoreline Management Area along Lake Coeur d'Alene and the rivers, where vegetation removal and ground disturbance are controlled to protect water quality.
The county does not run a general tree-preservation permit for inland residential lots. The regulated area is the Shoreline Management Area (County Code 8.7.111): 25 feet in slope distance landward of the ordinary high water mark. There, vegetation modification is limited, and mechanical ground disturbances not otherwise permitted may be allowed only if the applicant demonstrates the need through a Shoreline Management Plan prepared by a design professional and the Community Development Department finds the water-quality risk is no greater than doing the work by hand. Vegetation modification is expressly permitted to implement an approved wildfire-mitigation plan or for noxious-weed abatement. Cities like Coeur d'Alene regulate right-of-way tree removal separately.
Removing shoreline vegetation without required review is a site-disturbance violation; Community Development may order replanting/restoration and assess penalties. Inland removal on private land is not a county violation.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Kootenai County's tree removal & heritage trees rules stack up against other locations.
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