Southfield, MI Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Southfield, MI, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Permit required for
- Planting, trimming, or removing any tree/shrub on public land
- Issuing authority
- Superintendent of Parks and Recreation
- Replacement condition
- Permittee may have to plant a replacement tree
- Replacement deadline
- Six months or the next planting season
- Failure to replant
- Separate misdemeanor under § 3.27
- General penalty (no permit)
- § 1.15: up to $500 fine / 90 days
Summary
Removing, trimming, or otherwise disturbing a tree or shrub in a Southfield highway, park, or public place requires a written permit from the superintendent of parks and recreation. The superintendent can condition a removal permit on planting a replacement, due within six months or the next planting season.
No person shall hereafter plant, move, spray, fertilize, brace, trim, do surgery work, cut aboveground or below ground, cut any branch or root therefrom or otherwise disturb any tree or shrub in any highway, park or public place of the city, nor cause such acts to be done by others, without first obtaining a written permit from the superintendent of parks and recreation, who shall issue the permit if in his judgment the desired work is necessary, and the proposed method of workmanship thereof is of a satisfactory nature. ... As a condition to any permit to remove any tree or shrub, the superintendent of parks and recreation may require that the permittee plant a tree or shrub in place of the one removed. Whenever any such tree has been destroyed or removed, it shall be a misdemeanor for the permittee to fail, refuse or neglect to plant another tree or shrub of the type and size, and at the location specified in the permit, within six (6) months or within the next planting season from the date of the issuance of the permit.
Full Breakdown
Southfield City Code § 3.26 bars anyone from planting, moving, spraying, fertilizing, bracing, trimming, doing surgery work, cutting above or below ground, cutting a branch or root, or otherwise disturbing a tree or shrub in any city highway, park, or public place, without first getting a written permit from the superintendent of parks and recreation. The superintendent issues the permit only if the work is judged necessary and the proposed method of workmanship is satisfactory, and every permittee must abide by the city's adopted specifications and standards of practice.
Section 3.27 adds a specific condition for removal permits: the superintendent may require the permittee to plant a replacement tree or shrub of the type, size, and location specified in the permit. Every removal permit must describe the work, specify species, size, grade, location, planting and support method, and carry a definite expiration date; violating the permit's terms can void it. This permit system applies only to public land, since the superintendent has exclusive authority over trees on highways, parks, and public places under § 3.23; a homeowner removing a tree on their own private lot is not covered by §§ 3.26-3.27.
Violations & Fines
Section 3.27 makes it a standalone misdemeanor if a permittee fails, refuses, or neglects to plant the required replacement tree or shrub within six months or the next planting season from the date the permit issued. Beyond that specific offense, Chapter 28 has no general penalty clause of its own, so removing or disturbing a public tree without any permit at all falls to the citywide default in § 1.15: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine, up to 90 days in jail, or both, with each day of violation a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in a Southfield park or right-of-way?
Can the city make me plant a new tree if mine is removed?
How long do I have to plant the replacement tree?
What if I never plant the required replacement tree?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Southfield
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Tree Removal & Heritage Trees in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Oakland County handle tree removal & heritage trees.