Warren, MI Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Chapter 38, adopted as a full recodification by Ordinance No. 80-829 on January 28, 2025, defines a 'public tree' as any tree located within a right-of-way, meaning a public street (including sidewalk and margin area) or public alley, or within a public place such as a park, pool, playground, or public building grounds. Section 38-11(a) makes it unlawful for a person to remove a public tree or public shrub without first getting a permit from the department of public service or its designated division. Section 38-11(b) applies the same standard to the city's own crews and to utility companies operating under an annual permit: before removal happens, whether by the city or by a utility, the department must conduct an in-person inspection of the tree and apply the removal standards created under Section 38-10 to determine whether it actually qualifies for removal.

Those removal standards are developed and periodically updated by the urban forestry committee under Section 38-9, which must review the removal criteria, the prohibited tree and shrub list, and the preferred-species and planting-guidelines list at least once every two years and file the current versions with the clerk's office for public inspection. Section 38-12 layers on a recordkeeping duty: the department of public service must keep a written record of the reasons, tied to the removal standards, for every removal or removal permit it approves.

Under Section 38-13(b), anyone who removes a public tree, including the city and utility companies, must replace it, and new plantings must match the preferred-species list and the approved planting-location standards.