West Jordan, UT Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Chapter 18's applicability, set out in section 13-18-3, limits the whole chapter to public trees and to any private tree that becomes a public nuisance or hazard, so an ordinary tree removal on private property is not regulated here. Section 13-18-5(A) makes it unlawful to plant, remove, move, spray, trim, prune, cut, disturb, or otherwise alter a city-owned tree without first getting the Urban Forester's written consent, and any crew doing contract work on a public tree must include at least one ISA-certified arborist on site.

When a development project requires removing a public tree specifically, section 13-18-9(B) adds that the Urban Forester must approve the removal plan, the tree must first be appraised using the methods of the International Society of Arboriculture and the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers, and the permittee has to pay that appraised value to the city; those funds go toward buying and planting replacement trees in parks and other public property. The Parks Department's Urban Forester, per section 13-18-4, controls planting, care, and removal decisions for trees on city parks and city-maintained grounds and keeps an official tree planting list. Enforcement runs through the City Code Enforcement Officer under section 13-18-13, with appeals available under title 16 per section 13-18-14.