Wilmington, NC Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Sec. 18-471 makes the tree removal permit a gatekeeper for nearly every other approval on a site: a tree removal permit is required before any clearing, grading or other authorizations may be issued, including soil and sedimentation control permits and building permits. Once issued for new construction, the permit covers the entire site rather than tree-by-tree, and the approved tree preservation plan has to stay posted at the job site with the rest of the permits for the duration of the work. The city can withhold or withdraw any other city-issued permit, including certificates of occupancy, until the tree removal permit is in hand.

To apply, Sec. 18-472 requires the applicant to submit a fee set by the city's adopted fee schedule along with three sets of plans showing which trees will come down and which will be saved, and the applicant has to certify that whoever does the cutting knows the ANSI and OSHA standards for tree pruning and removal and carries insurance, or is getting help from an insured landscaping or arboriculture professional who does. The city manager grants a permit under Sec. 18-474 only where essential site improvements cannot be built without removing the tree, the tree is dead, diseased, or in danger of falling on a structure, it disrupts utilities or drainage in the right-of-way, it threatens pedestrian or vehicular safety, it violates a safety standard, or removing it benefits the health of adjacent trees or property. Sec. 18-473 lets the city manager waive the requirement during a declared emergency like a hurricane, or authorize immediate removal of a hazardous tree without a written permit.