Prune trees on your own Champaign County lot without a permit, but parkway and street trees belong to the city. Urbana's Arbor Division and Champaign's Forestry Section manage public trees, and residents may not top or remove them.
In Champaign and Urbana the parkway tree between sidewalk and curb is city property, cared for by Urbana's Arbor Division or Champaign's Forestry Section; residents cannot prune, top, or remove it without city authorization. On your own lot you may prune freely, and Urbana asks that work follow national pruning standards. Illinois common law lets you trim a neighbor's overhanging branches back to the property line at your own cost. Emerald ash borer has hollowed out the local ash population, one of the four most-planted street genera here, and winter ice storms routinely bring crews out for hazard limbs.
Nothing for pruning your own trees sensibly. Topping, damaging, or removing a city parkway tree without permission violates the tree ordinance and can bring restitution for the tree's appraised value plus replacement.
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See how Champaign County's tree trimming rules stack up against other locations.
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