Fitchburg, WI Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Fitchburg's code does not create an individual landmark or "heritage tree" designation process the way some cities do; the closest analog is the tree preservation plan required of every subdivider under Sec. 24-4(g) of the land division ordinance. That section defines "desirable trees" by name: white oak, red oak, black oak, bur oak, chinkapin oak, pin oak, northern pin oak, swamp white oak, shagbark hickory, bitternut hickory, hackberry, white pine, sugar maple, honey locust and American basswood, each qualifying once its stem reaches six inches in diameter measured four and a half feet above the ground on the uphill side.

Before a preliminary plat can be approved, the subdivider must submit a plan, reviewed by the plan commission, city staff and the city forester, that identifies the owner and subdivider, maps grading and land-disturbance limits, and has a certified arborist (or someone with comparable training) survey the size, species and location of every desirable tree in the development area, with randomized sampling allowed on densely wooded sites. The plan must show protective measures in accordance with the city of Fitchburg Tree Protection Guidelines and flag every desirable tree the applicant proposes to remove during construction.

Separately, Sec. 22-593(1) and Sec. 22-612(1) require planned-development and rural-cluster rezoning applicants to map "heritage or specimen trees" as part of their site inventory, but neither section creates protective standards beyond that mapping disclosure; the operative protection standard sits in Sec. 24-4(g).