Joliet, IL Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Joliet's 2022 rewrite of the tree preservation ordinance (Ord. No. 18360) added a 'legacy tree' designation on top of the code's general four-inch DBH permit threshold. Sec. 26-128(b) defines a legacy tree as 'a tree identified on the legacy tree list and which has been recorded as such by the City of Joliet,' with the list itself maintained through the city's Urban Forest Management Plan rather than printed in the Code. Sec. ' That extra protection shows up in how removals are classified: the definitions in subsection (b) state that 'significant tree removal means removal of a legacy tree or grouping/stand of trees,' and subsection (i) requires anyone seeking a permit for a significant removal to file a full tree preservation and/or removal plan meeting ANSI A300 standards and the Urban Forest Management Plan, rather than the lighter 'simple tree removal' process available for an ordinary tree.

A legacy tree that is removed still triggers the same replacement table in subsection (h), scaled to the tree's DBH, and the same per-inch fine in subsection (u) if it's cut without a permit. Because the legacy tree list and the program's day-to-day protections live in the separately adopted management plan rather than the printed Code, the Code itself establishes the program and the elevated review category but defers the list and specific safeguards to that plan.