Lakeville, MN Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Lakeville City Code section 11-2-3 defines a Heritage Tree as a healthy hardwood deciduous tree measuring equal to or greater than thirty inches (30 in) in diameter, or a healthy coniferous tree measuring forty feet (40') in height. Section 11-21-11, the tree preservation chapter, requires a tree preservation plan for essentially all new subdivisions, site-plan developments, and qualifying infill or expansion building permits, prepared and certified by a licensed forester, landscape architect, ISA Certified Arborist, or Registered Consultant Arborist. Under section 11-21-11.F.1, heritage trees are treated as unique to Lakeville due to their size and age, and all reasonable measures shall be taken to preserve them; unlike common, conifer, or significant hardwood deciduous trees, which get a partial removal allowance before replacement kicks in, heritage trees carry no such threshold.

Section 11-21-11.G.1.d requires that one hundred percent (100%) of the diameter inches of any heritage tree removed be replaced, and section 11-21-11.G.1.f requires that reconstruction or expansion of an existing residential structure on a lot larger than one acre replace each removed heritage tree at a rate of two replacement trees per heritage tree. As an incentive, section 11-21-11.C allows a Heritage Tree Credit toward required replacement when a healthy heritage tree is preserved, applied at a 2:1 ratio of replacement credited to inches preserved, up to fifty percent (50%) of the required replacement diameter inches, though no credit is available for a tree within fifteen feet (15') of a building pad, and a credited tree that dies within two years still requires the developer to pay the cash-in-lieu replacement fee. The city forester administers and inspects compliance with approved tree preservation and replacement plans.