Jefferson Parish, LA Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

The MRTPD is an overlay zone covering part of Metairie Ridge, bounded roughly by Bonnabel Boulevard, Interstate 10, Metairie Road, the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks and the 17th Street Canal. Inside it, and in any other zoning district where the code requires tree preservation, a 'protected tree' includes every oak (except water oak), elm, magnolia and sycamore of 8 inches or more in diameter at breast height (DBH), plus any other canopy tree of 24 inches DBH or larger. No protected tree can be cut, cleared, or have its root protection zone disturbed by grading, trenching, or construction without a development approval.

Minor work such as fence installation or driveway paving is reviewed by the building permits department; major work such as demolition, new construction, or any tree removal goes through the planning department or the department of parkways, where the parish arborist has ten business days to make a recommendation. A tree protection plan sealed by a licensed landscape architect, contractor, or arborist is required for major construction, specifying a six-foot protective barrier around each tree. Removal is allowed only if the tree is diseased or hazardous, or if it falls in an 'uncontested removal area,' generally the buildable portion of the lot inside the front and rear setbacks.

Removed significant trees must be replaced at a one-inch-DBH-to-one-inch-caliper ratio up to 12 inches, plus $100 per additional inch of diameter beyond that, payable on-site or as a fee-in-lieu to the parkways department's tree fund. Storm-damaged trees may be removed immediately in an emergency, but the owner must file for a permit within 30 days and replace the tree 1-to-1. Decisions of the parkways director, planning director, or building permits director can be appealed to the Board of Zoning Adjustments within 30 days.