Reading, PA Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Reading's tree-protection framework relies on uniform protection of all street trees through the Shade Tree Commission rather than a separately curated heritage-tree registry. The Commission, established by Bill No. 42 on September 12, 1973 and most recently amended in 2011 (five members, five-year terms), oversees all street trees in the public right-of-way through the City Arborist (610-655-6035). The Mount Penn / Mountain Top area east of downtown Reading contains some of the City's most significant mature trees, including stands within the Pagoda site and the Mount Penn Preserve coordinated with the Berks Nature Conservancy. Trees on private property that have been designated as 'specimen' or 'tree to be saved' in an approved land-development plan are enforceable through the Reading City Code's land development ordinance — once recorded on the plan, those trees cannot be removed without Planning Commission and (for right-of-way-adjacent trees) Shade Tree Commission approval. Pennsylvania state forestry standards under the Penn's Woods Sustainable Forestry framework and the PA DCNR Community Forestry program (which provides Tree City USA technical assistance) provide an additional protective overlay for municipally maintained urban forests. Voluntary protection options for private homeowners include conservation easements through Berks Nature or the Schuylkill Highlands program, which create enforceable restrictions surviving sale.