Battle Creek, MI Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Battle Creek protects trees by function, not by species list. Section 1262.04(c), in the Landscaping and Screening chapter of the Zoning Code, applies where existing trees are used to satisfy the chapter's requirements. It does not name protected species or set a trunk-size threshold for a heritage tree; the trigger is whether the tree is being counted toward the landscaping minimum or is labeled "to remain" on the site plan.

Three duties follow. First, paving or other site improvements cannot encroach upon the dripline of a tree being preserved. Second, protective fencing or barriers have to be installed at the dripline around the perimeter of any plant material labeled "to remain" during construction, and no materials, vehicles or construction equipment can be parked or stored within that dripline. The Zoning Administrator can approve other protective techniques.

Third, if healthy trees used to meet the minimum requirements or labeled "to remain" are cut down, destroyed, damaged or excavated at the dripline, as determined by the Zoning Administrator, the contractor has to replace them at a one-to-one ratio measured in trunk diameter inches. The code's own example is that a twenty-inch tree can be replaced with ten two-inch trees or five four-inch trees, as approved by the Zoning Administrator.

Related rules in the same chapter support the duty. Section 1262.04(b) limits any single species to 50% of landscape plant materials, waivable on written documentation from a professional botanist or horticulturist. Section 1262.04(d)(3) requires dead or diseased landscape material to be replaced within one year or the next appropriate planting period, whichever comes first. Section 1262.05 sets minimum planting sizes, including a 2.5-inch caliper for a deciduous shade tree.