Bayonne, NJ Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Section 14-2 defines which trees the City's tree preservation chapter, Chapter 14, actually covers. A living deciduous tree, one that sheds foliage at the end of the growing season, is protected once its trunk exceeds two inches in diameter measured four feet from the ground. A living coniferous, or cone-bearing, tree is protected once its trunk exceeds four inches at the same measuring height. Two named species get the strictest threshold in the Code: a living dogwood (cornus florida) or American Holly (ilex opaca) is protected once its trunk reaches just one inch in diameter at four feet, far smaller than the two- and four-inch thresholds for other deciduous and coniferous species.

The same section separately defines a public tree as any tree on land owned or leased by the City or its subdivisions, including the Board of Education, Housing Authority, Municipal Utility Authority and Local Redevelopment Authority, and a private tree as any tree on private land in the City. Public trees carry their own protections against cutting, spraying, roping or root disturbance under Section 14-8, while the removal permit rules in Section 14-3 apply to any tree, public or private, that meets the Section 14-2 size thresholds.