Philadelphia, PA Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code, the Zoning Code, sets a two-part test for Heritage Tree status at § 14-203(145): the tree must measure at least 24 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH), and it must be a species carried on the Department of Parks and Recreation's Heritage Tree Species List. Both conditions have to be met together; a 30-inch tree of a species that is not on the list does not qualify, and a listed species below the 24-inch DBH threshold is not yet protected. Because the species list is maintained by Parks and Recreation rather than printed in the Zoning Code itself, the roster of protected species can be updated administratively without a Zoning Code amendment, so an applicant has to check the current department list, not just the ordinance text, before planning work near a large tree.

Once a tree crosses that threshold, § 14-705(1)(f) (Preservation of Heritage Trees) puts it on the record: the location, DBH, and species of every existing tree on a lot, heritage or not, must be included in the landscape and tree plan submitted with a development application. A Heritage Tree identified on that plan may not be removed from the property unless the applicant satisfies the narrow removal standards of § 14-705(1)(f)(.1), such as an industrial-zoned lot with the tree set back 75 feet from the street and from residential-district lots, or obtains a special exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment under § 14-705(1)(f)(.2). L&I administers this requirement as part of zoning permit review for any project that disturbs the lot; a landscape and tree plan that omits a qualifying Heritage Tree, or a permit application proposing its removal without meeting one of those standards, does not satisfy Title 14 and cannot be approved as submitted.