Wayne County maintains a Tree Code covering county parks and limited unincorporated land, but most tree-removal permits are handled by individual cities, with Detroit, Grosse Pointe, Dearborn, and several others requiring permits for street trees and significant private trees.
The Wayne County Department of Public Services administers the county Tree Code on parcels under direct county jurisdiction such as Hines Park and county rights-of-way. For the vast majority of property owners, tree-removal rules come from the host municipality. Detroit requires a permit from the General Services Department before removing any street tree in the public right-of-way and protects certain heritage trees on private parcels. Grosse Pointe communities, Dearborn, and several suburban cities operate similar programs. Michigan has no statewide private-tree protection law, so policies vary widely between adjacent jurisdictions.
Removing a protected or street tree without a permit can trigger replacement costs of several hundred to several thousand dollars based on diameter, plus fines.
Dearborn, MI
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Wayne County.
See how Dearborn's tree removal permits rules stack up against other locations.
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