Polk County requires no permit to remove a tree and takes no tree/bush complaints. The one county tree power: a tree with Dutch elm disease is a listed health nuisance the county can order abated by civil action.
Polk County has no protected-tree or tree-removal-permit ordinance for private property, and its Weed Commission does not accept tree or bush complaints. So there is no county approval needed to remove a tree on unincorporated land. The county's only tree-specific authority is public-health based: the Health Nuisance Regulation lists 'a tree with Dutch elm disease' among nuisances abatable by civil action, letting the Health Officer order a diseased tree removed. Tree-removal permits, heritage-tree protection, and right-of-way rules exist at the city level — Des Moines and other municipalities have forestry ordinances — so check your city if the tree is on city land or a street.
No permit penalty. A Dutch-elm-diseased tree is a health nuisance subject to abatement by civil action, with removal cost assessable against the property.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Polk County allows backyard composting but regulates it through the Health Nuisance Regulation: a compost pile that harbors vermin, produces offensive odors,...
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Polk County has no ordinance for or against artificial turf on residential lots. Installation on unincorporated land is generally unrestricted; cities and HO...
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Polk County has no ordinance banning native or prairie landscaping, and the county promotes native roadside vegetation. The one legal limit: your planting ca...
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Iowa has no state ban on collecting rainwater, and Polk County sets no rain-barrel ordinance. Residents may capture roof runoff in barrels or cisterns; only ...
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Polk County sets no lawn-watering schedule. Central Iowa's water is managed by Central Iowa Water Works / Des Moines Water Works, which can impose voluntary ...
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Iowa Code 317.10 requires every landowner to destroy all noxious weeds on their land as directed by the county board of supervisors. Polk County's Weed Commi...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in this county.
See how West Des Moines's tree removal permits rules stack up against other locations.
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