Cumberland County, ME Tree Protection: Tree Removal Permits (2026)

Maine counties have no general zoning or police-power authority over organized municipalities; home-rule authority is vested in the 28 cities and towns of Cumberland County by 30-A MRS §3001. Cumberland County publishes no code of ordinances — only a Charter and Commissioner bylaws — and therefore does not require a permit to remove a tree on private property anywhere in the county. The operative rules come from two sources: (1) the municipal tree, landscape, or zoning ordinance of the city or town where the property sits (Portland Land Use Code §14, South Portland Zoning Ord. §27, Falmouth Code Chapter 19, etc.); and (2) the mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act, 38 MRS §435 and §439-A, which is enforced by every Cumberland County municipality within 250 feet of great ponds (Sebago Lake, Crystal Lake), rivers (Presumpscot, Royal, Stroudwater), tidal waters (Casco Bay, Fore River), and freshwater wetlands. Section 439-A(5) limits timber harvesting in the shoreland zone to selective cutting of no more than 40% of trees ≥4.5 inches diameter at breast height in any 10-year period; subsection (6) prohibits any cleared opening greater than 250 square feet within 100 feet of a great pond or 75 feet of other waters. In Resource Protection Districts no cutting is allowed within 75 feet of the high-water line except to remove safety hazards. Outside the shoreland zone, most Cumberland County municipalities require no permit to remove a tree on owner-occupied residential land, but commercial-site landscape plans, subdivision review, and street-tree removal typically do require municipal approval. State-licensed forester or arborist supervision applies to commercial timber harvests under 12 MRS §8868 and Maine Forest Service rules.