Massachusetts has no statewide replant-what-you-cut law, and Hampshire County has no county ordinance. Replacement duties arise when a public shade tree is removed under MGL c.87 or through a town's subdivision and site-plan conditions, not from a general private-tree rule.
No state statute makes a private landowner replace a yard tree they remove, and the abolished Hampshire County government leaves no county rule. Replacement obligations instead come case by case. When a public shade tree is taken down under MGL c.87, the tree warden and town commonly require a replacement planting as a condition, and Northampton's Tree City USA program budgets for replanting street trees. During development, local planning boards attach tree-preservation and replacement conditions through subdivision and site-plan review under the Zoning Act, MGL c.40A, and the Subdivision Control Law. For an ordinary homeowner removing a private tree, no replacement is required.
Failing to plant replacement trees required by a public-tree removal or a development approval violates that permit, letting the town withhold further permits, impose fines, or draw on a posted bond. Private yard removals carry no replacement duty.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Belchertown's tree replacement requirements rules stack up against other locations.
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