Nashua, NH Tree Protection: Tree Replacement Requirements (2026)

Article XXVII Landscaping sets Nashua's binding replacement standard for trees in required landscape material. The provision requires that landscape material be maintained in a healthy, growing condition, with dead, diseased, or damaged plantings replaced in the next appropriate planting season. Replacement trees must match the original Article XXVII specifications: deciduous shade trees with a minimum 2½-inch trunk caliper measured 6 inches above grade at planting, evergreen trees at least 6 feet tall, with the overall landscape mixture between 40% and 60% deciduous/evergreen. Replacement plantings must be hardy for the Nashua botanical zone (USDA Zone 5b/6a depending on microclimate). Prior to installation, a proposed landscape plan must be prepared by a professional landscape architect and approved by the Administrative Officer, who consults with the Nashua Conservation Commission where wetlands or wetland buffers are implicated. Article XI Wetlands imposes additional restoration standards on tree-removal violations within wetlands and buffers, with the Conservation Commission recommending replacement quantity and species selection. Trees damaged or removed in a Nashua street or public way fall under the Board of Public Works' replacement authority and may be subject to ISA Trunk Formula or Replacement Cost Method appraisal for restitution. NH RSA 539:1 provides civil damages against persons who cut, fell, destroy, or injure trees on the land of another without permission — up to ten times the value of the tree for willful and knowing damage and treble the value for damage through carelessness.