Tree Trimming and Removal in Munster

Tree Service In Munster, IN, Starts At The Parkway

In Munster, the tree between sidewalk and street is your responsibility and the town’s decision at once. Section 48-13(a) of the Munster Code of Ordinances places “the purchase, planting, maintenance, and removal of all trees” in the public way on the abutting property owner, while § 48-20 says “A permit from the town arborist is required before any person shall plant, move, brace,” or cut a tree or shrub in the public area of the town. For an Indiana homeowner, that means any tree service Munster IN residents hire for a parkway tree should be asking about the arborist’s permit before anyone starts a saw.

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Chapter 48 And The Munster Town Arborist

Munster keeps its tree rules in Chapter 48, “Trees and Shrubs.” Section 48-12 gives the town “the charge, custody and control of all trees and shrubs growing in any street, highway, or public place in the town.” Section 48-1 defines the town arborist as “a person named by the town council to perform the duties outlined in this chapter,” and says the town manager or a designee serves unless the council names someone else. Section 48-31 repeats the permit rule as a prohibited act and reaches cutting “above or below the ground,” and § 48-34 bars digging “holes or tunnels through the tree’s root system so as to injure” it.

The owner’s side of the deal is in § 48-13(b): keep parkway trees “properly trimmed to a proper height so as not to interfere with” pedestrian or vehicle traffic, and take out dead limbs. We did not find a section in Chapter 48 requiring a permit to remove a tree on private property; that is our reading of the chapter, not a statement in the code. For hazard trees, § 48-51 bars keeping a diseased tree, or a dead, decayed or damaged one that endangers people or property, and § 48-43 gives the owner “within ten days from the date of such notice” to remove it. Section 48-44 allows a written appeal to the town council, filed with the clerk-treasurer within ten days. The Morton Arboretum’s tree guidance is a good place to read up before you get a notice.

Penalties under § 48-21 and § 48-46 run “as provided in section 1-7,” with restoration of damaged trees; we could not confirm the dollar amounts in § 1-7.

A Town Bounded By The Little Calumet River

Munster incorporated in 1907 on a vote of 76 to 28 and takes its name from Jacob Munster, whose general store held the post office. Its northern border is the Little Calumet River, described as a “shallow river surrounded by a thin strip of wooded area.” In September 2008 the remnants of Hurricane Ike pushed that river over its banks and a levee failed near Calumet Avenue and River Drive; the levee work has since been completed. Indiana DNR’s 2010 list of recognized communities includes Munster as a Tree City USA; we could not confirm its current standing.

Trees in that wooded strip stand on ground that has flooded before. One that leans over a yard or fence from the river edge deserves a closer look than the same tree on higher ground.

How We Work Munster Lots

• Tree and bush removal — parkway removals only after the § 48-20 permit is in hand
• Trimming and pruning — clearance over walks and streets as § 48-13(b) asks
• Stump grinding — in the public way, only after asking the town arborist whether § 48-31 calls for a permit
• Storm response, 24 hours a day

Schedule Tree Service Munster IN Estimates

A tree service Munster IN homeowners use should know where the parkway ends and the yard begins. Tell us whether the tree stands in the parkway or the yard; the permit question gets settled first. Phone 708-424-5885, or browse our Lake County, Indiana service area. Neighboring work: Highland, Hammond.