Tree Trimming and Removal in Wood Dale, IL

Tree Removal Wood Dale: Where The Six-Inch Rule Applies

Wood Dale’s tree-preservation rule has a six-inch trigger and a large exemption. As reproduced on Zoneomics, a third-party code publisher, § 17.603.A.1 of the city’s Unified Development Code says no tree with a diameter at breast height of six inches or greater may be removed without a Tree Removal Permit. The same section says those requirements do not apply on single-family, two-family, duplex or townhouse properties. For a house or a townhouse, then, that permit is not part of tree removal Wood Dale requires; for other property types it is. We could not open the city’s own copy of Chapter 17, so confirm with the city before you rely on this.

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How Article VI Of Wood Dale’s Code Works

Article VI of Chapter 17, “Landscape and Tree Preservation,” runs from § 17.601 to § 17.607. It was adopted by Ordinance O-22-017 in May 2022 and amended in October 2024 and March 2025. Where the permit applies, removals are approved by the Development Administrator, who under § 17.603.B.2 may ask for “a report from a licensed Illinois arborist.” Section 17.602.A allows removal of trees that are “infested, incurably diseased, weakened by age, storm, fire, or other injury.”

Replacement is where the cost lands. The § 17.603 table calls for five new trees for each removed tree of 30 inches or more, four for 13 to 29 inches, three for 8 to 12 inches and two for 6 to 7 inches, and double those counts when a tree marked for preservation is destroyed. Replacement shade trees must be at least 3-inch caliper, a residential vacant lot is capped at five replacements, and dead or diseased trees designated on the plan need none. Damaging a preserved tree draws a fine set in the city’s Master Fee Schedule; we did not find the dollar amount.

Parkway trees are a separate matter. The city’s parkway-tree page says trees in the city right-of-way are owned and maintained by the City of Wood Dale and pruned to “the pruning standards of the National Arborists Association.” The page puts the right-of-way at typically 33 feet in both directions from the road centerline and asks residents to contact the Department of Public Works when a parkway tree overhangs and needs trimming. We could not confirm whether residents may get a permit to work on one, so we leave those trees to the city, and University of Illinois Extension is a good start if you are choosing a tree for your own side.

Salt Creek Runs Through Wood Dale

Wood Dale began as Lester’s Station, named for early settler John Lester. Salt Creek is its defining feature. The U.S. Geological Survey mapped flood inundation along a 1.6-mile reach of the creek in Wood Dale, from upstream of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad to Elizabeth Drive, and checked those maps against a July 2010 flood that peaked at a gage height of 14.08 feet.

The Wood Dale-Itasca Reservoir was excavated where Springbrook Tributary meets Salt Creek, built between the early 1990s and 2002, and holds 1,750 acre-feet. Storage trims the flood peaks, but creek-side yards still go through wet springs, and soaked soil lets go of a root plate far sooner than firm ground.

Tree Work We Handle In Wood Dale

• Tree and bush removal — taken down in sections where a lot is too tight or too soft to drop a tree whole
• Trimming and pruning — including the 8-foot lowest-branch height § 17.604.A.3 uses near pavement at sight triangles
• Stump grinding — so a replacement tree can go in the same spot
• Storm response, 24 hours a day

Get A Tree Removal Wood Dale Quote

Tell us what kind of property the tree stands on, because that one detail decides whether Article VI comes into it. Call 708-424-5885 or see the rest of our DuPage County service area. Neighboring work: Itasca, Bensenville.