Tree trimming and Removal in Westmont, IL

Tree Removal In Westmont, Heritage Trees First

Westmont regulates some trees on private land by species and size. Section 80-2 defines heritage trees as “trees on private property” identified by the village as having significant importance, and § 80-41 makes it “prohibited for any person to intentionally remove or cause injury to a heritage tree” outside a short list of exceptions. Under § 80-42 an oak, hickory or beech qualifies at 10 inches in diameter at breast height, most maples, walnuts, lindens and spruces at 20 inches, and any other tree at 35 inches, Siberian elm excepted. Before any tree removal Westmont homeowners plan, the tape measure and the species decide whether the village has a say.

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Chapter 80: Heritage, Parkway And Nuisance Rules

The exceptions in § 80-41 are narrow. A nuisance tree may be “pruned, treated, or removed only to the extent necessary to alleviate the nuisance,” and replacement or certain new-construction conflicts must run through a tree preservation plan submitted for village approval. A removed heritage tree must be replaced with “one inch of replacement caliper for every one inch DBH” under § 80-45, with payment of planting cost if the lot cannot hold the trees and a three-year guarantee on replacements. Section 80-46 adds the maximum fine allowed by law for each tree, replacement cost based on the removed diameter (estimated from the stump if needed), and joint and several liability for owners, occupants and responsible parties; “Each tree cut down, destroyed, damaged, removed or moved shall constitute a separate offense.”

Parkway trees, defined in § 80-2 as trees “owned all or in part by the village,” fall under the village’s “full and complete control” in § 80-30, and § 80-32 requires a public works right-of-way permit to remove one, with a fee “based upon the appraised value of each tree to be removed.” Section 80-6 separately assigns parkway upkeep to abutting owners, so check with the village before anyone prunes a parkway tree. Under § 80-5, dead or nearly dead trees and those harboring Dutch elm disease, elm yellows, oak wilt or pine wilt are nuisances to be resolved within 14 days of notice. Zoning § 10.07 says “Tree topping is prohibited” and points to crown reduction instead, a technique the ISA’s consumer pages describe.

A 1921 Commuter Village On 5.11 Square Miles

Westmont incorporated November 4, 1921, and lies almost entirely in Downers Grove Township. The Potawatomi were forced out in 1833; canal work, a plank road and then the railroad turned farmland into a commuter town, and the Metra BNSF station still anchors it, with the Gregg House Museum keeping the local history. A village building since the 1920s has had a century to grow oaks and hickories past the 10-inch heritage line, which is why the measurement comes first on our estimates here.

Construction under site-plan approval brings its own tree steps. Section 80-60 calls for a survey of trees 4 inches and larger, § 80-62 withholds construction permits until the preservation plan is approved, and § 80-63 requires tree-for-tree replacement of anything removed before approval. Section 80-8(1) keeps corner visibility triangles clear, with “no branches are below four feet above grade.”

What We Handle In Westmont

• Tree and bush removal — species and diameter checked against § 80-42 before we price the job
• Trimming and pruning — crown reduction where height has to come down, never topping
• Stump grinding — chips and brush hauled away, since the village will not collect contractor brush
• Storm response, 24 hours a day

Book A Tree Removal Westmont Estimate

Send the species and trunk width if you have them; that settles the heritage question on most tree removal Westmont calls. Dial 708-424-5885, or see where else we work in our DuPage County service area. Neighboring work: Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove.