Tree Trimming and Removal in Mokena

Tree Trimming In Mokena, Our Home Village

Pro Tree Service is headquartered in Mokena, so this is the code we know best. Section 7-2-6 says “The Village and its approved Arborist contractors are the sole provider of pruning and removal services” for publicly owned trees, unless the village has given prior written approval. In practice, the tree trimming Mokena homeowners can order on their own stops at the parkway. The village may allow a resident to hire an approved contractor who works to ANSI A300 and Z133.1, with advance notice to Village Hall — but the yard trees behind the sidewalk are where a private crew does most of its work here.

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The EZ Permit And Mokena’s Public Tree Rules

Under § 7-2-5(A), planting, removing or otherwise disturbing a tree on a street or village-owned property goes through the Village Arborist/Forester, who decides whether an “EZ permit” is required. Applications go to the village clerk’s office at least 48 hours before the work, the Arborist issues the permit “if, in his judgment, the proposed work is desirable,” and the permit holder reports back within five days of finishing. Section 7-2-5(C)(2) bars removing a tree from the parkway or other public space, for construction or any other reason, without first getting an EZ permit, and puts the cost of removal and replacement on the owner.

The pruning standards in § 7-2-6 are specific: “Pruning shall be performed to maintain a clearance height of 10′ over sidewalks and streets” where trucks are not allowed, and 12 feet where truck traffic is allowed, and public-tree pruning “shall avoid header cuts, topping, lion tailing, pruning more than 20% of a crown in a single calendar year.” Section 7-2-9(C) bars piling stone, brick, sand or concrete over public tree roots without the Arborist/Forester’s written permit. Under § 7-2-12, anyone who injures a public tree pays for repairs; for a tree damaged beyond repair the village sets the cost at “$150 per diameter inch” measured at 4.5 feet, and the violation is a class C misdemeanor carrying a fine of “$150 per tree impacted.” The sections we read deal with public trees only; we could not confirm whether Mokena requires a permit to remove a tree on private land. The ISA’s homeowner site explains why topping harms a tree.

Mud Turtle Country Since 1880

Mokena incorporated in 1880, and its name is apparently derived from a Native American word meaning “mud turtle.” The village covers 8.68 square miles of Frankfort and New Lenox townships in Will County and counted 19,887 residents in 2020; the McGovney–Yunker Farmstead, with its gable bank barn, is one of its landmarks.

The village also shares the cost of new parkway trees. Its April 2022 cost-sharing reminder said “the resident pays 50 percent of the cost for a nursery contractor to supply, deliver, plant and mulch a new parkway tree,” and that the village will remove and replace, at no cost, public parkway trees that die from natural causes or are severely damaged by storms. That program and § 7-2-5(C)(2) work together: a tree that dies on its own is the village’s job, while one removed for construction or any other reason is the owner’s expense.

What We Do Around Mokena

• Tree and bush removal — yard trees, and parkway trees only with the EZ permit in place
• Trimming and pruning — the § 7-2-6 clearances of 10 and 12 feet over walks and streets, and no topping or lion tailing
• Stump grinding — ground below grade so a replacement can go in
• Storm response, 24 hours a day

Price Your Tree Trimming Mokena Job

Tell us whether the tree is in your yard or on the parkway, and we will tell you which rules govern the tree trimming Mokena allows before we price it. Call 708-424-5885, or work outward through our Will County service area. Neighboring work: Frankfort, Tinley Park.