Tree Service in Lombard, IL

Tree Pruning In Lombard, On Lombard’s Calendar

Lombard puts dates on oak and elm work. Section 99.10(Q) of the village’s pruning standards says “No American elm (Ulmus Americana) shall be pruned between April 15th and October 15th,” and § 99.10(R) applies the same window to oaks. Those standards govern pruning of the village’s street trees, not yours, but the calendar is a reasonable one for a private oak or elm as well. When a homeowner’s oak can wait, we book that tree pruning Lombard-style, after October 15, and say so on the estimate.

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Chapter 99: What Lombard Regulates

Chapter 99, Trees and Shrubs, was repealed and re-enacted by Ordinance 8065 in May 2022, and amended since. Section 99.05 requires a written permit from the Public Works Director or a designee before anyone does the acts it lists to a public tree or shrub, and a violator “shall be responsible for all costs for the removal and replacement of the public tree.” Section 99.10 limits pruning of street trees to village employees, licensed tree care companies under village contract, and public utilities working under a permit. Section 99.10(M) settles topping in one line: “No tree topping shall be allowed.”

Removing a healthy parkway tree carries a fee. When the Village Forestry Supervisor decides a right-of-way tree would not otherwise need to come out and the village consents, § 99.23(B)(1) sets the fee at trunk diameter divided by two, times $450, paid before removal; a 20-inch tree works out to $4,500. Qualifying ornamental trees get a 50 percent reduction, and removals the village initiates cost the adjacent owner nothing. A requested parkway planting is $225 per tree under § 99.22(B), and the tree remains village property.

We found no permit requirement or size threshold for removing a private tree in Chapter 99. Under § 99.02(C), though, the Public Works Director may order pruning or removal on private property when a public hazard exists or to keep disease or insects from spreading to public trees, with written notice allowing at least 30 days. On clearance the sources disagree by a foot: § 99.10(A) says to raise limbs to at least 14 feet on the roadway and driveway sides, while a village notice dated January 8, 2026 says trees will be pruned to at least 15 feet above the roadway. The Morton Arboretum has background on oak and elm diseases.

The Lilac Village And Its Front Yards

Lombard calls itself the Lilac Village. Lilacia Park began as Colonel William Plum’s estate, bequeathed to the village in 1927, and holds about 200 lilac varieties; the Lilac Festival has run every year since 1930. Long before that, the Babcock brothers settled along the DuPage River in what was called Babcock’s Grove.

Some streets here have a right-of-way too narrow to sustain a parkway tree, and for those the Front Yard Tree Program in § 99.30 lets the village plant in the front yard at no cost if the owner signs a participation agreement. The village maintains the tree for one year, and then its care passes to the owner, which puts a young shade tree on private land with nobody pruning it on a cycle. The village page describes a six-year cycle for its own trees over six inches in diameter; a front-yard tree needs its own schedule once it is yours.

Lombard Jobs We Take

• Tree and bush removal — private trees, including any ordered out under § 99.02(C)
• Trimming and pruning — no topping, and oak and elm work booked after October 15 when the tree can wait
• Stump grinding — deep enough for a replacement planting, lilacs included
• Storm response, 24 hours a day

Book A Tree Pruning Lombard Estimate

If an oak or elm needs tree pruning Lombard style, we plan the date around the village’s season. Tell us the species if you know it, since oak and elm change the calendar. Call 708-424-5885 or see the rest of our DuPage County service area. Neighboring work: Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove.