Oswego wrote the definition of topping into its own code, which very few towns bother to do. Section 8-6-4 calls it “the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs within the tree’s crown to such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree.” Then it makes the practice unlawful on any street tree. So when you compare bids for tree service Oswego residents should ask one question first. Does this outfit top trees?
The Parkway Tree Is Not Yours
This is the single most useful thing to know here. The village states it plainly: “Trees in the parkway are owned by the Village of Oswego,” and the parkway is “the area between the curb and sidewalk.” There are “more than 19,558 trees” out there.
Consequently 8-6-5 is short and absolute. “No person shall plant, remove, cut aboveground, change grade levels or disturb any tree on any street or other public place without the express written consent of the director of public works.” No exceptions listed, no homeowner carve-out.
Meanwhile the flip side is generous. Under the village’s 50/50 program, “you are not charged for the removal, the stump grinding or the planting.” The homeowner pays “half of the cost of the tree, which is purchased wholesale by the Village.” Therefore if the tree troubling you stands between the curb and the walk, call the village before you call us. That one is on them.
Where our work actually starts. Everything behind the sidewalk is yours, and the village says so. The tree ordinance contains no removal permit for private property at all. Section 8-6-7 gives the village an evaluation power over diseased, dead or obstructing private trees, but that is abatement, not permitting. In practice you can have a tree in your own yard taken down without a village permit.
Tree Service Oswego: What We Do
- Removals on private property, where the village program does not reach
- Pruning that never tops a tree, in the code’s sense or any other
- Stump grinding, four to eight inches below grade as a matter of our own practice
- Emergency and storm work, sequenced by danger rather than by who called first
Debris matters here more than most places. The village’s brush program “does not accept landscaping waste, tree branches, or tree removals as a result of contracted work,” and it will not take “logs, wood, root balls, cuttings or grass clippings.” So haul-away is not optional in Oswego. It is the job. Every quote we write includes it.
On Registration, Accurately
Section 8-6-8 still reads that anyone paid “to engage in the business of planting, cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying or otherwise treating trees shall be deemed a contractor and must register as such with the village.” However, the village’s current permits page says something different: “Contractor Registration is no longer required, however, the contractor’s name and contact information is required on all permit submittals.”
We are not going to pretend those two say the same thing. Building and Zoning is the authority on which one governs today, and the number is 630-554-2310. Either way we carry liability coverage and workers’ compensation, and our name goes on the paperwork.
A Fox River Village That Grew Very Fast
Oswego sits “in northeastern Kendall County on the Fox River with a small portion in Will County.” It covers 15.03 square miles at 659 feet, with “over 1,100 acres of open land, trails, and parks” nearby.
The growth is the part that shapes the canopy. Between 2000 and 2010 the population rose 243.8 percent. Because 8-6-3 requires parkway trees “at the equivalent of one tree per forty feet of lot frontage,” every one of those subdivisions took its trees as it went in. Consequently a great many Oswego parkway trees are now hitting the same size at the same time, and the village has three arborists on staff watching them.
The Arbor Day Foundation has also named Oswego “a Tree City USA every year since 1993.” That is a long run, and it shows.
Storm damage. If a wire is down or tangled in the tree, treat the whole area as live and keep everyone well back. Call 911 first, then ComEd, which the village lists at 800-334-7661. We staff our line around the clock and work the dangerous jobs first.
Get A Tree Service Oswego Estimate
Send the address and tell us what the tree is doing. Say whether it stands in front of the sidewalk or behind it, because that one detail decides who pays. Estimates are free, seven days a week.
Call 708-424-5885 or request one online. If you want to read up first, the ISA’s homeowner guidance explains what a hazard assessment looks at.
Oswego spans Kendall and Will counties. See where we work in Will County, or the full service area. Nearby: Plainfield and Aurora.
19253 South Blackhawk Parkway #80
Mokena, Illinois 60448
708-424-5885
Inquiries@protreeservice.com
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week