Tree Care in Evanston, Illinois

Evanston does not sell parkway tree permits — it restricts them. Section 7-8-3 provides that a permit “shall be issued free, and only to a Certified Arborist by the International Society of Arboriculture. Proof of said certification is required.” The cost is nothing; the qualification is everything. Many tree companies operating in the north suburbs cannot lawfully carry out the tree removal Evanston parkways occasionally need.

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Evanston Will Only Permit A Certified Arborist

The full text of 7-8-3 makes it unlawful “for any person to plant, remove, trim, spray or otherwise impact any tree on any parkway or other public place within the City, unless such person shall first apply for and obtain a permit…for each job.” Per job, not per year. The work must “conform to internationally recognized standards of tree management, including ANSI 300 or similar.”

The application has to name the individual, officers or partners with “a brief statement of the experience of each such person.” It adds that “No permit shall be issued unless and until the applicant submits a certificate of insurance naming the City as an additional insured.” What that certification actually covers is set out in the ISA’s homeowner guidance, which is worth ten minutes before you hire anyone here.

Where Tree Removal Evanston Needs A Permit

The protection thresholds are the lowest in this part of the county. Every public tree is protected at two inches DBH; private Group A through D trees are protected at six. Section 7-8-8-6 then extends permitting by proximity rather than ownership. “Any person or company performing any construction, or other activities, within 25 feet of any public or private tree is required to apply for a permit.” A patio, a driveway, a garage slab — if it falls within twenty-five feet of a trunk, it is regulated. That catches more tree removal Evanston homeowners plan than the DBH thresholds do.

Elsewhere in Chapter 8, §7-8-1-1 declares boughs and limbs projecting over public right-of-way a nuisance. Section 7-8-1-2 requires dead or dangerous trees to be removed within “thirty (30) days of notice from the Public Works Agency Director.” Section 7-8-6-2 makes it unlawful to keep “any elm or ash tree or dead elmwood or ashwood which…is a public nuisance.” Penalties under §7-8-6-6 run “not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) and no more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) per day per violation.” Section 7-8-8-7 sets replacement by formula, but the coefficient table was not published in the text we could read. Ask Forestry for it rather than estimating.

One conflict is worth flagging. The code says the parkway permit is issued free, while the City’s own knowledge base refers to a $50 permit fee and quotes tree-preservation permits at “usually $80-$100.” Confirm which applies before you budget.

Thirty Thousand Trees On An Eight-Year Cycle

Evanston manages more than 30,000 trees. The city states its schedule plainly: “Our current schedule is to trim every tree once every eight (8) years.” The 2023 inventory update was the first since 2014, with crews processing “between 250 to 300 trees” a day.

An eight-year cycle is a long interval. It is also the number that matters most to a homeowner here, because a private tree over your roof will need attention between city visits. The losses behind that stretched schedule are substantial. Evanston reports “Since 2006…more than 3,000 ash trees” gone from parks and parkways, and that “Typically, over 400 trees are removed in Evanston each year.” Nearly all of that is city work. The tree removal Evanston residents commission themselves is the other stream, and it runs to no cycle at all.

A Streetcar Suburb With Narrow Parkways

The city is older and denser than its neighbors. It was incorporated as a town on 29 December 1863 and as a city in 1892, with Northwestern founded here in 1851. Growth was rapid as one of the first streetcar suburbs after the railway arrived in 1855. The Evanston Lakeshore Historic District, listed on 29 September 1980, preserves Italianate, Queen Anne and Tudor Revival housing that 1921 zoning is credited with saving. Trees on those blocks are constrained by narrow parkways, old services and buildings on three sides.

Flooding is barely a factor, which is unusual for a lakefront city of 7.80 square miles and 78,110 people. The record shows 84.07 acres of floodplain, zero repetitive-loss properties and zero severe.

Tree Removal Evanston: What We Do

• Removals of the elm and ash §7-8-6-2 treats as a public nuisance
• Pruning to ANSI A300, filling the gaps in the city’s eight-year cycle
• Stump grinding in tight historic-district parkways
• Emergency and storm work, including the 30-day dangerous-tree notices

Book A Tree Removal Evanston Estimate

Tell us whether the tree is in the parkway or on your own ground, and whether any work planned falls within twenty-five feet of a trunk. Those answers decide the permit path. Free estimates.

Call 708-424-5885. Browse our Cook County coverage, plus Skokie and Wilmette.