Aurora licenses the work, and the rule is not subtle. The city’s arboricultural manual quotes its own ordinance: it is “unlawful for any person to engage the business of planting, cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying or otherwise treating any tree, shrub or other plant within the City of Aurora without first procuring a license as required by the City Tree Ordinance (section 47-41).” That covers your yard, not just the parkway. So the tree service Aurora homeowners hire should clear one bar first. Is that truck licensed here?
The Parkway Belongs To The City, Full Stop
Aurora is blunt about this. The manual states that “work on or with public trees, shrubs or other plants is expressly prohibited unless done by the City of Aurora or by a licensed entity contracted by the City of Aurora to perform such work.” Meanwhile the city confirms the ownership side: “The City owns and maintains all the Aurora parkways trees.”
Therefore if the tree troubling you stands between the curb and the walk, the first call is 311 or 630-256-4636. That one is not ours to touch.
The city also gives trees away. Under its program, “eligible homeowners can receive up to two free trees, planted directly in their front yards,” with requests due “by March 1 for spring consideration and September 1 for fall consideration.” Consequently both the removal and the replacement can be free. Go through the city, not around it.
Two standards worth knowing. Aurora bans topping outright: “Under no circumstances shall a City owned tree be ‘topped’.” And it sets stump depth precisely, requiring stumps “removed to a depth of at least eight (8) inches” with holes filled and seeded, “unless removal of the stump will result in destabilization or erosion.” We work to both on private property too, because both are simply correct.
Tree Service Aurora: What We Do
- Removals on private property, where the city program does not reach
- Pruning to ANSI Z133 and A300, the standards the city’s own manual names
- Stump grinding, four to eight inches below grade
- Emergency and storm work, sequenced by danger rather than by who called first
One seasonal rule catches people out. The manual restricts oak work sharply: “Oak trees shall be pruned only during the months of November through March.” That is oak wilt, and it is real. So a June call about an oak gets a different answer from one about a maple. We say so rather than take the job.
What The Ash Borer Cost This City
Aurora does not publish a full tally, and we will not invent one. However, the city said enough in a council resolution: “Due to the Emerald Ash Borer, the City has removed thousands of ash trees from the City right of way.” That same resolution covered a hundred more removals at $69,000, noting that “the majority of the trees identified for removal by contractor are trees that are near electrical power lines.”
Read the last part carefully. Dead ash near wires is the most dangerous work in this trade. A large stretch of Aurora still holds it. A dead ash dries and turns brittle. Consequently every season it stands makes it harder and more expensive to take down safely.
Meanwhile the city keeps the long view. Its Tree Board exists “with the purpose of protecting and improving the trees inside the City of Aurora,” and Aurora states that “over the past 20 years” it has held the Tree City USA designation.
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 at 1-800-334-7661. ComEd’s own guidance is blunt: “always assume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous.” We staff our line around the clock.
Four Counties, One Fox River City
Aurora is the second-most populous city in Illinois. It holds 180,542 people at the 2020 census, across 45.02 square miles at 719 feet. It was “founded within Kane County,” and its “city limits have expanded into DuPage, Kendall, and Will counties.”
That matters practically. An Aurora address can sit in any of four counties. The historic downtown centers on Stolp Island, in the river itself. Furthermore the wider region takes its name from the same water. The Fox Valley “is a region centered on the Fox River of Northern Illinois, along the western edges of the Chicago metropolitan area.”
Riverside ground and upland ground fail differently. In saturated soil a tree goes over at the root plate, and the root ball comes up with it.
Get A Tree Service Aurora Estimate
Send the address and tell us what the tree is doing. Say whether it stands in front of the sidewalk or behind it. That decides whether this is a city job or ours. If you think it is ash, say that too. 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.
Aurora spans Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties. See DuPage County or Will County, or the full service area. Nearby: Batavia, St. Charles, Oswego and Naperville.
19253 South Blackhawk Parkway #80
Mokena, Illinois 60448
708-424-5885
Inquiries@protreeservice.com
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