Tree Removal in Burnham, IL
Burnham writes its tree rules with numbers in them. That makes any tree removal Burnham regulates easier to plan than in villages that leave the question vague. Section 102-32: it is unlawful to remove, cause to be removed, or transplant any tree with a trunk size of four inches or greater in diameter at breast height on public property without a tree removal permit. Section 102-62 sets the fee at $20, payable to the village clerk with the application. Section 102-34 requires replacement on a one-for-one ratio at a minimum three-inch DBH.
Four inches, twenty dollars, one for one. No ambiguity.

The Definitions Do Real Work Here
Section 102-31 defines diameter breast height as the diameter in inches measured four and a half feet above existing grade. The same section defines public property as streets, lanes, alleys, highways, rights-of-way, parkways, parks or village-owned land. It defines a tree as a woody perennial that grows at maturity to a minimum overall height of fifteen feet. Section 94-2 defines the parkway as the land between the curb of a roadway and a sidewalk, or immediately adjacent to a paved or improved roadway.
Those definitions matter because they decide whether Chapter 102 applies to your tree at all. A shrub that never reaches fifteen feet is not a tree under this code. A tree three inches across does not need the permit. We measure before we tell you what the process is. It is the first thing we do on any tree removal Burnham job. Diameter at breast height is taken the same way everywhere. The ISA’s homeowner guidance explains why that one measurement decides so much.
The penalty has two parts. Section 102-39 sets a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each offense. A separate offense is deemed committed each day a violation continues. Section 102-40 then adds a civil penalty equal to the total value of trees illegally removed or damaged. That value is computed from the International Society of Arboriculture tree valuation formula. On a mature tree that second number runs into five figures.
Brush Is Not Covered Refuse
Section 78-133 excludes tree trimmings, tree branches and hedge clippings from the landscape waste collected by the scavenger company from residential premises. Section 78-134 limits tree trimmings to four feet long and four inches in diameter. So the debris from a tree removal Burnham residents book has nowhere to go through village channels. Ours leaves on our truck.
Two Halves, A Lake, And The Indiana Line
Burnham is genuinely two places joined by geography. A western section around Torrence Avenue connects to Chicago by bridge; an eastern section around Burnham Avenue borders Hegewisch. It runs 1.94 square miles with 4,046 people. The village was incorporated on 8 February 1907 and named for Telford Burnham, who created its plat. Chicago sits to the north, Calumet City south and west, and Hammond, Indiana directly east.
Powderhorn Lake and its adjacent nature preserve, a Cook County Forest Preserve property, sit inside the village.
The water is the story. Burnham’s records name the Little Calumet, the Grand Calumet and branches of the Calumet River. There are 302 acres in the 100-year floodplain and 334 in the 500-year, against a total village area of about 1,240 acres. Roughly a quarter of the village is in the 100-year floodplain. Flood and storm points are named at Sibley Boulevard and Burnham Avenue, and at 154th Place and Burnham Avenue for severe weather and hail.
The older residential section is on the east side. The west side built up considerably after the war, through the fifties and since. Two building eras, two planting eras, and a quarter of the ground periodically underwater. Between them they account for most tree removal Burnham homeowners end up needing.
Tree Removal In Burnham: What We Do
- Removals with the four-inch permit question settled before we quote
- Trimming and deadwood removal
- Stump grinding, deep enough for the one-for-one replacement to take
- Clearing along preserve boundaries and lakeside ground
- Storm response, 24 hours — including hail damage assessment
Storm damage. Wires involved — stay away, call 911, then ComEd on 1-800-334-7661. We answer at any hour and work by hazard.
Tree Removal Burnham, Measured First
Every tree removal Burnham quote starts with two things: the address, and roughly how thick the trunk is at chest height. Under four inches on public ground, and you are outside Chapter 102 entirely. Public Works Department, 14450 Manistee Avenue, 708-870-0471.
708-424-5885 · Cook County service area · nearby: Calumet City, Lansing.
19253 South Blackhawk Parkway #80
Mokena, Illinois 60448
708-424-5885
Inquiries@protreeservice.com
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