Palos Heights, IL Tree Service

Hickory, oak and walnut are protected in Palos Heights at eight inches, whatever else is true about them. Section 157.02 defines a “significant tree species” as “all species of Hickory, Oak and Walnut trees with an eight inch or greater DBH.” The definition also takes in any mature tree: eight inches DBH, or sixteen inches aggregate on a multi-stem. And every tree on public ground counts. Three species get named, so any tree service Palos Heights quote starts with identification. If yours is one of the three, the rules changed at eight inches and nobody sent a letter.

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Chapter 157 Turns On Construction, Not On Homeowners

The operative sentence is narrower than most people assume. Section 157.03 makes it “unlawful for any person to remove, injure or destroy any protected tree in the course of construction in the city unless authorized by the city.” The trigger is building work. So a homeowner taking down a hazardous tree is not what that clause is aimed at.

Where it does apply, the permit is free: “there will be no fee for a tree removal permit.” It comes from the Building Commissioner “after review by the City Arborist.” The Arborist may also require a certified arborist’s opinion, and the ISA defines that credential. Measurement is at four and a half feet, fifty-four inches above ground.

Preservation Plans, Border Trees And Replacement

Section 157.04 requires a full tree preservation plan. That applies before annexation, residential subdivision, demolition or construction involving a principal structure. The city approves it before any demolition or building permit issues. It carries a provision most codes skip: “border trees spanning the lot line of a construction site must be protected and cannot be removed unless a written agreement is received by the city from the corresponding property owners.” Where the line is with the city, the City Arborist has to agree. So your neighbor has a say in writing, and that is not a courtesy, it is a condition.

Replacement uses a forward-looking test rather than a count. Section 157.07: “the total diameter of replacement trees when estimated at the 15 year maturity mark shall equal or exceed the total diameter of trees removed.” Residential replacements start at a minimum three-inch caliper. Then 157.08 sets up a tree bank for city-owned trees, funded before demolition or construction and refunded on compliance.

Penalties, And What Tree Service Palos Heights Contractors Must Carry

Get it wrong and section 157.99 applies: “fined no less than $50 or more than $500 for each violation.” For unauthorized removal, the code adds “fined $100 per diameter inch or the current replacement cost per inch as determined by a certified arborist.” Each day is a separate offense.

A City That Says It Cannot Do This Work Itself

The 2024 county hazard plan lists Palos Heights’ capability gaps. One of them the plan states without hedging: “Tree removal around the roadway. The municipality does not have the equipment to handle large trees.” That is the city’s own assessment of its own limits. So a large roadside failure here becomes a contractor’s problem quickly. A tree service Palos Heights can call out at short notice matters here.

The canopy is older than the city. Farming began in the 1860s under German and Irish families. Residential construction started in the 1930s and ran through the 1940s and 1950s. Incorporation came late and narrowly. The date was April 11, 1959, on the fourth ballot attempt, with results of 850 to 684. A city charter followed five days later. So the housing is mid-century. The trees planted with it are seventy years on. And the oaks that predate all of it are the ones section 157.02 singles out.

Flooding is specific and business-district: “flooding in its business district along Navajo Creek and 127th Street.” The annex warns that “70 structures will be flooded near 131st and Harlem during a 100-year flood event.” Even so, the city records zero FEMA repetitive-loss properties, which is unusual around here. Tree City USA since 1989. Lake Katherine, built out from the late 1980s along the Cal-Sag Channel, became a nonprofit nature center in 2005.

Tree Service Palos Heights: What We Take On

• Removals of protected hickory, oak and walnut — the species with their own rule
• Pruning on 1950s street plantings now at full size over the roadway
• Stump grinding sized for the three-inch caliper replacement the code expects
• Emergency and storm work, including the large roadside wood the city says it cannot handle

Book A Tree Service Palos Heights Estimate

Tell us the species first. Hickory, oak or walnut over eight inches puts you in a different part of the code. A maple of the same size does not. Free estimates, seven days a week. Call 708-424-5885. The permit call is the Building Commissioner at 7607 W. College Drive, 708-480-3020. See our Cook County service area, and close by: Worth, Crestwood, Palos.