Tree Removal in St. John, Indiana
Pro Tree Service has worked across Lake County since 1989. St. John is unusual among its neighbors in one respect. The Town Code reaches onto private property. If you have a dead tree in your yard, that matters a great deal. Most Indiana towns regulate only parkway and public trees and leave private ones to the owner. St. John does not, and homeowners here are often surprised to learn it. Therefore, if you are arranging tree removal in St. John, that is the first thing worth understanding.
The 60-Day Notice on Private Trees
St. John Town Code section 2-95 covers dead or diseased tree removal on private property. The Town’s Tree Board may recommend removal of any dead or diseased tree on private property. Specifically, two conditions trigger it:
- where the tree constitutes a hazard to life and property
- where it harbors insects or disease that threaten other trees in the Town
Before that recommendation goes to the Town Council, the Tree Board must notify the owner in writing. That notice sets the terms. The owner must remove both tree and stump at their own expense. Additionally, the clock runs sixty days from the day the owner receives the notice.
The part worth reading twice is what happens if the deadline passes. Under the same section, the Town may then remove the tree itself. Furthermore, it charges the cost back to the property owner. You lose the ability to choose your contractor, to get competing quotes, or to schedule the work. Meanwhile you still pay. Sixty days sounds generous until you have gathered estimates and waited for a crew. In the fall especially, everyone in the county is booking at once.
If you have a notice with a date on it, tell us when you call. We schedule against the deadline rather than the queue. Additionally, we confirm the stump grinding in writing, so you have something to show the Town.
Whose Tree Is It?
| Where the trunk is | What applies |
|---|---|
| Your yard, healthy tree | Yours to manage. No Indiana state permit, and no town permit for routine work. |
| Your yard, dead or diseased and hazardous | The Tree Board can require removal of tree and stump within 60 days of written notice. If the deadline passes, the Town may remove and bill you. |
| Parkway or street right of way | Town jurisdiction. The Town maintains street trees in the Town Center district. |
| Straddling a boundary | Under Indiana law ownership follows the trunk. Whichever lot it stands on owns the tree. |
| Being cleared for development | Landscape plans must preserve at least 70 percent of trees nine inches or larger. That applies in greenbelts, planting strips and perimeter buffers. |
A Young Canopy on Old Farmland
St. John grew from roughly 15,000 people to over 20,000 between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. Most of that went onto former farmland. Consequently the result is a tree population unlike anywhere else in the county. Thousands of subdivision trees went in over the last fifteen to twenty years. They sit scattered among far older trees that predate the houses entirely:
- fencerow oaks
- farmstead maples
- hedgerow remnants now sitting in back yards
Those two groups need opposite things. Young subdivision trees need structural pruning early. At that stage you can still correct a bad branch angle with a cut you make from the ground. Left alone for twenty years, the same defect becomes a co-dominant stem and a five-figure problem. Conversely, the old farmstead trees need honest assessment. Many grew open in a field and put out wide low limbs accordingly. Now they stand next to a house that was not there when those limbs went out.
Dead Ash and Tree Removal in St. John
Emerald ash borer reached all 92 Indiana counties, and untreated ash in Lake County is long gone. In most towns a standing dead ash is a safety question you can put off. In St. John it can become a deadline. Dead ash is also the most dangerous removal we do. The wood goes brittle as it dries. Limbs release without the warning a living tree gives you. Consequently Indiana DNR and Purdue Extension both advise against homeowners attempting it.
A gray trunk shedding bark in plates, with woodpecker damage up the stem, rules out treatment. At that point the tree is past where waiting saves money. In fact it gets more expensive every season. We must rig a brittle ash down rather than climb it.
NIPSCO Lines and What They May Do
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission governs utility trimming in Indiana, not the utility’s own preference. NIPSCO must give at least two weeks’ notice before trimming near your property. Furthermore, it may not remove more than twenty-five percent of your tree or top it without your permission. Two exceptions apply: an emergency, or where safe and reliable service cannot otherwise be maintained. A limb actually touching a service line is their call, so stay clear of it and phone them. Everything short of the line is ours.
Tree Removal in St. John: Services We Provide
- Tree and bush removal, including work scheduled against a Town notice deadline
- Stump grinding, four to eight inches below grade, deeper if you intend to replant
- Tree trimming and pruning to ANSI A300 standards, including structural pruning of young subdivision trees
- Canopy elevation and canopy thinning
- Assessment of mature farmstead trees near newer homes
- Dead and hazardous ash removal
- Emergency storm response, seven days a week
Where We Work
We cover all of St. John, and the neighboring communities of Schererville, Highland and Crown Point, along with the rest of Lake County.
Book a Tree Removal in St. John Estimate
Tell us the address and what you are looking at. An ISA Certified Arborist comes out and gives you a written price. Additionally, you get an honest answer on whether the tree can survive instead of coming down. Estimates are free, any day of the week.
Call 708-424-5885 or request an estimate online. For a tree on a structure or a vehicle, call rather than filling in a form.
Source and Public Record
This page describes Section 2-95, Dead or Diseased Tree Removal on Private Property. Ordinance No. 1614, Section 5 adopted it on August 27, 2015. It sits within Chapter 2, Article V, Division 2 (Tree Board) of the Town Code.
The Town publishes the full Code for public review at stjohn.town.codes. You can read the section itself in full at Section 2-95. If you have received a notice, or want to verify anything above, read the ordinance directly. In short, do not take our summary for it.
The Clerk-Treasurer’s office holds the official version of the Town Code. Moreover, it is the authority for any ordinance passed since the most recent codification. Reach the Town of St. John at stjohnin.gov or (219) 365-6465. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and requirements can change.