— Local Coverage —
Careful Work in Tree Town
Ann Arbor is called Tree Town for a reason: the city has inventoried nearly 52,000 public trees, holds about 33 percent canopy cover, and has been a Tree City USA for more than four decades. That comes with expectations. We prune for structure and long-term health, not just to make a tree smaller, and we know how to work around century-old homes on the Old West Side, narrow downtown lots, and the landmark-size oaks and maples that the city's code takes seriously. We'll tell you which rules apply to your address before we quote the job.
— NEIGHBORHOODS & AREAS —
— What We Do —
Services in Ann Arbor
Tree Removal
Safe takedowns of any size — from a single dead ash to full clearing along a driveway or fence line. Every branch and log hauled, yard left spotless.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Structural pruning, canopy thinning, deadwooding, and clearance work over roofs, driveways, and power lines. Healthier trees, cleaner curb appeal.
Stump Grinding
Below-grade grinding with chip cleanup and grade repair, so you can replant, re-sod, or forget the stump was ever there.
24/7 Storm & Emergency Work
Trees on houses, trees on cars, trees blocking the road — we respond day or night with the trucks, chippers, and skid steers to make it safe fast.
Land & Lot Clearing
Overgrown lots, buildable parcels, and property line cleanup. We drop, chip, and haul so your project can start clean.
Landscape Design & Install
After the trees come down — beds, plantings, sod, and hardscape done right by the same crew that knows your yard.
— Why Homeowners Call Us —
Local know-how in Ann Arbor
Oak Wilt Is Confirmed Here
In August 2023 the city confirmed oak wilt in a cluster of northern red oaks in Bird Hills Nature Area and had to trench a root-graft barrier and remove dozens of trees. Ann Arbor's own guidance is stricter than the state's: do not prune oaks from March through November. We schedule oak work in the winter window, and if you have a red oak losing leaves from the top down in July, call us — it can spread through the roots to your neighbor's tree.
Twenty-Two Thousand Ash Trees
Ann Arbor lost roughly 22,000 ash trees to emerald ash borer — about 8,000 along streets, 2,000 in parks, and around 11,000 on private property. The city spent millions removing its share. Some of the private ones are still standing, and dead ash gets more dangerous every year it stays up. We remove it without climbing it.
Beech, Maple, and Hickory on the Hills
The natural forest here is white oak and hickory on the moraines, sugar maple and beech on the richer uplands, and red oak and red maple down along the Huron. Bird Hills alone is 146 acres of it, and Nichols Arboretum has oaks and hickories well past a century old. Homes that border that kind of woods get big trees and long removals, and we bring the equipment for it.
Fifteen Historic Districts, Narrow Lots
The Old West Side is late-1800s and early-1900s frame houses on deep, narrow lots under a full canopy. Burns Park is 1910s-to-1930s homes packed around the park. Fifteen local historic districts in all. There's rarely room to swing a crane, so we rig and lower piece by piece and leave the porch, the fence, and the neighbor's garden alone.
— Local Rules —
Ann Arbor Tree Rules: Landmark Trees, Street Trees, and Oaks
Ann Arbor has more tree code than most cities in the state, but for a homeowner maintaining an existing house it comes down to a few things. Here's what matters.
Routine Removal at Home: No Permit
Chapter 40 of the city code (Trees and Other Vegetation) governs trees in the right-of-way and on city land. It does not require a permit to trim or remove a tree in your own yard. The city can, however, order removal of a diseased or damaged private tree that threatens public property.
Landmark Trees Matter When You Build
The Unified Development Code protects landmark trees — any tree over 24 inches in diameter, plus species-specific thresholds: 16 inches for oak, hickory, and honeylocust; 18 inches for ash, beech, silver maple, walnut, and most evergreens. Those rules are triggered by site plan review — additions, multi-unit, and commercial projects — not by routine yard maintenance. If your project needs a site plan, landmark trees have to be inventoried and mitigated.
Removing One Without Approval Is Expensive
Where the rules apply, a landmark tree removed with approval must be replaced with native trees totaling at least 50 percent of its diameter. Removed without approval, the replacement requirement doubles to 200 percent, and the city's canopy-loss fee runs $252 per inch. Ask before you cut.
Street Trees Need a Free Forestry Permit
Any work that touches a city-owned tree in the right-of-way — removal, pruning, stump grinding, even treatment — needs a permit from Public Works Forestry at (734) 794-6320. The permit is free, but a canopy-loss fee or appraisal can apply if a street tree is removed. Forestry also runs the free street-tree planting program each fall and spring.
The Sight-Triangle Rule Got Teeth in 2025
Ordinance 25-34, adopted December 2025, tightened the rules on vegetation blocking corners and sidewalks: branches over the right-of-way must clear eight feet, and fines now start at $100 and climb to $500 for repeat offenses. If a limb over your sidewalk has been on your list, that's the reason to get to it.
Oaks: March Through November Is Off Limits
The city's forestry department asks that oaks not be pruned from March to November because of confirmed oak wilt in Ann Arbor. State guidance says April 15 to July 15 at minimum. We follow the city's window on Ann Arbor jobs.
DTE and MISS DIG
DTE trims around its primary lines for free but does not trim the service drop to your house — that's on the homeowner, and it's work we do routinely. Call 811 at least three business days before any stump grinding or planting.
Ordinances change — confirm current requirements with Ann Arbor before planting or removing.
— Questions We Hear —
Ann Arbor Tree Service FAQs
Do I need a permit to remove a tree on my property in Ann Arbor?+
When can oaks be pruned in Ann Arbor?+
What counts as a landmark tree in Ann Arbor?+
Can you work on the narrow lots in the Old West Side and Burns Park?+
How much does tree removal cost in Ann Arbor?+
— Our Process —
How a Job Goes
- ✓Free on-site estimate, usually within the week
- ✓Clear written quote — no surprise add-ons
- ✓Scheduled crew arrives in marked trucks with proper gear
- ✓Careful rigging around houses, fences, and landscaping
- ✓Every branch and log chipped or hauled off-site
- ✓Yard raked and blown clean before we leave
— Nearby Cities —
Also serving near Ann Arbor
Don't see your city? Ask us — we travel across all of Southeast Michigan.