— Local Coverage —
Oak Country, Four Townships, One Address
A Howell mailing address covers the city plus Howell, Oceola, Marion, and Genoa Townships, and the tree work changes with each. In town it's century-old street trees over small lots and overhead lines around the historic district. Out on Thompson Lake, Lake Chemung, and Coon Lake it's cottages-turned-houses with big trees leaning over the water. On the acreage it's oak-hickory ridges and beech-maple lowlands — the native forest of central Livingston County, where the Shiawassee, Red Cedar, and Looking Glass rivers all begin. We bring the crew and the equipment to finish the job in one trip and leave the property clean.
— NEIGHBORHOODS & AREAS —
— What We Do —
Services in Howell
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 Howell
Seventy Miles an Hour on September 2
The National Weather Service clocked a 70 mph gust in Howell at 10:37 p.m. on September 2, 2026, and 67 mph at the Livingston County airport three minutes later. The next afternoon it was multiple trees down at Golf Club and Grand River and a five-foot-diameter tree uprooted at Parkers Corners. Howell schools closed, and 2,500 Livingston County customers were still out the following Monday. We're on call around the clock for the next one.
A Tree City Since 1987
Howell has held Tree City USA status every year since 1987 and runs a neighborhood planting program where the city pays half the cost of a new street tree. The DPW trims and removes the trees between the sidewalk and the curb on an annual contract. Everything behind the sidewalk is yours, and that's where we come in.
Oak Wilt Is a Livingston County Problem
The oak-hickory ridges around Howell are exactly where oak wilt spreads, and neighboring Genoa Township passed a formal resolution about it in 2024. The state's rule is no oak pruning between April 15 and July 15; Genoa's guidance stretches that to October. We prune oaks in the dormant season, seal storm wounds promptly, and take out dead oaks stump and all.
Lake Lots and Long Drives
Thompson Lake, Lake Chemung, and Coon Lake have willows and cottonwoods leaning over seawalls, and the rural lots out toward the Howell Nature Center have driveways lined with dead ash. Both need careful rigging and the right machine to reach them. Nothing ends up in the water or on the neighbor's dock.
— Local Rules —
Howell Tree Rules: City, Townships, and County Roads
Neither the City of Howell nor Howell Township requires a permit to remove a tree in your own yard. The rules that do apply are about street trees, hazards, and who owns the road. Here's the short version.
City of Howell: No Permit for Your Own Trees
The city's tree chapter (Chapter 1024) is about trees in streets and parks. There's no permit, no landmark threshold, and no replacement rule for a homeowner removing a tree in the yard. The one exception: a tree over one inch in a sight-obstruction spot near a street corner needs the City Manager's written approval before it's removed or radically trimmed.
City Street Trees Are the DPW's
Trees between the sidewalk and the street are city-owned, and no one may cut or prune one without the Director of Public Works. The city runs an annual trimming and removal contract for them. Planting a tree in the right-of-way needs a permit from Engineering. DPW: (517) 546-7510.
Keep It Nine and a Half Feet Over the Sidewalk
The city requires branches over any street or sidewalk to clear nine and a half feet, whether the tree is the city's or yours, and gives ten days after notice before the DPW does it and bills you. The city also treats female boxelders as a public nuisance and can order them removed.
Dead and Hazardous Trees Are a Blight Violation
Under the city's health and safety code, a diseased, damaged, or infested tree that threatens people or public property may not be kept on private property. The city gives five business days after notice, then removes it and charges the cost plus a fee. Call us before the letter arrives.
Howell Township: Rules Apply to Development
The township's zoning ordinance regulates trees only for projects going through site plan review — inventorying trees six inches and up, protecting the ones marked to stay, and replacing the ones that die. A homeowner on an existing lot needs no permit. Genoa Township regulates clearing more than a quarter of the eight-inch-plus trees on a parcel and has been considering landmark tree rules; check with the township at (810) 227-5225 before a big clearing job on Lake Chemung.
Township Roads Belong to the Road Commission
Outside the city limits, every public road is a Livingston County Road Commission road, and work in the right-of-way needs an LCRC permit. The Road Commission trims and removes roadside trees for sight distance itself. LCRC: (517) 546-4250.
Lines and Digging
Most Howell-area homes are DTE electric and Consumers gas. DTE trims around its main lines but not the service drop to your house — that's the homeowner's, and it's work we do every week. Call MISS DIG at 811 at least three business days before stump grinding or planting.
Ordinances change — confirm current requirements with Howell before planting or removing.
— Questions We Hear —
Howell Tree Service FAQs
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Howell?+
Who handles the tree between my sidewalk and the street in Howell?+
Can the City of Howell make me take a tree down?+
When can oaks be trimmed in Howell?+
How fast can you respond to storm damage in Howell?+
— 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 Howell
Don't see your city? Ask us — we travel across all of Southeast Michigan.