Chattanooga Tree Removal Permit Rules: What the 2025 Ordinance Requires of a Homeowner (and What It Doesn't)

The short version

• Your own yard, single-family or duplex lot → no permit, no fee Sec. 32-316(a)(1): the private-property tree rules "shall not apply to any parcel of land currently being used for a single-unit dwelling or two-unit dwelling."
• Tree in the strip between sidewalk and curb → permit required That is City right-of-way; the tree is a Public Property Tree. Sec. 32-312(a)(1) requires a Tree Ordinance Permit before anyone prunes, removes or digs near it.
• Designated Notable, Champion, Landmark or Historic tree → permit required, even on private land Sec. 32-317(a). Removal is approved only if the tree is dead, diseased or hazardous (32-317(c)).
• Storm emergency → requirements can be waived Sec. 32-316(a)(6) lets the City Forester waive the rules after a tornado, windstorm, flood or ice storm.
• Your tree company → must be registered and insured Sec. 32-318: online registration with Urban Forestry, a City business licence, and proof of liability insurance for anyone paid to work on a tree over 12" diameter.

What changed in April 2025

On April 8, 2025 the City Council passed Ordinance No. 14217, which repealed the tree ordinance in place since 1990 and enacted a new Article XIII of Chapter 32 of the City Code — the "Chattanooga Tree Ordinance". The City's own release describes it as the first comprehensive update in over 35 years, aimed at developers and large-scale land clearing: a 36-inch-per-acre tree-retention or replacement requirement on developed land, a Tree Bank developers can pay into, and more authority for the City Forester over trees on public property. The release states plainly that the ordinance does not prohibit homeowners from removing trees on private property and imposes no new restrictions on private owners cutting trees on their own land. The ordinance text, read in full on Municode, bears that out — with the exceptions below.

Who the ordinance applies to: public trees, developed land, and Notable Trees

Public Property Trees — always permitted work

The ordinance defines a Public Property Tree as "any tree now or hereafter growing on any City street, park, or other City-owned property" and City Property as including "any part of any public right-of-way" (Sec. 32-302). The operative rule is Sec. 32-312(a)(1):

The practical trap for a homeowner is the street tree. In older neighborhoods — North Chattanooga, Highland Park, St. Elmo, Brainerd — the tree shading your driveway often stands in the verge between sidewalk and curb. It looks like yours; it is the City's, and so is the Critical Root Zone around it (one foot of radius per inch of trunk diameter, Sec. 32-302). Pruning it, removing it, or trenching a new water line through its roots needs the permit first.

Private property — the single-family exemption, and what it doesn't cover

Division 3 of the ordinance regulates private-property trees, but Sec. 32-316(a) opens with the exemptions, the first of which is the one that matters to most readers: the article "shall not apply to any parcel of land currently being used for a single-unit dwelling or two-unit dwelling. If the use of the parcel changes to any other classification, the other requirements of this article apply." Also exempt: removal of "Dead, Declining, or Hazardous trees and vegetation as defined in this Ordinance" (item 5) and emergencies (item 6).

What the exemption does not cover: a lot being developed or redeveloped, a multifamily or commercial parcel, a subdivision under construction. There, Sec. 32-316(b) prohibits destroying more than 5,000 square feet of tree canopy on a parcel without a Land Disturbing or Timber Removal Permit, and 32-316(c) requires 36 inches of trunk diameter per acre to be retained, planted or offset on residential, mixed-use, commercial and industrial zones. If you are clearing a lot to build, this is your situation and your builder's land-disturbing permit is where the tree review happens.

Notable Trees and State-designated trees

Sec. 32-317(a) protects any living tree in the city on the State of Tennessee Champion Tree list, designated a Landmark or Historic Tree by the State, or designated a Notable Tree by the Chattanooga Tree Commission: none may be removed, or pruned by more than 25 percent of its woody area, or have more than 25 percent of its Critical Root Zone disturbed, without a Tree Ordinance Permit. Residents nominate Notable Trees with the owner's consent (32-317(b)), and an owner can retract the designation by notifying the City (32-317(f)). A permit to remove a protected tree issues "only upon a satisfactory showing that the tree in question is either Dead, Diseased, or Hazardous" (32-317(c)); if the urban forester does not act within 30 days the application is treated as denied and can be appealed to the Tree Commission (32-317(d)). If you bought an older property with a very large tree, it is worth asking the Urban Forestry Program whether it carries a designation before you quote a removal.

Fees: what the ordinance says versus what the web page says

Sec. 32-312(a)(10) sets the Tree Ordinance Permit fee in three tiers by type and scale of work:

The City's "Tree Ordinance Permit" web page, read the same day, says the fee is $500 "and is non-refundable", that the permit is valid for two years, and that the application needs a site plan "showing tree protection, grading and all other impacts to Public trees". That page predates or simplifies the tiered schedule; the ordinance text controls. For a resident pruning or removing one street tree without construction, the tier the ordinance describes is Tier 1. Confirm the tier with the Land Development Office when you apply — applications are online through Public Works, and the page lists the Tree Canopy Coordinator as the contact, with 311 for immediate service.

Two more consequences of a permitted public-tree removal: a tree that is not Dead, Diseased or Hazardous must be replaced "with trees equal in total caliper to the sum of tree DBH proposed to be removed" on the same street or property, or the shortfall is paid into the Tree Bank at the replacement fee (32-312(d)(1)); and the permit holder must notify the City Forester for inspection within five days of expected completion (32-312(a)(5)).

Duties that run the other way: clearance and dangerous trees

Sec. 32-311 puts two standing obligations on anyone owning or occupying property with trees along a street. First, clearance: overhanging limbs must be kept at least 8 feet above sidewalks and 12 feet above streets (14 feet on truck routes), and must not block streetlights, traffic signs, or sight lines at intersections. Second, hazard: "Property owners shall remove all dead, diseased or dangerous trees, or broken or decayed limbs which constitute a menace to the safety of the public" (32-311(d)). Sec. 32-315 gives the City the right to order removal of a dead or diseased private tree that threatens life, property or other trees, with 14 days to comply before the City does it and bills you. A dead oak leaning over the sidewalk is therefore not a "no permit needed, do it whenever" situation — it is a "no permit needed, do it now" one. The dead and dying tree guide covers how to tell.

The contractor registry — the rule that protects you

New in the 2025 ordinance, Sec. 32-318 requires "all individuals or companies intending to do tree work for hire on any tree over twelve (12) inches DBH within the city" to register online with the Urban Forestry Program, and says registered companies "shall be listed publicly". Registered businesses must hold a City of Chattanooga business licence and provide proof of liability insurance (32-318(2)), must acknowledge the public-tree protections and the wood-waste rules (32-318(3)–(4) — leaving wood at the curb for City pickup "will be considered illegal dumping"), and can be issued a stop-work order for violations, with fines falling on the company, "not the property owner" (32-318(5)).

Penalties for getting it wrong

For an unpermitted removal of, or damage to, a City tree, Sec. 32-313 makes the violator liable for the appraised value of the tree under the Council of Tree & Landscape Appraisers' Guide for Plant Appraisal, plus the City's actual costs to clear debris and replace the tree, capped at $50,000 per tree and $100,000 per site — and the ordinance says nothing in it removes "the State statutory liability and award of damages for negligent or intentional tree cutting as set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 43-28-312" (that statute itself is not reviewed on this site). Appeals of a permitting decision go to the Tree Commission within ten business days (Sec. 32-306), then to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Outside the city limits

This ordinance is the City of Chattanooga's. Most of Hixson, plus Brainerd, East Brainerd, St. Elmo and Lookout Valley, are inside the city; Signal Mountain, Red Bank, East Ridge, Collegedale, Soddy-Daisy, Lookout Mountain and Walden are separate municipalities with their own codes, and unincorporated Hamilton County is governed by the County, whose code we have not reviewed. If your address is in one of those, the Chattanooga ordinance does not apply to you — check with that town's hall before assuming either way. We have not yet read those codes and do not summarize them here.