Preview build People, jobs, listings and posts are samples. Guides, events and the directory are real.
ArboNation Join free

Tree rules in Fort Collins: permits, protected trees and fees

What Chapter 27 of the Fort Collins Municipal Code says about permits for trees in public places, the arborist licence a business needs to prune or fell at 10 feet or higher, its US$1,000,000 insurance rule and the owner's duty to keep clearances.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes Chapter 27 Vegetation of the Fort Collins, Colorado, Municipal Code, article II Trees and Shrubbery (sections 27-16 to 27-62) and article I section 27-1, as published on the Municode site and read on October 9, 2026. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities. The chapter works through the City Forester and the Director of Community Services. The sections read here set no size threshold for trees on private lots, apart from the 15-inch rule for commercial property in section 27-32. Section 27-1 recognises public and private trees, in development and non-development situations, as community infrastructure, and adds that this does not change any law that authorises or requires maintaining or removing a tree.

Permits for trees in public places

Section 27-31 makes it unlawful to plant, treat, cut, trim, prune or remove, or have done, any tree within the public right of way of a street or sidewalk or on other City property without a written permit. Trees on private property that overhang public property are outside this section. The same section says owners of property beside an alley may cut, treat, trim, prune or remove trees in the alley right of way without a permit and are responsible for keeping it unobstructed. Section 27-32 says the permit is free and comes from the City Forester's office. It is also needed to remove any tree planted on commercial property with a diameter of 15 inches or greater. The request names the applicant, the company or person doing the work, the species and the location, and the applicant agrees in writing to hold the City harmless.

Under section 27-33 the City Forester inspects the location and issues the permit if the work would protect life or property or improve the urban forest. The permit names the person who does the work and any conditions, and failing to follow them or the City Forester's rules is a violation of the article. Section 27-18 makes it unlawful to sell, import or plant in the City cotton-bearing Populus trees other than aspen, seed-bearing female box elder, Siberian elm, Russian olive, salt cedar and any ash species.

The arborist licence

TopicWhat the Code says
Who needs it, 27-34A business that, for commercial gain, cuts, trims, prunes or removes trees with cuts made 10 feet or more above the ground, or that fells trees, needs an arborist licence from the City Forester. Production and maintenance of trees in a nursery is outside the section
How it is judged, 27-35The City Forester examines the owner or a designated employee by an interview, a written examination, a field test, or a mix, to decide qualifications for the types of tree service applied for
On the licence and vehicles, 27-36The licence shows the types of tree service allowed. Motor vehicles and major equipment used for licensed work carry the business name and telephone number
Insurance, 27-37A certificate for commercial general liability insurance covering the proposed operations, with a limit of at least US$1,000,000 per occurrence, naming the City as additional insured, with at least 30 days' notice to the City before cancellation. Cancellation ends the licence unless a substitute policy is shown
Fee and term, 27-38A fee of US$105, adjusted each year from January 2023 by the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, with the adjusted amount posted on the City's website. A licence expires on January 31 of the following year

Section 27-34 also says a licensee does all cutting, trimming, pruning and removing on public or private property to the rules the City Forester sets and the City Manager approves, and that a licensee who does not may have the licence suspended or revoked. Where pesticide treatments are permitted, state rules and chemical labels apply, and the City Forester files a complaint with the Colorado Department of Agriculture if they are not followed. Sections 27-39 and 27-40 cover complaints, a hearing at least five days after the notice, and an appeal to the Director within ten days, at which an ISA certified arborist or other expert who is not a City employee may sit in to advise.

Owners' duties and penalties

Section 27-57 puts the duty on the owner to keep growth off the plane of a public sidewalk, street or alley. Branches stay no lower than 8 feet over a sidewalk and no lower than 14 feet over travel lanes, sight triangles stay clear, signs and traffic control devices stay visible, and broken, hanging or decayed branches that threaten public property come off. Section 27-58 makes an owner responsible, after notice from the City Forester, for controlling a destructive or communicable pest or disease, such as Dutch elm disease or spruce ips beetle, by eradicating it or removing the tree. Section 27-62 makes violations of the species ban, the attachment rule, the mobile home park rule and these owner duties a civil infraction under the penalty provisions of section 1-15(f). Section 27-19 bars attaching objects such as ropes, lights, signs or swings to a tree in the public right of way except by City staff or City contractors, with exceptions for the City Forester's rules on slacklines, hammocks and dormant-season string lights.

Sources