Tree rules in Pittsburgh: permits, protected trees and fees

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It restates Article XIII (Trees) of Title Four of the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances and Chapter 918 of the zoning code, as published on the city's code site, and three City of Pittsburgh web pages on tree work, tree planting and the Shade Tree Commission, all read on October 10, 2026. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities.

Who has charge of public trees

Section 481.01 gives the Department of Public Works exclusive custody and control of trees and shrubs in any public street, parkway or other public place, and the power to plant, remove, protect and care for them. The City's request tree work page says any request for work on a City street or park tree goes through the Forestry Division by way of the 311 Response Center, and lists topics for pruning, removal, stump removal and root pruning. The tree planting page says permits are required for all planting on City-owned land or in the public right-of-way.

Permits and notices for public trees

Section	What the code says
483.02 planting	No planting of a tree or shrub in a public street or place without a permit from the Department of Public Works
483.03 removal and trimming	No removal or cutting down of a public tree or shrub without a permit from the Department, done to its plans and specifications. The Director may issue annual permits to companies regularly in the business of cutting or trimming trees
483.03(b) and (c) overhanging limbs	Where limbs from private property interfere with a street, a street light or fire alarm wires, the Department may notify the owner to trim within a time not less than ten days. If the owner does not comply, the Department may trim and bill the owner
483.04 danger to safety	Where a tree on private premises may fall across a public street or endangers the public through decay or lack of support, the Department may notify the owner to remove or prune it, and if the owner does not, may do the work and bill the owner
483.06 open space	Thirty square feet of open ground around the base of each right-of-way tree, with no dimension under three feet, with a lower allowance where the sidewalk is under seventy-four inches wide and mitigation is in place

Hazardous public trees and appeals

Section 483.05 covers public trees the Department finds seriously damaged, diseased, disfigured or a hazard. Before removal the primary adjacent owner and abutting owners get notice with an appeal package, and a poster on the tree gives the specific reason. The notice runs at least six weeks before the scheduled removal. Appeals are due within three weeks of the notice being posted, and the Urban Forester decides and tells the appellant at least one week before removal. Any citizen may appeal in writing, but the opinion of directly adjacent owners outranks appellants from outside the area. Where the City Forester confirms an immediate hazard, the tree is removed with no notice or appeal. The section says that opinion may not rest solely on the tree's age, on possible attack by a disease of its variety, or on interference with utility wires or views. Section 483.07 lets an owner ask in writing for removal of a City tree and, if it is authorized, pay the removal cost and the cost of a new tree and its planting.

Protection

Chapter 485 says no one may injure a tree or shrub planted in a public place. Accidental damage must be reported within forty-eight hours to the Department of Public Works, which may repair or replant and collect the cost from those responsible. Excavation in streets or on private property must avoid injury to roots of any tree or shrub, and during building work the owner places guards around nearby public trees. Chapter 485 also bars letting gas, brine, oil or similar substances reach the soil around the roots of a public tree.

Shade Tree Commission and development

Chapter 487 sets up the Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission, which the code says works on tree health and safety, public education, planting, protecting trees during construction and development, and fundraising. Its duties include a comprehensive shade tree inventory and an annual report to Council that covers hazardous tree removal appeals. The Commission's resources page also lists the Citywide Significant Tree Registry, the Street Tree Investment Plan of 2021 with approved and prohibited species lists, and a 2017 executive order on tree protection.

In the zoning code, section 918.02.C asks for at least one street tree per thirty linear feet of public street frontage, planted between sidewalk and curb, with a nonpaved planting area of at least thirty square feet and three feet deep. Section 918.02.B asks for at least one tree for every five parking spaces in a parking lot. Chapter 918 applies to development under site plan review, and exempts small lots and parking structures.