Tree rules in Raleigh: permits, protected trees and fees
What Article 9.1 of the Raleigh Unified Development Ordinance says about tree conservation areas on larger sites, the tree conservation permit, perimeter buffers and the civil penalties for unlawful tree disturbance.
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 five sections of the Raleigh Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), Article 9.1 Tree Conservation, as read on the City's UDO site on October 9, 2026: sections 9.1.1 Intent, 9.1.2 Applicability, 9.1.6 Permitted Tree Disturbing Activities, 9.1.7 Penalties and 9.1.10 Lots Without Recorded Tree Conservation Areas. The article works through development of larger sites. The pages read do not set out a permit rule for removing a single tree on a small lot. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities.
Where the article applies
Section 9.1.1 gives the intent as preserving tree coverage, mature trees and natural resource buffers, and lessening the impact of development on surrounding properties. Section 9.1.2 says that before approval of a subdivision of a tract of 2 acres or more, or a Tier 2 or Tier 3 site plan for a parcel of 2 acres or more, tree conservation areas must be provided as the UDO requires. For a site subject to condemnation or the threat of it, the section delays delineation until a Tier 2 or Tier 3 site plan or a further subdivision. Section 9.1.10 says any tree disturbing activity, except a minor tree removal activity, on a site of 2 acres or larger with no established or recorded tree conservation area has to meet its requirements.
Permits inside tree conservation areas
Section 9.1.6 says no tree disturbing activity takes place in designated tree conservation areas except as the section allows. In primary and secondary tree conservation areas it requires a tree conservation permit from the City. The section lists the grounds on which a permit may be issued.
| Ground for a permit | What section 9.1.6 says |
|---|---|
| Unsafe or unhealthy tree | A certified arborist, registered forester or licensed landscape architect certifies to the City in writing that the tree is unsafe or unhealthy. No certification is needed if the tree died of natural causes and the dead tree is replaced under the article's standards |
| Sight triangle | Removal or grading to clear a visual obstruction in a sight triangle under the North Carolina Department of Transportation street and driveway access policy |
| Public improvements | Removal or grading to install public improvements under the UDO |
| Wooded area clean-up | Shade trees under 2 inches DBH and understory trees under 1 inch DBH, where existing vegetation meets the minimum requirements |
No such permit is issued until a plan shows the nature and extent of all the tree work, how it is done without compacting soils or damaging preserved trees, and how minimum requirements are kept. When a permit is issued the owner installs replacement trees in one of two ways. Either an undisturbed area of equal size with similar vegetation is preserved elsewhere, or a 2-inch caliper shade tree is planted for each 200 square feet of tree disturbed land area. Where a priority-area tree is removed after being certified hazardous, unhealthy or dead, it is replaced with 10 caliper inches of new shade trees, each at least 2 caliper inches, planted within the recorded conservation area. Critical root zones of trees of 10 inches DBH or greater next to the proposed activity remain undisturbed, and a protective fence marks the boundaries before any activity begins.
Perimeter buffers on lots with no recorded area
Section 9.1.10 says no champion tree, including its critical root zone, is subjected to tree disturbing activity, and that a tree protection plan approved by the Parks and Cultural Resources Director is required, with fences in place before any City permit is issued. Except for minor tree removal, no tree disturbing activity occurs in a perimeter buffer whose width depends on the neighbour.
| Adjoining property | Perimeter buffer width |
|---|---|
| Vacant | 32 feet |
| Roadway other than a Thoroughfare, or not vacant | 65 feet |
| Thoroughfare or higher designation roadway | 50 feet |
No tree of 10 inches DBH or larger can be removed in these buffers, except a maximum of 5 trees between 10 and 22 inches DBH in a continuous 5-year period with a City permit, where that would not diminish future conservation areas. Forest management is allowed in the buffers after the landowner records a covenant with the county Register of Deeds, and the section sets daily hours of 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. outside emergencies.
Penalties
Section 9.1.7 sets a civil penalty for unlawful tree disturbing activity where trees and stumps are absent of a minimum of US$1,000 for the first tree plus 35 cents for every square foot of unlawful disturbance. Where trees or stumps are present, the penalty is instead US$1,000 for the first tree plus US$100 per diameter inch for any other tree or stump of 3 inches or larger. Section 9.1.10 has the same amounts for perimeter buffers, caps any penalty at one third of the land tax value of the site, and adds replanting of one 2-inch caliper tree for each 200 square feet of unlawfully disturbed buffer, to a limit of 15 per cent of the tract in R-1 and R-2 districts and 10 per cent in other districts.
Sources
- City of Raleigh, UDO section 9.1.2 Applicability, read October 9, 2026
- City of Raleigh, UDO section 9.1.6 Permitted Tree Disturbing Activities, read October 9, 2026
- City of Raleigh, UDO section 9.1.7 Penalties, read October 9, 2026
- City of Raleigh, UDO section 9.1.10 Lots Without Recorded Tree Conservation Areas, read October 9, 2026
- City of Raleigh, UDO section 9.1.1 Intent, read October 9, 2026