Tree rules in Salt Lake City: permits, protected trees and fees
What the Salt Lake City Urban Forestry pages say about city trees in park strips and parks, who may do private work on them under a permit, the grounds for removal and what the city does not do for private trees.
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 three pages of the Salt Lake City Public Lands Department as read on October 9, 2026: the Urban Forestry front page, the Urban Forestry Services page and the Urban Forestry FAQ. The pages cover city trees. They do not set out a permit rule for trees on private lots. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities.
What counts as a city tree
The Services page says all trees growing in the park strip between the sidewalk and the road, and all trees in parks, are city trees. It adds that in some neighbourhoods there is no park strip but the trees along the road are city trees, and that the Urban Forestry office is called to find out. The front page gives the city's urban forest as about 85,000 public trees: 63,000 street trees and 22,000 trees in parks and open spaces. Service is provided only for trees on property owned or managed by the city. The FAQ says Urban Forestry does not perform service for trees on private property and cannot recommend a specific arborist or tree care company.
Permits for work on city trees
The front page says permits are required before removing, pruning or planting any tree in the public right-of-way, and that the office is called to determine whether a tree is in the right-of-way before any work. It says permits will only be issued to arborists certified by the International Society of Arboriculture. The Services page says that anyone who wants work done by a private service provider calls the office to obtain a permit before the work, and that a Tree Work Permit Application is online. The page says a city tree that does not meet the city's pruning conditions can be pruned under a permit by a certified arborist of the requester's choosing, and that the financial burden is the requester's.
| Topic | What the pages say |
|---|---|
| City pruning | The city prunes public trees for public safety and tree health. It lists hazards such as large dead limbs, low branches that impede streets and sidewalks, and conditions harmful to the tree or to other trees |
| City removal | Removal is a last resort, for compromised public safety, an irreconcilable conflict with safe use of the property, or risk to the urban forest's health and vitality |
| Not grounds on their own | Roots lifting a curb or sidewalk, roots interacting with a sewer line, and a "messy" tree |
| Before a removal permit | The page says reasonable efforts to mitigate the conflict must be shown to have been tried and failed before the city considers removing a healthy tree or authorizes a permit for removal |
| Replanting | After removal, replanting generally occurs within a year where space allows. The city strives to plant 1,000 new trees each year |
What the FAQ adds
- It is against city ordinance to attach anything to a city tree, such as a swing, sign, holiday lights or a bird feeder.
- Hardscape or utility damage are not appropriate reasons for removing a healthy tree, and sidewalk and utility replacement are the property owner's responsibility.
- The program does not spray for pest control, though its arborists may prescribe options for an individual tree in certain circumstances.
- Work is safety-based. In the summer months the work queue stretches to four months or more after a request.
- For a park strip changed to xeriscaping, the page says to call the office, because trees need water.
The office hours given on the pages are 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, at the Urban Forestry Division on West 500 South. The Services page says emergencies such as a broken tree or limb blocking a street, sidewalk or driveway are reported by phone to the same office.