Tree rules in Tacoma: permits, protected trees and fees
What the City of Tacoma's right-of-way tree page, Urban Forestry program page and 2025 Urban Forest Manual say about street tree permits, the categories that qualify for removal, the canopy loss fee and work near 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 City of Tacoma documents as read on October 9, 2026: the Trees in the Right-of-Way page, the Urban Forestry Program page and the 2025 Urban Forest Manual (UFM). The City's pages cover trees in the public right-of-way, which includes planting strips. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities.
Who maintains the right-of-way, and the permit
The right-of-way page says the City requires abutting property owners to maintain the adjacent right-of-way, which includes sidewalks and planting strips where improved, and names Tacoma Municipal Code (TMC) chapters 9.20, 8.30, 8.31 and 12.09 as stating those obligations. It says that before planting, pruning or removing a tree in the City right-of-way an RTRE permit is required. The pruning permit is available online at no cost, and only the owner of the property next to the street tree, or the owner's designee, may apply. The page says pruning is done in accordance with best management practices and industry standards such as ANSI A300, and gives vertical clearance of at least eight feet over sidewalks and 14 feet over streets and alleys as trees grow.
Categories approved for removal
The page says a removal permit may be granted if the adjacent owner or the owner's agent can demonstrate the tree falls into one of the categories approved for removal candidacy. Removal work has to comply with ANSI A300 and Z133.1, TMC 9.20 and 13.06.090.B, and the UFM.
| Category | How the page defines it |
|---|---|
| Hazardous tree | Likely to fail and has an extreme or high risk of causing property damage, injury or death, designated by an ISA Certified Arborist who holds a Tree Risk Assessor Course and Exam certification or the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification |
| Conflict tree | One whose presence in the right-of-way directly conflicts with construction or repair of a utility or improvement, with development of the abutting property, or damages existing improvements, where no reasonable alternative to removal is shown |
| Prohibited tree | A species unlawful to plant in the right-of-way under the Prohibited Tree List of the UFM |
| Nuisance tree | A tree that is a public nuisance under TMC chapter 8.30 |
| Significantly damaged tree | One previously topped or significantly damaged so that, if left unmanaged through extensive pruning and maintenance, it could become a future hazard |
The page also lists a tree damaging a sidewalk and a fruit tree as categories. It states that a canopy loss fee applies only to conflict trees and that every other tree work permit type is no-fee. The fee is US$130 for each caliper inch removed, less the same number of caliper inches of replacement trees planted. Its example is a 10-inch tree removed and three 2-inch trees replanted: 10 inches minus 6 inches is 4 inches, times US$130, for a fee of US$520. The page says all stumps and surface roots of removed trees are ground or removed to at least 8 inches below ground.
What the Urban Forest Manual adds
The UFM defines pruning as removal of plant parts, dead or alive, and says in no circumstance does tree topping qualify as appropriate pruning. It defines topping as pruning live branches and leaders to stubs without regard to long-term tree health or structural integrity. In its chapter on tree protection the manual lists work needing City approval inside a tree protection zone, including dumping construction waste, storing materials, vehicles or equipment, trenching, changing soil grade, compacting soil, installing pavement and attaching anything to trees with nails, screws or spikes, and it asks for 24 hours notice before construction inside the zone. It states that penalties under TMC 13.06.090B, 13.05.150 and 9.20 apply for non-compliance. It defines a heritage tree as a tree or collection of trees in the City that, because of size, age, cultural or historical significance, ecological value or rarity, is considered irreplaceable.
The Urban Forestry Program page gives the City's goal as raising canopy cover from approximately 20 per cent to 30 per cent by 2030, and says City Council adopted the Urban Forest Priority Action Plan (Resolution No. 41682) in May 2025, with regulatory and non-regulatory tools for tree preservation citywide.