Tree Removal Permit in Baltimore, MD
Permit Summary
Do You Need a Tree Removal Permit?
Exemptions
The street- and park-tree permit provisions allow removal without the ordinary BCRP permit only when the BCRP Director or designee otherwise authorizes it in writing. Forest Conservation has separate statutory exemptions, including qualifying single-lot activity that cuts or clears less than 5,000 square feet of forest and has no grading or building permit disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more, plus certain owner-family dwelling, utility, logging, and other listed exemptions. Critical Area property is excluded from the Forest Conservation division because separate Critical Area rules apply. Dead, dying, diseased, contagious, or high-risk public trees may be exempted from mitigation, but that is not a general permit exemption.
Protected Trees & Removal Eligibility
Protected Tree Rules
Public street and park trees are regulated by Baltimore City Code Subtitle 53. On development sites, Forest Conservation gives priority to retaining existing forest and specimen trees, and an applicant must demonstrate to Planning that retention techniques have been exhausted before protected forest or specimen trees are removed. The Landscape Manual's Protected Trees include street and public trees, trees on properties or rights-of-way designated as Baltimore City Landmarks, specimen trees, and qualifying significant trees. Within Baltimore's Critical Area and Buffer, no tree or woody plant may be cut, removed, or destroyed without advance approval from the Director of Planning.
When Removal Is Allowed
BCRP decides whether to approve or deny public street- and park-tree removal requests and whether mitigation is required. For Forest Conservation projects, applicants must prioritize retention of existing forest and specimen trees and demonstrate to Planning that retention techniques have been exhausted when removal is proposed. Under the Landscape Manual, a Protected Tree may not be removed until the Final Landscape Plan, including replacement mitigation or required fee-in-lieu, is approved; the timing requirement may be waived for a hazardous tree presenting an imminent danger when documented by a certified arborist or other qualified professional. Critical Area tree or woody-plant removal requires advance Planning approval.
Replacement Requirements
Replacement Rules
For a street tree greater than 1 inch DBH, BCRP's mitigation standard is inch-for-inch replacement when mitigation is required, using the removed tree's DBH and replacement-tree caliper; approved planting may occur on-site or at another BCRP-approved site, with a fee-in-lieu if planting cannot accomplish the required mitigation. Park trees are subject to the same inch-for-inch method when they are at least 8 inches DBH or were deliberately planted and are at least 1 inch in diameter. BCRP may exempt dead, dying, contagious diseased, or high-risk public trees from mitigation. Forest Conservation specimen-tree mitigation uses the City's manual ratios and proceeds through on-site mitigation, off-site mitigation in Baltimore, mitigation-bank credits, and then payment to the Forest Conservation Fund when allowed. Landscape Manual Protected Trees in fair or better condition generally require one replacement caliper inch per inch DBH removed. Critical Area mitigation varies by location, development-area type, and reason for clearing.
Arborist & Professional Requirements
Professional Requirements
Any tree removal permitted under the City's street- or park-tree removal sections must be completed by a licensed tree expert under Maryland Natural Resources law. Forest Stand Delineations, Forest Conservation Plans, and afforestation plans must be prepared by a licensed forester, licensed landscape architect, or another qualified professional allowed by COMAR. Certified-arborist or other qualified-professional documentation is used for certain hazard, poor-condition, disease, and mitigation-exemption determinations under the City's Forest Conservation and Landscape guidance.
Public Notice Requirements
Notice Rules
Before a permitted street-tree removal, BCRP must give public notice by affixing a durable, legible notice visibly to the tree for at least 5 days immediately before removal. The notice must state the reason for removal and identify where inquiries or protests may be directed. In an emergency requiring immediate street-tree removal, this posting requirement does not apply, but the City or permitted person must promptly notify the City Council of the circumstances and justification. Forest Conservation can also require written notice to an adjacent property owner when proposed clearing or critical-root-zone impacts affect specimen trees or forest on that adjacent property.
Emergency Tree Removal
For a street tree, an emergency such as a fallen tree or another condition requiring immediate removal is exempt from the 5-day public-posting requirement; the City or the person it permits must promptly notify the City Council of the circumstances and justification. This notice exception does not itself replace the written-permit requirement in § 53-15, which separately allows other written authorization from the BCRP Director or designee. For Forest Conservation specimen trees, City guidance states that an imminent-danger condition should be documented and the tree removed; hazard or poor-condition documentation may support a mitigation exemption.
Development & Special Areas
Development-Related Rules
Baltimore's current Forest and Tree Conservation code generally applies, unless an exemption applies, to grading or building permit applications on parcels totaling at least 5,000 square feet, subdivision or development plans on parcels greater than 5,000 square feet, and certain public-utility work. Subject development approvals are conditioned on an approved Forest Conservation Plan, and applicants must submit a Forest Stand Delineation and Forest Conservation Plan and protect retained trees during construction. A qualifying single-lot activity is exempt when it does not cumulatively cut or clear at least 5,000 square feet of forest and does not include a grading or building permit disturbance of at least 5,000 square feet. A separate owner-family dwelling exemption uses a 20,000-square-foot threshold and requires a declaration of intent. Sites not governed by Forest Conservation may still be subject to Landscape Manual protected-tree rules or Critical Area review.
Special Zone Rules
Areas covered by the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Protection Law are exempt from Baltimore's Forest Conservation division and are governed instead by the City's Critical Area Management Program. Within Baltimore's Critical Area and Buffer, no tree or woody plant may be cut, removed, or destroyed without advance approval from the Director of Planning, and clearing must be mitigated and maintained according to the applicable Critical Area ratios. The Landscape Manual also treats trees on properties or rights-of-way designated as Baltimore City Landmarks as Protected Trees and regulates qualifying street, public, specimen, and significant trees on applicable development sites.
What You Need Before Applying
Requirements
A person removing a tree in or along a public street or in a public park must first obtain BCRP's written permit unless the BCRP Director or designee provides other written authorization. Permitted public-tree removal must be completed by a Maryland-licensed tree expert and any required mitigation must be satisfied. Private-property tree removal may require Department of Planning approval when it is part of regulated development, affects protected or specimen trees, or occurs in Baltimore's Critical Area.
Required Documents
The public-tree removal code does not prescribe a fixed document checklist and allows BCRP to request additional information. Regulated private-development projects generally require a Forest Stand Delineation and Forest Conservation Plan; plans must include the information required by the Baltimore City Forest Conservation Manual. Projects affecting specimen trees may require a tree survey and documentation of tree condition, while landscape or Critical Area review may require existing-conditions, tree-protection, and mitigation or replanting information.