My street tree needs to be pruned. What do I do?

What You Can Do

Occasionally, street trees require pruning to remove dead limbs, alleviate clearance issues for people or cars, and to keep branches from reaching nearby buildings. If you think your street tree needs to be pruned, you can email the City to have the tree looked at by our contract arborist. Once the City's contract arborist assesses the tree, a determination can be made on the hazard and safety situation. Then:

  • If it is an immediate hazard or public safety issue, the City will take care of the problem in an appropriate short-term timeframe.
  • If it is not an immediate hazard or public safety issue, there are two options available to the adjacent property owner.
    • Option 1: Wait for the city's zone management schedule (see the following) to have City staff take care of the pruning.
    • Option 2: If the City is not working in that zone within the next year or two, and the adjacent property owner does not want to wait for the work to be done, they can obtain a City permit to hire a private contractor at their own expense. Two important things to note on this option:
      • You must acquire a permit from the City before any work is scheduled or completed. Failure to do so will result in fines.
      • Any contractor hired to do the work must meet the following requirements: 1) All work must be done by a certified arborist, and 2) all work must be done to current arboriculture standards cited in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 standards (all arborists are familiar with this, though a copy can be requested from the city).

Management Schedule

A quick primer on how we care for our trees: City tree pruning is implemented based on 1) a proactive cyclical care system recommended in national best management practices in urban forestry and 2) best and most efficient use of available funding. Here's how it works.

The City is divided into 10 management zones, shown in the following map. Each year, the trees in one zone are re-inventoried and then later each tree is proactively pruned. This proactive care system is a national standard which is proven to ensure healthier trees that last long term, as well as contribute to fewer tree failures in storms. The schedule/order of zone work follows, though is subject to changes based on available funding:

  • Zone 2: Completed in 2019
  • Zones 8 and 9: February/March 2022
  • Zone 5
  • Zone 6
  • Zone 7
  • Zone 10
  • Zone 1
  • Zone 3
  • Zone 4

In addition to this annual cyclical care work, we are also pruning for safety hazards throughout the city throughout every year.

Map of Newport Tree Zones

Show All Answers

1. What constitutes a public tree?
2. Who owns and cares for public trees in Newport?
3. My street tree needs to be pruned. What do I do?
4. I would like a street tree. What are the options?
5. How to care for a new street tree?
6. I'm worried my tree is unhealthy. What do I do?
7. My sidewalk is buckling because of tree roots. What can be done?
8. Can I plant other things in a tree lawn/well?
9. Duke tops my trees every few years. It looks awful. What can be done?
10. I don’t like my tree, or my tree is causing problems. What can be done?
11. I have a tree on my own private property. Do I need permission to remove it?