Tree Ordinances and Commissions

An overview of how to develop a shade tree ordinance

Information on how to budget for a community tree program, including a budget worksheet.

Bloomsburg's Shade Tree Ordinance and information on its Shade Tree Commission.

Carlisle's shade tree ordinance and information on its shade tree commission.

Simple fact sheet about developing tree ordinances with a link to a sample ordinance

Scientists with the USDA Forest Service estimate that between 2009 and 2014, tree cover in the Nation’s urban/community areas declined by 0.7 percent, which translates to losing an estimated 36 million trees or approximately 175,000 acres of tree cover annually.

Semi-brief overview of the process for developing tree ordinances, published by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

Greensburg's shade tree ordinance and information on its shade tree commission.

This is a comprehensive guide to assessing the tree resource needs of your community and developing and implementing an effective tree ordinance. This 181 page detailed guide provides valuable tools and examples for writing a tree ordinance, from the planning stages, through drafting an ordinance to evaluating the ordinance performance..

Two models of tree management ordinances are contained in this 21 page paper, a model for a small community and a model for a large community. The models can be used as a starting point to draft a local ordinance.

Short fact sheet published by the Morrisville EAC that explains the basics of tree planting. Designed for homeowners who may be considering planting trees on their property.

Commonwealth Court case affirming a zoning hearing board’s decision to limit the size of off-site signs to the same size as on-site signs. The court stated the, “regulation…must not be arbitrary or discriminatory, and must bear a reasonable relationship to public health, safety, welfare and morals."

Tree ordinance adopted by the City of Lancaster in 2014.

Ordinance establishing a shade tree commission in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

These model ordinances provide examples for municipal governments to use as tools to incorporate sustainable land-use practices into their regulations.

Fact sheet on how to form a tree commission as one tool a community can use to create and maintain an urban forestry program.

Explains the benefits of urban trees and describes strategies to improve tree cover in communities.

As of 2016, there are 108 Tree City USA communities in Pennsylvania. Nearly a third of Pennsylvanians live in a certified Tree City.

Radnor Township's shade tree ordinance and information on its shade tree commission.

To join the Reading Shade Tree Commission's Adopt-a-Tree program, people must submit this form. It includes information about the property owner and how many trees they want to plant.

Sample ordinance from the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs for the creation of a shade tree commission and the adoption of rules and standards for the planting, maintenance and removal of shade trees within the public right-of-way.

This website contains easy to use spreadsheet templates for for completing a street or park tree inventory. The templates can be downloaded in Excel or Access. The templates are easily adaptable and can be modified for the specific variables that may be found in individual towns or cities.

Susquehanna Township's shade tree ordinance.

Provides a detailed description of forests and their benefits; analysis of threats to forest land; and description of various tools municipalities can use to maintain, protect, and restore forests.

A 23 page preliminary guidebook designed for communities developing new, or revising older, existing urban tree ordinances. It includes a tree ordinance questionnaire, which is designed to help individuals better understand the relevant issues and questions that need to be answered when undertaking the process of tree ordinance creation.

A tree ordinance regulates various aspects of tree maintenance, removal, and planting in a municipality, resulting in aesthetic and environmental benefits. (Print version of CT guide)

Following a brief overview of the historical evolution of tree ordinances in the United States, this paper focuses on the development of tree ordinances in the state of Alabama to demonstrate how the tree ordinances evolve into law and the role such ordinances have on urban trees. Even though tree ordinances have a long history in the United States, they have been rapidly developing since the 1970s.

The model landscaping regulations provided by the model, if adopted by municipalities, can help conserve and restore healthy soils, reduce the use of irrigation for landscapes, improve the quality of surface waters, reduce energy consumption, provide wildlife habitat, and protect and restore native plant communities. They can also assist in cleaning up impaired waters in both MS4 and non-MS4 municipalities.