Do Homeowners Need a Tree Removal Permit in Roswell?

Emergency Tree Services

It can be a painful decision to remove a tree from a residential property. After all, trees provide a whole slew of utilitarian benefits: from shade and wildlife habitat to lowered energy costs and enhanced property value. Plus, practical advantages aren’t, of course, the complete picture: Trees also boost aesthetics, bring us pleasure, and become associated with deep, important memories – sometimes whole lifetimes’ worth of them – as well.

That said, sometimes a tree needs to come down; there’s just no other alternative. For property owners in Roswell, Georgia and elsewhere in the Greater Atlanta area, the team here at Excel Tree Care provides a slew of tree tending and upkeep services, including expert limb removal and other pruning. As much as we love to keep trees alive and healthy, we also offer the metro area’s finest tree removal and stump-grinding services. Additionally, we provide Emergency Tree Removal services.

Tree Removal in Roswell, Georgia: How to Know When a Tree Needs to Come Down

Trees, naturally, can live a very long time, and when properly cared for they can add beauty to your yard for many decades.

However, injury and natural senescence can ultimately set a tree on an inevitable path to death. In many situations it’s best to take said tree out before it gets to the final tapping-out. After all, a tree that’s shedding branches, rotting at the roots or in the heartwood, or otherwise mortally compromised can turn into a major hazard, posing a threat to life and property.

A professional tree assessment by authorities such as the Excel Tree Care crew should be undertaken if you have any doubts about trees on your property and, really, on a regular basis even if you don’t have any obvious cause for concern.

Here are a few basic signs and symptoms to key into, though they don’t always mean a tree absolutely must be removed in its entirety:

  • Evidence of infection, including discolored, misshapen, or wilting foliage; extensive deadwood; cracks or splits in the trunk or branches; and oozing holes.
  • Lots of dead branches—aka “widowmakers”—in the canopy. If more than half the tree appears to be dead or damaged, it’s usually best to remove it.
  • Heaved-up soil at the base of the tree or a prominent, fairly abrupt new lean in the tree.
  • Extensive hollowness in the tree’s interior. If a third or more of the tree is gutted, it should be taken out.
  • Sudden growth of fungi or sprouting branches (suckers) at the base of the tree.

Certainly if a tree is situated too close to your house or another structure, or has a growth path interfering with power lines, it may be best to take it down.

Roswell Tree Removal Permits

Generally speaking, if you want to remove a tree with a trunk diameter better than three inches across at a Roswell residence, you need to complete a tree-removal application. This application will see you filling out basic details such as a description of the tree’s location and a checklist detailing your satisfaction of various requirements and logistics.

Specific requirements apply to so-called “Specimen Trees,” which are those in at least decent shape that “qualify for special consideration for preservation due to size, species, and condition” (as the City of Roswell’s Tree Removal Permit Application states), and which meet certain size-category criteria with regard to their diameter at breast height (DBH).

Meanwhile, those property owners or residents living within 2,000 feet of the Chattahoochee River, Roswell’s officially designated River Corridor, need to get in touch with the city’s Arborist/Landscape Architect at 770-594-6293 or its Planning & Zoning Office at 770-817-6720 if they’re considering removing a tree.

Learn more about the city’s tree-removal requirements right here.

Get in Touch With Excel Tree Care for Roswell Tree Removal

Here at Excel Tree Care, we pride ourselves on providing Greater Atlanta property owners with comprehensive tree care and removal services. If your Roswell home has a tree that may be in need of removal, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by using our contact form, or giving us a call at 404-964-6508!