Stump Grinding in Omaha, NE

Permits & rules in Omaha

No city permit is needed to remove a tree on your own private property in Omaha, but anyone doing tree work for hire must hold a City of Omaha arborist's license issued by the City Forester (Omaha Municipal Code Ch. 37, Art. II: second-class covers trimming and removal, first-class adds chemical treatment; licenses run three years). Trees in the street right-of-way/parking strip belong to the city: Sec. 37-8 makes it unlawful to plant or remove them without a permit from the City Forester, and Sec. 37-10 lets the forester assess up to triple the appraised value of a right-of-way tree removed without a permit. Abutting owners are still responsible for keeping right-of-way trees pruned (Sec. 37-9), dead or hazardous trees on any property must be removed (Sec. 37-11), and limbs must clear 14-16 ft over major streets, 12-14 ft over other streets and 8-10 ft over sidewalks (Secs. 37-91 to 37-93).

Storm debris: Omaha has no standing curbside brush program; limbs go out with the city's seasonal yard-waste collection or to a private drop-off, and after major wind storms the city has opened temporary free tree-debris drop-off sites.

Trees we see most in Omaha

• Green ash Was Omaha's dominant street tree; emerald ash borer (found 2016) has killed or forced removal of most, with ~15,000 public ash slated for removal
• Hackberry Tough native that handles Omaha's clay and wind; cosmetic nipple galls and witches' broom are common complaints
• Silver maple Fast-growing shade tree in older neighborhoods; weak, included-bark unions split in summer wind storms
• Siberian elm Planted everywhere mid-century for shade and windbreaks; brittle wood sheds large limbs in storms and ice
• Bur oak Long-lived native of the Missouri River bluffs; slow to establish and now showing bur oak blight in eastern Nebraska
• Eastern cottonwood Nebraska's state tree, huge along the river bottoms; constant limb drop and root heave near structures