Roswell Tree Permits, Explained
The city protects its canopy on private property too — starting at a 3-inch trunk. The real thresholds, the exemptions, and the catch buried inside them.
📞 Call (770) 555-0134General information — the city’s published code is the source of truth
Roswell’s tree canopy is not an accident — the city protects it deliberately, and that protection reaches onto private residential property. The practical takeaway fits in one sentence: in Roswell, a tree of 3 inches diameter or more generally cannot come down without a permit, and the biggest trees are protected on every lot regardless of size. Here is how the rules actually read, and where the exemptions are.
The 3-inch rule
Roswell’s Unified Development Code is unusually direct about this. Section 12.1.1.B.3 states that no person may “remove, cause to be removed, poison, damage, trim or transplant any tree with a trunk diameter of 3 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) which normally attains a mature height of 15 feet or more without first obtaining a permit.”
Two details in that sentence surprise people. First, it covers trimming, not just removal. Second, 3 inches DBH is a small tree — roughly a trunk you can close one hand most of the way around. The ordinance is not aimed only at grand old oaks.
Specimen trees: protected on every property
A separate and stricter tier applies to “specimen” trees. The code defines a specimen tree as one in fair or better condition that meets one of these thresholds:
| DBH | Class | Examples given in the code |
|---|---|---|
| 8″ | Small trees | dogwood, sourwood, cherry |
| 16″ | Midstory trees | maple, birch, magnolia, holly |
| 20″ | Overstory hardwoods | oak, hickory, sweetgum, ash |
| 30″ | Overstory softwoods | pine |
The critical line is in Sec. 12.1.1.C: “The tree protection requirements that protect specimen trees apply to all properties.” There is no small-lot escape hatch for a 20-inch oak or a 30-inch pine.
The exemptions — and the catch inside them
Several activities are exempt from the remaining tree protection provisions, including the removal of non-specimen trees from a residential lot under 1 acre, and the removal of any tree that “has become or threatens to become a danger to human life or property, as determined by the City Arborist.”
What it costs to get this wrong
The enforcement mechanism is specific rather than vague. When a specimen tree removal is approved, the applicant contributes $500 per tree density unit to the Roswell Tree Bank. Where a specimen tree was removed without a lawfully issued permit, the code sets that contribution at $1,000 per tree density unit — and if no tree survey documents what was there, the code presumes 20 inches DBH per tree removed and presumes fair-or-better condition absent an arborist’s report. A 20-inch tree carries 6.0 density units on the code’s own table, which puts the presumed exposure for one unpermitted specimen tree in the thousands of dollars, before any replanting requirement. The obligation runs with the property, so that lands on the owner — not on whoever swung the saw.
The river corridor is its own layer
Property near the Chattahoochee sits under state law as well as city code. Georgia’s Metropolitan River Protection Act (O.C.G.A. § 12-5-440 et seq.) establishes a 2,000-foot corridor along the river, within which land-disturbing activity is restricted and a 50-foot undisturbed buffer applies immediately along the bank. If your lot is anywhere near the river, treat tree work as a conversation with the city’s planning staff before it is a conversation with a crew.
How to get the authoritative answer
- Check the source. The City of Roswell’s official site publishes its development code and tree-related requirements, and the Community Development department administers them. The code itself is in the city’s Unified Development Code — the sections quoted above are Article 12 (Environmental Protection) and Article 14 (Definitions).
- Ask before scheduling. A short call or email describing the tree — species if known, rough trunk diameter, location on the lot, condition — gets you a yes/no/it-depends from the people who decide.
- Document hazard trees. If the tree is dead, storm-cracked or visibly failing, photograph it thoroughly from several angles before removal. Documentation supports the hazard classification and answers any later question honestly.
- Keep what the city gives you. Permit, email confirmation, or a “no permit needed” answer — file it with the job paperwork.
A crew that works Roswell regularly treats the permit question as step one of the quote — the code also makes it unlawful to do permitted work without the permit displayed on site, and requires removal companies to clear the trees, stumps, limbs and debris they generate. A crew that waves all of that off is volunteering you for the risk; the vetting guide covers the other things such crews tend to wave off.
One city among many
This coverage area crosses jurisdictions constantly, and each runs its own version: Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs and Dunwoody each administer their own tree rules; East Cobb answers to Cobb County; Woodstock to its city and Cherokee County; Peachtree Corners to its city and Gwinnett. The habit that works everywhere: confirm with the local jurisdiction before cutting a healthy tree, anywhere. The individual area pages note what makes each place different.
Permit Questions
Do I need a permit to remove a dead tree in Roswell?
The code exempts removal of any tree that has become or threatens to become a danger to human life or property — but that danger is “as determined by the City Arborist,” and the same section says a tree removal permit application is required to demonstrate an exemption applies. So the practical answer is: it is not a permit-free free-for-all. Photograph the tree’s condition thoroughly from several angles first, then confirm the current process with the city before the crew arrives.
Whose job is the permit — mine or the tree crew's?
The obligation runs with the property, so the consequences of skipping it land on the owner. In practice, experienced local crews raise the question, know the process, and sometimes handle the paperwork — but 'the contractor said it was fine' has never once un-issued a fine. Get the answer in writing either way.
What about trees near the creek or the river at the back of my lot?
Assume extra protection until told otherwise. Roswell’s code requires buffers with existing trees to be treated as tree save areas and disallows removal where erosion or runoff problems would result from topography, soil type or proximity to floodplain and river protection areas. On top of that, Georgia’s Metropolitan River Protection Act governs a 2,000-foot corridor along the Chattahoochee with a 50-foot undisturbed streambank buffer. Water-adjacent removal is the single strongest case for asking the city first.
Permit Question Settled?
Then the next call gets the tree scheduled with an insured local crew. Calls may be recorded for quality and training.
📞 Call (770) 555-0134