The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has published in the DC Register the final regulation implementing the Urban Forest Preservation Act of 2002 (DC Law 14-309; DC Official Code 8-651.01 et seq.). As of January 21, a property owner must obtain a permit from the DC Government before removing a non-hazardous “special tree,” defined as one with a circumference larger than 55 inches when measured at a height of 4.5 feet for a tree growing on either public or private land.
A permit can be issued if: a) the tree is certified as hazardous to life or property by an arborist from DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration or by an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA); b) the property owner commits to plant a quantity of saplings whose aggregated circumference equals or exceeds the circumference of the removed tree; c) the owner pays a fee of $35 per inch of circumference into the Tree Fund; or d) the tree is exempt from the law (Norway maple, Tree of Heaven, Mulberry). A permit can also be obtained through a combination of b and c.
The permit application procedure is available
online or at the Public Space Permit Office, 941 N. Capitol Street, NE, Ste. 2300, (202) 645-6140; fax (202) 645-0168; applications can be filed electronically.
The final rule was published in the DC Register on January 21, 2005 (52 DCR 546).
