Tree Protection Ordinances
The [ordinance updates] aligns our rules with the current best management practices for street trees. When mature trees are lost, it takes decades to recover the benefits they provide, like cooling our homes, intercepting stormwater, and improving health outcomes in neighborhoods. Trees are invaluable community assets. As Madison continues to see many development projects, taking more steps to protect trees as a key part of our infrastructure just makes sense.”
City of Madison Forester Ian Brown
- 1. Increasing the Protection Zone Around Street Trees in Construction Areas
The previous rules required a protection zone of five feet around trees in construction areas. That has proven to be insufficient, especially for mature trees.
Starting on January 1, 2026 the protection zone requirements increase.
Starting on January 1, 2026, for every inch of a tree trunk’s diameter, there will be one foot of tree protection zone required. For example, if there is a tree with a 20-inch diameter within a project area, a contractor must maintain a 20-foot protection zone around the tree. Also, if there is a tree with a 5-inch diameter or less within a project area, contractors must maintain a 5-foot protection zone.
The ordinance allows the tree protection zone to be increased or decreased with direct approval of Urban Forestry and Engineering.
- 2. Suspending or Revoking Permits for Tree Protection Violations
Under the old rules, if trees are harmed contrary to approved plans, or if protection zones are violated, contractors can be fined.
The new rules keep fines in place, add full cost to remove and replace the tree, and importantly includes a new mechanism to ensure compliance.
Starting on January 1, 2026, violations of the tree protection rules within approved plans can lead to the suspension or revocation of the necessary street occupancy permits.
Removing this permit will stop aspects of the project dependent on these permits until the tree protection issue can be resolved either administratively with Urban Forestry or on appeal at the Board of Public Works.
- 3. Establishes a Street Tree Replacement Fund
This creates a mechanism where Madison can be made whole if street tree removal is proven necessary for a project.
Tree removal and replacement is an option of last resort.
If there is agreement between Urban Forestry and the developer/contractor that a street tree cannot be saved, the entity removing the tree will pay into a tree replacement fund equal to the value of the removed tree so Urban Forestry can improve the City’s canopy elsewhere.
These funds will go directly to improving site conditions, soil volume, and tree planting to support future community canopy growth.
Why was this done?
First and foremost to provide better protection of trees throughout the development process.
Up until January 1, 2026, the Tree Protection Zone (TPZ) was only 5 feet.
Too often that was violated with significant negative impact to our Right of Way (ROW) trees.
Once a developer or permittee has agreed that a City tree is to be preserved and protected during their project, we need them to do it.
The photo is from mid-August 2025. The white marking shows how far away materials should have been kept from the tree. And, as you can see, items are stacked closer.
Why was the Tree Protection Zone expanded to 1 foot for every 1 inch Diameter at Breast Height (DBH)?
Often the 5-foot TPZ was insufficient to prevent accidental damage. Small mistakes lead to catastrophic results for trees that a developer agreed to protect.
The new standard is not very aggressive, only coming in at the midpoint of recommended industry standards nationwide.
The picture in this section is from a 2025 construction site in Madison.
This developer made proactive changes to their project to preserve this tree.
However, with the 5-foot TPZ, it allowed equipment and other work to get relatively close to this large tree with a wide, mature canopy.
And in this instance, an equipment operator made a mistake. The error ripped a large lower branch off the trunk. (If you look at the tree behind the orange fence, you can see the spot where a large branch had once been.)
What took decades to grow was destroyed in seconds and jeopardized the health of the tree.
Will the increased Tree Protection Zones (TPZ) make it more difficult to construct developments?
Sometimes.
It’s important to note that using space inside the TPZ is possible once an agreement is made with Urban Forestry.
For example, on a 25-foot TPZ, Urban Forestry may allow use inside of the area if a harder protection barrier is put in place.
Will Urban Forestry have the capacity to handle all the additional work starting in 2026? Will this slow down housing developments?
Forestry made internal changes to increase our ability to handle this work load.
Also, during the 2026 Operating Budget process, you will see a modest reorganization of Urban Forestry (no new staff).
Starting in 2026, we expect some efficiencies with Forestry involved at the very beginning of this process (Development Review) and, when coupled with the increased TPZ, it should lead to saved staff time by being proactive in addressing concerns versus being mostly reactive to problems.
Under the old system, Urban Forestry was introduced later in the process after developers committed to their plans, or even later when an inadequate TPZ led to an emergency call for Forestry to review damage or the inadequate TPZ lead to a call for further tree pruning to accommodate construction that could have been addressed much sooner if the plans had accounted for the tree canopy appropriately instead of just the 5-foot TPZ.
Ultimately, we don’t want to slow development while also looking out the best interest of the urban canopy infrastructure the city has invested in.
Will the reorganization and process changes be enough not to cause delays starting in 2026? Bluntly, we don’t know yet. It's an issue we are aware of and are taking steps to manage.
Plans change and mistakes happen. Isn’t this going to irreparably harm developers with potential delays if permits are suspended?
The permits in question include ENGROW, Street Occupancy, Excavation, and Driveway.
Once approved and permitted projects will only be delayed if:
Once on site the developer/contractor realizes they, for whatever reason, can not do what they agreed to do to preserve and or protect ROW trees in securing said approvals and permits and they can not work out a mutually acceptable resolution with City Forestry.
In this scenario, a developer can appeal to the Board of Public Works (BPW) to have permits reinstated subject to certain conditions the Board stipulates.
- If a developer removes or damages a tree designated for protection and they can not work out a mutually acceptable resolution with City Forestry, they could appeal to the BPW to have their permits reinstated subject to certain conditions imposed by the BPW.
It’s important to note this ordinance revision does not require developers to attend additional meetings or secure any additional permits during the approval process.
The delay of going back to BPW will only happen in the above scenarios and suspending or revoking permits is viewed as a last resort.
Developers would still be able to perform any work that does not require the above listed permits while in appeal.