Most trees in Salem can come down without asking anyone. Some can’t. If you take out a protected tree without approval, you’re the one holding the bag, so it’s worth five minutes to check.

Here’s the short version, in plain English. If you’d rather have someone look at it, call (503) 773-5301 and we’ll tell you what you’ve got.

The three kinds of protected trees

Salem protects these on private property:

• Oregon White Oaks measuring 20 inches or more in diameter at chest height
• Any tree measuring 30 inches or more in diameter, with four species excluded at any size: Tree of Heaven, Empress Tree, Black Cottonwood and Black Locust
• Trees in a riparian corridor (riparian trees, along streams and waterways)

Everything else on your property is generally fair game.

How to measure your tree in two minutes

Diameter is measured at chest height, about 4.5 feet off the ground.

1. Wrap a tape measure around the trunk at that height and note the distance around.
2. Divide that number by 3.14.
3. The result is the diameter.

So a trunk that measures 63 inches around is about 20 inches across, right at the oak threshold. A trunk 94 inches around is about 30 inches across, the limit for other species. If you’re close to the line, measure twice or have us confirm it.

Heavy pruning can count as removal

This is the part that catches people out. The city treats it as removal when 30% or more of a tree’s crown, trunk or root system is taken. So a hard reduction on a big protected oak can need approval, even though the tree stays standing. Ordinary trimming doesn’t.

That’s also why trenching for a driveway or foundation near a protected tree matters. Cutting a third of the root system counts.

When the city approves a removal

Permits are granted for specific reasons, including:

• A hazardous tree where pruning won’t fix the danger
• Repairing or replacing a structure that has been there since June 2000
• Water-dependent work that needs access to a waterway
• Restoration that improves riparian habitat
• Certain development projects meeting city standards

Wanting more light, fewer leaves in the gutters or a bigger lawn is generally not enough on its own.

What an application involves

Applications go through the city’s Permit Application Center Portal. Expect to provide:

• A written explanation of why the tree should come out
• An ISA risk assessment form from a certified arborist, if you’re claiming the tree is hazardous
• Photos and supporting documentation
• The application fee listed in the city’s Master Fee Schedule

Heritage trees have their own process and need arborist documentation showing a hazard. Check the current rules on the City of Salem website, since they change from time to time.

What the permit process costs

Item	Typical cost
Arborist site visit and verbal assessment	$100 to $250
ISA Basic Tree Risk Assessment form, per tree	$150 to $450
Written arborist report covering several trees	up to $700
City application fee	Set in Salem’s Master Fee Schedule

The arborist assessment is usually the larger number, not the city fee. Salem sets its application fee in the Master Fee Schedule and updates it from time to time, so call the Permit Application Center at (503) 588-6256 for the current amount rather than trusting a figure you read somewhere else, including here.

You only need an assessment if the tree is actually protected. We measure the trunk and tell you which side of the line you are on, free. If it is under the threshold there is no permit, no arborist and no fee, and we can usually schedule the work straight away.

What the code actually counts as a tree

Before any of the thresholds matter, the plant has to qualify as a tree under Salem Revised Code Chapter 808. The code definition is specific: a living, woody plant that grows at least 15 feet tall, with a trunk at least 10 inches wide measured 4.5 feet above the ground.

That rules out a lot of what people worry about. A large shrub, an ornamental plum that tops out at 12 feet, a multi-stemmed hazel — none of those are trees for the purposes of the ordinance, whatever their spread. Measure the trunk before you assume you have a problem.

The species the 30-inch rule leaves out

The 30-inch threshold applies to most species, but the code names exceptions. Four trees are excluded from it no matter how large they get:

• Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
• Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
• Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa)
• Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)

The first two are invasive. The other two are native but brittle and fast-growing, and black cottonwood in particular drops limbs with no warning — which is why a 40-inch cottonwood is treated differently from a 40-inch maple. If your big tree is one of these four, the diameter rule does not catch it.

Running the other way, there is a category with no size floor at all: a rare, threatened or endangered tree is protected at any size, as defined under state or federal law. A seedling can be covered.

Street trees follow a separate process

The tree between the sidewalk and the curb is usually a street tree, sitting in the public right-of-way rather than on your lot — even though you mow around it and rake its leaves. Street trees have their own application, separate from the private-property permit, and it covers planting, pruning, treating and removal alike.

The practical trap is that the boundary is rarely where people assume. On some Salem streets the right-of-way extends several feet behind the sidewalk, which puts a tree you have always thought of as yours in city jurisdiction. If the tree is anywhere near the sidewalk line, confirm which side of the boundary it is on before scheduling any work.

If it is a business, school or apartment complex

Commercial and multi-family properties carry a second layer of rules, and this catches property managers regularly. Required landscaping cannot simply be removed. Taking out a healthy tree normally means a land use application and Planning Division approval, and replanting at a two-for-one ratio.

Replacements also have to be comparable. Swapping a shade tree for a smaller ornamental is not a like-for-like substitution and does not satisfy the landscaping requirement, even though the tree count stays the same. If a tree on the property is unhealthy it still has to be replaced, not just removed.

What you actually upload

A removal permit is processed as a Type I procedure under SRC Chapter 300 — an administrative review against fixed criteria rather than a hearing. The part that slows people down is the site plan, which has to show:

• Total site area and dimensions, with a north arrow
• Topography at two-foot contour intervals
• Existing structures on the property
• The type, size and location of every tree and area of native vegetation to be preserved or removed
• Where tree-protection fencing will go for anything being kept

Note the last two. The city wants to see the trees you are keeping and how you intend to protect them during the work, not only the one you want gone. An application that maps a single tree and nothing else usually comes back for more information.

The portal itself is straightforward. Create an account at the city’s Permit Application Center Portal, use the Land Use Applications button on the dashboard, upload the forms, and pay the fee listed in the city’s Master Fee Schedule.

Replanting: when you have to put something back

Approval to remove is not always the end of it. Three situations commonly trigger a replacement obligation:

• Riparian corridors. Trees removed within a riparian corridor fall under the replacement standards in SRC 808.055. Outside one, those standards generally do not apply.
• Topping. Taking 30 percent or more of a crown counts as removal, and topping can carry a requirement to plant two trees for each one topped.
• Commercial landscaping. The two-for-one ratio described above.

Worth budgeting for before you commit. Two replacement trees, planted and established, is a real line item on a job that looked like a straight removal.

Who to call at the city

Two numbers cover most questions. The Planning Division, at 503-588-6213, handles tree removal permits and the protected-tree questions on this page. Development Services, at 503-584-4646, handles tree questions tied to building permits, site plan review and tree conservation plans — which is the route your tree takes if the removal is part of a construction project rather than a standalone request.

The governing code is Salem Revised Code Chapter 808, Preservation of Trees and Vegetation. The significant-tree definitions and the approval criteria sit at SRC 808.030; the riparian replacement standards at SRC 808.055.

How we help

• We measure the tree and tell you whether it’s protected, before you spend anything.
• We can connect you with a certified arborist for the risk assessment when one is needed.
• If the tree isn’t protected, we can usually schedule the removal straight away.
• If it is protected but the removal is justified, we’ll work with your timeline and the permit process.

Common questions

Does trimming need a permit? No, ordinary trimming doesn’t. Taking 30% or more does.

What about a tree that just fell or is about to? Emergencies are handled differently. Call the city, and call us. Don’t wait on paperwork if something is about to come down on a house. More about emergency tree service

What about the tree between the sidewalk and the street? Street trees sit in the city right-of-way and follow separate rules. Check with the city before touching one.

Who’s responsible if the wrong tree comes out? The property owner. That’s the reason to confirm first.

Not sure what you’ve got? Send a photo of the tree and a measurement to salemtreepros@gmail.com, or call (503) 773-5301.

Call (503) 773-5301