The majority of the Division’s activates is the inspection of trees. Routinely the City monitors the City’s trees for significant hazards and major issues. The City is fortunate to have thousands of trees located on hundreds of miles of roadways and nearly a thousand acres of land with countless trees. We depend on the public to notify us with their concerns and potential hazards.

Submit a Request for an Inspection and Service

Once contacted we will inspect the tree or trees of concern. We will determine the needs of the tree(s). If the tree(s) need pruning or removal the work will be scheduled as soon as our current resources allow us to have the work completed.

Annually the Division receives nearly 2000 requests for service ranging from pickup of down limbs, to removal of entire trees. We prioritize our work with safety being the first priority. After safety issues we prioritize based on age of request and geographic area.

The Division of Urban Forestry performs the pruning of trees under its jurisdiction. For detailed information on pruning please see the Newton Urban Forestry Manual. In general the City prunes trees for safety, health, and structure. Using the following methods:

• Crown cleaning - the most commonly practiced form of pruning, is used to remove dead, dying, diseased, damaged and out of place branches.
• Crown reduction - is used to reduce the overall size of a tree or a portion of the tree by shortening branches that go beyond the desired location.This technique is primarily used to prune trees away from buildings, signs, lights, etc.
• Crown raising - is used to provide clearance over roadways and pathways by the removal of the lower limbs on a tree. This technique is used to insure public safety, reduce property damage and to avoid possible damage to the tree.

The street trees in Newton are considered Public Shade Trees and are protected under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 87.

Trees that are deemed significant hazards are removed by the Division of Urban Forestry as soon as the work can be scheduled and resources allow. This determination is based on our staff’s professional judgment taking into consideration the guidelines found in the city Urban Forestry Manual. In general a tree is deemed to be a significant hazard if it has structural defects or irreversible decline that may cause the tree or part of the tree to fall on someone or something of value, and is determined to be imminent or irreparable.

The removal of any tree street tree that is not a significant hazard based on our judgment is discouraged and requires an application be made to the City for its removal. Please call 617-796-1500 to discuss the process.

The Division of Urban Forestry is responsible for the removal of all down or hanging limbs that originate from a City tree under our jurisdiction.

We do not pickup or remove parts of trees or shrubs from private property. We will only remove down trees or limbs from private trees if we deem it to be an immediate hazard to the public and it is hindering the use of a public way and it is located within the public right of way.

Please be advised that the intentional placing of tree limbs in a public right of way may constitute a violation of City Ordinance and may subject the owner to a potential fine.

If you feel that the downed limb, tree, or hanging branch is an emergency please contact our office during normal business hours Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm or the Newton Police at any time 617-796-2100.

For information regarding yard waste, including branches and limbs from private trees and shrubs please contact the Public Works Department at 617-796-1000.