Tree Service in Shorewood Hills, WI

Shorewood Hills was established in 1927 and covers about 0.80 square miles, bounded by Lake Mendota on the north, the UW-Madison campus on the east and University Avenue on the south. It is an older village, and its Chapter 19 tree ordinance reflects that. Tree service in Shorewood Hills means working to written rules, from oak season limits to the exact pruning standard. We read the ordinance before we quote, and we suggest you check the village's current version too, since the published text we reviewed was revised in 2010.

Oaks: April 1 to October 1

Under section 19.04(5), no one may prune, remove or wound an oak between April 1 and October 1 without the Village Forester's written permission. If an oak is wounded or must be pruned in an emergency during that stretch, the wound must get a dressing immediately, and a cut oak stump must be painted right away. That window is longer than the Wisconsin DNR's April through July high-risk period, so plan any non-urgent oak work for the months between October and March.

Public trees and the pruning standard

For trees on public property, the ordinance requires the Village Forester's written permission to remove, prune or maintain them. It also sets clearances and methods:

• Trees along streets are pruned to 14 feet of clearance, and over sidewalks to 10 feet
• Pruning must follow ANSI A300 standards
• After a removal, the stump is ground out and the site filled, seeded and strawed
• Trees that grow taller than 25 feet may not be planted on public property under power lines

Those standards are a good benchmark for private work too. ANSI A300 is the national standard we already follow: cuts at the branch collar, no topping, and no more live crown removed than the tree can handle.

Protecting the root zone

The ordinance defines a tree's critical root area as 1.25 feet of radius for every inch of trunk diameter. A 30-inch oak, by that measure, has a critical root zone 37.5 feet out from the trunk. Heavy equipment, log drops and stacked wood inside that circle compact the soil and can damage a tree that otherwise looks untouched. On tight Shorewood Hills lots, that often means hand-carrying wood out, laying ground protection mats, or lowering pieces on ropes instead of dropping them.

When the village gets involved with private trees

The village can act on dead, dying, diseased, infested or structurally damaged trees on private land if they threaten the public right-of-way, public property or the community forest. The Forester gives written notice with at least 15 days to comply unless there is an immediate safety issue; if the owner does nothing, the village can do the work and charge the property. The ordinance also says the Forester will examine a private tree on the owner's request at no cost, a useful first step if you are unsure about a tree.

Notable neighbors

Blackhawk Country Club holds several well-preserved effigy mounds, including bear and goose forms, and the village is home to Frank Lloyd Wright's First Unitarian Society Meeting House. Work near either requires the same care we give any mature landscape.

Call (608) 820-8710 or send the form for a free estimate. If you have a notice from the village, share the deadline so we can schedule around it. Get a free estimate