Tree Trimming

Occasionally, the Forestry Department is called out to trim a tree. Public Works can only trim trees on public lands. A tree on private property needing to be trimmed is the responsibility of the property owner. Similarly, no unauthorized individual is permitted to trim trees on public land. Our Village Forester is a certified arborist with the State of Illinois and is trained for trimming and pruning trees.

When the Public Works Department does not have the necessary equipment (i.e. bucket lift), a contractor will be called out to complete the service request. If the request does not appear to be a safety concern, the request will most likely wait for the Village's cyclic pruning contract or until the appropriate time of year. The Forester will handle requests on a case by case basis.

Cyclic Tree Pruning

The Forestry Division manages a cyclic tree pruning program. Annually the Forester and contractor are brought in to prune approximately 1,500 trees within the public right-of-way (parkway and setback behind the sidewalk).

National Arborist Association Standards

Trees are trimmed according to the standards established by the American National Standard Institute. These pruning standards are applied to maintain the health and structure of mature trees by removing dead, dying, diseased, and decaying branches. This type of trimming also reduces hazards, which threaten the public safety of residents. A fine pruning standard is also applied to smaller trees in order to decrease the development of structural problems before these trees reach maturity.