Tree Service Creve Coeur MO
In Creve Coeur the first question is whose tree it is. A tree in the street right-of-way cannot be removed until the City Arborist approves it, and a teardown must keep half its trees 6 inches and larger.
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You Have a Tree Problem in Creve Coeur. What Do You Do First?
Work out who owns the tree and who maintains the road beside it. That decides who you call. These steps follow the city’s code and published guidance as of October 2026, so confirm with the office named.
- Danger first. A limb on a wire is a 911 and Ameren Missouri call. Only qualified line-clearance contractors may work within 10 feet of Ameren’s higher-voltage lines.
- Find the right-of-way. Under Chapter 220 of the code, nobody may remove, cut or disturb a tree in a city street right-of-way without the City Arborist’s permission. Public Works books the inspection at 314-872-2533.
- Check whose road it is. Olive Boulevard, Old Olive, Lindbergh, I-270 and Ladue Road west of I-270 are maintained by MoDOT (1-888-275-6636). North Mason Road, Baur Road and Warson Road north of Olive are St. Louis County’s.
- A yard tree at a house you live in. The city’s tree protection rule, Section 405.560, covers new homes on existing lots, vacant lots, and projects that raise impervious coverage by 50% or more. Routine removal at an occupied home is not on that list. Confirm with the Planning Division, 314-442-2087, and read your subdivision indentures.
- A lot you plan to rebuild. You need a Tree Protection and Replacement Plan that surveys every tree 6 inches and larger. Trees cut in the 12 months before you apply still count.
- A dead or failing tree. The code calls dead, dying and diseased trees a public nuisance. The City Arborist may enter private property to check, and the city can do the work and lien the property if a notice is ignored. See dangerous tree removal.
Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping gives free written estimates with proof of insurance for trustees or city staff.
What Does the City’s Street Tree Inventory Show Is Failing in Creve Coeur?
Pin oak, ash and Callery pear are the three to watch. The city had 6,376 street tree sites inventoried in 2014 and 2015 for its Tree Management Plan.
Pin oak: 16% of the street trees
The plan told the city to stop planting pin oak. Gouty and horned oak galls were seriously affecting the vast majority of them. Our guide to the brown balls on oak twigs shows what to look for.
Ash: sometimes the only tree in the subdivision
The city says emerald ash borer is confirmed here, that more than 1,000 ash stand in its rights-of-way, and that some subdivisions were planted with ash exclusively. The ash in your yard are your decision: treat or remove.
Callery pear, sweetgum and red maple
Each made up 7% to 8% of the inventory. The plan blamed Callery pear’s structural problems for the many established trees rated only fair.
Replanting by the street? The city splits the cost 50/50. Willow oak, yellowwood and hornbeam are on its list.
What Do Creve Coeur Lots Mean for Tree Work?
They mean full-size trees close to roofs, fences and service lines. Census Bureau estimates for 2019 to 2023 put about 60% of the city’s 8,668 housing units in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, with a median year built of 1979.
The 2030 Comprehensive Plan says about three quarters of the land is single-family under a heavy tree canopy, and warns of steady pressure to replace older homes with larger ones. In large subdivisions such as Bellerive Estates and Falaise, ask the trustees before a front-yard removal.
The 2024 Watershed Management Plan covers Creve Coeur Creek with Smith, Rosenfelder and Fernridge creeks, and Deer Creek with Windrush, Denny and Pebble creeks. It logged 60 reports of streambank erosion. A big tree on a cut bank usually has to be climbed and rigged down: see large tree removal.
Across the city line the rules change. See our pages for Frontenac and Ladue.
Which Storms Have Brought Trees Down in Creve Coeur Since 2006?
They have dropped trees onto wires, roads and at least one house. National Weather Service records include:
January 2, 2006. An F1 tornado touched down west of Warson Road and south of Olive Boulevard. Most of its one-mile path was tree and power line damage.
February 27, 2011. Thunderstorm winds put a large tree onto a home on Colonial Hills Parkway.
May 19, 2022. An EF0 tornado with 80 mph winds formed near Kram Road and Olive Boulevard. It snapped power poles, and falling limbs damaged a few homes.
June 30, 2023. Winds brought down numerous trees, limbs and power lines in Creve Coeur, Olivette, Frontenac and Ladue.
Ameren clears its lines after a storm and leaves the wood for the owner. Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping handles storm damage tree removal and answers 24/7 at (314) 712-3035.
Will Creve Coeur Pick Up Limbs and Leaves?
Yes for small limbs and loose leaves, no for trunks and stumps. City crews chip limbs at the curb in season, alternating weeks west and east of I-270. Limbs must be at least 3 feet long, half an inch to 3 inches thick, and under 300 cubic feet per pickup. No evergreens, vines, thorns or root balls.
Leaf vacuuming follows: the weeks of November 2, November 16 and December 14 west of I-270, and November 9, November 30 and December 21 east of it.
Bagged yard waste is a Republic Services subscription, $13.14 a month through June 2027. It takes bundled branches up to 6 inches thick but not trees or stumps. Trunk wood leaves with the contractor, and the stump needs grinding.
Last Updated: October 2026
Creve Coeur Street Trees, Teardowns and State Roads
The City Arborist. Section 220.170 of the city code says no one may plant, remove, cut or disturb a tree on a street, park or other public place without the Arborist’s permission. Public Works schedules the inspection at 314-872-2533.
Half of them. Under Section 405.560, a new home on an existing lot keeps 50% of its trees that are 6 inches or more in diameter and in fair or better condition. Removals beyond that are replaced one for one, or two for one above 20 inches. Dead, hazardous, diseased and invasive trees need no replacement.
Only if it stands in the right-of-way. The city has budgeted to remove right-of-way ash and hangs a notice on your door a couple of days ahead. An ash in your own yard is yours to treat or remove.
For public trees, yes. Section 220.160 makes it unlawful to top any street tree or park tree, meaning to cut limbs back to stubs so that the normal canopy is gone. The section does not reach a back-yard tree.