Tree Service Des Peres MO
In Des Peres the tree between the sidewalk and the street belongs to the city, and a teardown’s site plan must mark the trees coming out. Find out which rule covers yours before anyone cuts.
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What Happens to the Trees When a Des Peres House Is Torn Down?
The city reviews them twice before a permit is issued, and the lot must be cleared fast once demolition starts. Des Peres has regulated in-fill housing since Ordinance 2368 in 2006, now Sec. 6-4 of the city code. Its 2022 comprehensive plan amendment says older homes are being torn down and replaced by larger ones, particularly in the subdivisions east of Bopp Road, and notes the same trend next door in Kirkwood. As of October 2026 the sequence runs like this:
- Site plan. The in-fill submittal checklist asks for the trees to be removed and the trees to be preserved, with a fencing plan for the keepers.
- Pre-construction conference. Required before the building permit. The director of public works goes through access, drainage, tree removal and parking.
- Demolition permit. It carries a $1,000 deposit. Owners within 200 feet get written notice, and demolition must finish within three calendar days.
- Debris. All of it leaves immediately, “including destroyed trees.” The city’s guideline adds that root balls may not be stockpiled.
- Street trees. The owner or developer answers for damage to street trees along the routes trucks use.
So the tree removal and stump grinding are best finished before demolition day. Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping can list each tree in a written estimate for your builder. Public Works answers rule questions at 314-835-6130.
Who Decides Whether a Street Tree Comes Down in Des Peres?
Public Works does (314-835-6130), because the city owns it. The Forestry Plan readopted in April 2024 says a tree in the right-of-way is city property, and that homeowners may not plant or remove one without approval. A tree on your own lot is yours. We found no permit requirement for an ordinary yard removal in the code chapters we read. Our St. Louis-area permit guide explains the usual pattern, and a call to Public Works settles your case.
| The tree | Whose it is | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| In the right-of-way | City of Des Peres | Ask Public Works to inspect it. Staff decide on removal. |
| Dead or diseased in your yard | You | If it stands within its own height of a power line, building, street, sidewalk or driveway, the code calls it a nuisance (Sec. 12-31) and says to remove it immediately (Sec. 6-154). |
| Limbs over the street | You | Keep 7 feet clear above sidewalks and 16 feet above the pavement (Sec. 18-6). |
Which Trees Are Failing on Des Peres Streets?
Sweetgum, Callery pear and ash, by the city’s own count. Des Peres had 3,132 street trees at the end of 2023, and four genera made up 73% of them.
Sweetgum: 460
The most common street tree, about 15% of the total. The Forestry Plan faults its gumballs and sidewalk-lifting roots.
Callery pear: 392
Limbs break off in wind, and the species is now classed as invasive. See Bradford pear problems if one stands in your yard.
Ash: about 3%
The 2019 plan set out to remove them, and nearly all were due out of the right-of-way by the end of 2024. An ash in a private yard is the owner’s to deal with.
Pin oak: 410, red maple: 382
Not on the city’s undesirable list, but numerous, and the plan expects more upkeep as neighbourhood trees mature. Big crowns over roofs are a job for trimming and pruning.
Where Are the Smallest Lots and the City Parks in Des Peres?
The smallest lots are in Manhattan Heights, south of Manchester Road and east of Ballas Road. The Moll Farm was platted there in the mid-1920s as 448 lots only 25 feet wide, and the city says many homes sit on two to four of them. A tree between two such houses comes down in pieces.
Later neighbourhoods came in waves. The Forestry Plan dates Harwood Hills to the mid-1950s, Berkley Manor to the late 1960s, and Royal Acres, Four Winds Farm and the Dougherty subdivisions to the 1970s. Census estimates for 2020–2024 show 3,331 housing units, about 13% of them built since 2000.
Des Peres Park, 40-plus acres on Manchester Road, was the Lutheran Orphanage grounds. Sugar Creek Park covers 20 acres at Des Peres and Dougherty Ferry roads. Phantom Forest and Bittersweet Woods, on Barrett Station Road, are conservation areas the city closed for part of January 2026 for tree work.
Who Handles Limbs on the Power Lines, and Who Takes the Brush?
Ameren Missouri deals with trees on its lines, the service drop to your house is yours to keep clear, and the city’s waste hauler takes bundled brush. Ameren says only qualified line-clearance contractors may work within 10 feet of higher-voltage lines.
On April 24, 2010 an EF0 tornado touched down north of Dougherty Ferry Road near Lynkirk Road, then again near Ballas Road and Kirk Place Drive, where the National Weather Service found healthy pines snapped and power lines down along Ballas Road. On April 30, 2016 a hail swath ran from Chesterfield through Town and Country into Des Peres. If a limb is on a roof, call Thompson Tree Care’s 24/7 emergency tree service.
Brush collection
Waste Connections picks up yard waste weekly, on trash day, under a contract the city pays for. Limbs go out under 4 feet long, tied with twine in bundles of no more than 50 pounds, or in kraft paper bags.
Last Updated: October 2026
Street Trees, Rebuilds and Pears: Des Peres Answers
Only if it stands on your lot. The Des Peres Forestry Plan says a tree in the right-of-way is city property even when a homeowner planted it, and Public Works decides on removal. Ask for an inspection at 314-835-6130. Without a sidewalk, the plan puts the line about 7 feet behind the curb on most streets.
We found no replacement schedule for a single-lot rebuild in the in-fill housing rules, Sec. 6-4, as of October 2026. The replacement chart in Section 409.040 of the zoning code is written for development along the Manchester Road corridor. Confirm with Public Works before clearing.
If it is a street tree, probably. The Forestry Plan says Public Works will generally honor a resident’s request to remove a sweetgum from the right-of-way as time allows.
The city counted 392 Callery pears in its rights-of-way, concentrated in those subdivisions and along the south end of Des Peres Road. Its 2024 Forestry Plan schedules their removal after the ash, and the city says a new tree is planted nearby for each.
Yes. The Forestry Plan encourages adjacent owners to prune street trees, but the tree company has to pull a right-of-way permit first, and topping is not acceptable.