Tree Service Town and Country MO
Town and Country ties its tree rules to construction. Build a new home or add half again as much hard surface, and every healthy tree six inches or wider is counted. A hazardous tree is exempt.
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When Does Town and Country Regulate a Tree on Private Property?
When the tree is tied to a building project, or sits in recorded open space. Section 405.336 of the zoning code applies when a new home, or a project that raises a lot’s impervious area by 50%, needs a demolition, grading or building permit or architectural review. We found no separate permit in the municipal code for taking one tree out of an established yard with no project planned. That is our reading as of October 2026. Confirm with Planning and Public Works at (314) 587-2820 before any tree removal.
| Situation | City approval? | Who to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Dead, diseased or hazardous tree that is an immediate threat | Exempt. Keep the arborist’s finding and photos. | Planning and Public Works |
| Healthy tree, established lot, no construction planned | None found in the code. Confirm first. | Planning and Public Works |
| New home, or 50% more impervious area | Yes. A Tree Protection Plan goes in with the first application. | City Administrator or designee |
| Tree preserved as permanent open space on a recorded plan | Yes, unless hazardous, dead or diseased | City Administrator or designee |
What the construction rule costs
The plan must be sealed by a Missouri landscape architect or an ISA certified arborist. At least half of the cross-sectional area of the healthy trees six inches and up has to stay. Fall short and you replant 25% of the removed area in three-inch trees or, where the site has no room, pay the city Tree Fund $30 per square inch. The city’s chart puts one 24-inch tree at 16 three-inch replacements or $3,390. Clearing six-inch trees to prepare a lot before the plan is approved is prohibited. Our tree removal permit guide covers the wider area.
How Do Estate Lots Change a Tree Job Here?
They put distance between the tree and the truck. The Estate district sets a minimum lot of 80,000 square feet and 175 feet of width. The Suburban Estate district sets one acre and 150 feet. Flag lots are not allowed in either. A tree at the back of such a lot is a long carry from pavement, so the estimate turns on how brush and logs get out.
Longview Farm Park, at 13525 Clayton Road just west of Mason Road, has trails through woods and around a lake. Drace Park is nine acres east of I-270 and south of Clayton Road. The city sorts its stormwater work into the Creve Coeur Creek, Grand Glaize Creek and Deer Creek watersheds, and its project list includes bank stabilization at addresses on Tall Pine Court and Ridgecreek Road. Our large tree removal page explains when a crane makes sense.
Which Trees Does the City Favor, and What Fails?
The code favors long-lived natives and leaves out the usual casualties. Its recommended list names bur, swamp white, Shumard and northern red oak, shagbark hickory and bald cypress. No ash appears on it. The Missouri Department of Conservation says emerald ash borer was widespread in the state by 2020. Our guide covers treating or removing an ash.
The code also bars planting anything the Department lists as invasive, and an invasive tree never counts as a Grand Tree. That covers Callery pear, which the Department says develops weak crotches and is easily split or knocked over by wind. Trimming and pruning will not fix a split pear.
Deer are the documented local pressure. The city’s managed deer program was in its 16th year in January 2026, when its report recorded 51 deer taken and cited ongoing damage to landscape plantings. Bucks rub their antlers on trunks and shred the bark, the Department notes, so cage any newly planted tree.
Which Storms Have Uprooted Trees in Town and Country?
They have uprooted whole trees more than once. NOAA’s Storm Events Database records several trees uprooted around town in severe thunderstorm winds on June 5, 2019. On April 15, 2023, winds dropped several large trees and many limbs here, in Frontenac and in Ladue, and some blocked roads. In early April 2025 Deer Creek left its banks in Town and Country after 2.5 to 6.3 inches of rain across the county.
If a tree is on a roof or across a drive, Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping answers its emergency line 24/7 at (314) 712-3035. Cleanup after that is storm damage tree removal.
Who Else Has a Say: Trustees, the County or Ameren?
Often your subdivision trustees. The city says about 40% of its residential streets are maintained by subdivision trustees or the adjacent owners. Trust indentures are recorded with the St. Louis County Recorder of Deeds, which supplies copies at (314) 615-2500.
The city lists Ameren as the electric utility. Ameren states that it trims only in rights-of-way and easements, and that trees near the service drop from the main line to the house are the owner’s responsibility. It will schedule a disconnection of that drop so the work can be done safely. Brush set out for collection falls under the solid waste code: limbs under four inches, in tied bundles no more than 48 inches long, 18 inches across and 75 pounds.
The rules change at the city limits: see Des Peres and Creve Coeur.
Last Updated: October 2026
Town and Country Tree Rules: Questions Owners Ask
Yes, for one year back. Section 405.336 treats a tree removed within a year before a development or building permit application as having been in good condition unless it was documented: a dated report from a certified arborist or forester, dated photographs and the work order.
Any tree 20 inches or more in diameter at breast height that is in fair to good condition and not an invasive species. During new construction its critical root zone cannot be disturbed unless the tree is dead, diseased or hazardous, or the approved tree plan allows it. One removed for construction is replaced at 25% of its caliper inches.
St. Louis County, at (314) 615-8504. The city lists Mason, Conway, Ballas and Weidman roads as county roads. For a city-maintained street such as Topping, Bopp or Masonridge Road, call Planning and Public Works at (314) 587-2820. Ladue Road and Highway 141 belong to MoDOT.
Usually, yes. The city describes subdivision associations as the bodies that maintain common ground and enforce the trust indenture, which can add restrictions beyond city ordinances. If your trustees ask for paperwork, Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping provides a written estimate and an insurance certificate.