Tree Service in Farmington Hills, MI | Removal, Trimming & Stump Grinding

Farmington Hills has a stricter tree ordinance than most people expect, and one healthy mature tree can need approval on its own. We handle tree removal, trimming and stump grinding here, and we make the city call first. Run by Robert Burgund, ISA Certified Arborist MI-4857A. Free estimates: 248-672-8058.

Established 2013
13+ Years Climbing Experience
ISA Certified Arborist MI-4857A
Fully Licensed & Insured

What tree work looks like in Farmington Hills

This is a green city by design, with mature red oak, sugar maple, beech and black walnut standing through established neighborhoods and down along the Rouge River corridor.

Because the ordinance is written to keep those trees, most of what we do here is tree trimming rather than tree removal. Taking weight off a limb that has grown too long, cleaning deadwood out of a canopy over a driveway, and reducing a crown that has closed in on a roof. Removal is the answer when a tree cannot be made safe, and on a lot of Farmington Hills properties it needs the city’s agreement first.

ISA Certified Arborist inspecting a mature tree from inside its canopy — An assessment from inside the canopy. Most defects cannot be seen from the ground.

Do you need a permit in Farmington Hills?

Stricter than it looks. A permit is required for trees 6 inches and wider, measured across the trunk at chest height. Homeowners may remove two protected trees per calendar year without one, but Landmark trees, generally 24 inches and up in good condition, always require a permit no matter the count. Dead trees are exempt. In practice that means a single healthy mature tree can need approval even when nothing else on the lot is being touched. We put that call in to the city before quoting. The usual caveat. Rules change, parcels differ, and none of this is legal advice.

The two-tree allowance catches people out

Homeowners hear that they get two trees a year and assume they are covered. Two things undercut that.

First, the size threshold is low. Six inches across the trunk is a tree you could put one hand most of the way around.

Not the mature specimen people picture. Second, the allowance does not apply to Landmark trees at all.

A healthy tree around 24 inches or more needs a permit whether it is your first removal of the year or your third. So the sequence that gets people into trouble is taking down two small trees in spring and then assuming the big oak in autumn is free. It is not.

What we do here

We trim and reduce the crowns on mature hardwoods, cut to the ANSI A300 standard and never by topping. We clean the deadwood out over drives and patios. And where a tree genuinely cannot stay, we take it down and handle the permit with it.

Dead ash removal, which is exempt from the permit. Stump grinding. Storm calls come in at any hour, and we document the work for your insurer.

Pruning & tree trimming → Tree removal → Emergency response →

The trees you’re working with

Red oak, sugar maple, beech and black walnut through the established neighborhoods, with willow and cottonwood down in the wet ground near the Rouge. There is ash too, most of it dead from the emerald ash borer. The oaks get winter-only pruning from us; the dead ash should not wait for winter at all.

What removal costs in Farmington Hills

A typical removal here falls between $600 and $2,500. A large Landmark-sized oak close to a house sits at the top of that or beyond it, because the tree has to come apart slowly with the weight held.

Trimming a canopy back is a different and much smaller job. Worth asking about before you assume a tree has to go.

What removal costs →

Common questions

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Farmington Hills?

Often, yes. Trees 6 inches and wider measured at chest height are protected. Homeowners may remove two protected trees a calendar year without a permit, but Landmark trees, generally 24 inches and up in good condition, always need one regardless of that allowance.

Dead trees are exempt. We confirm your parcel with the city before quoting.

What is the difference between an arborist and a certified arborist?

Anyone can use the word arborist — Michigan does not license the trade. An ISA Certified Arborist has passed an examination covering tree biology, diagnosis, pruning standards and safety, and has to earn continuing education credits to keep the credential.

The certification number is public and checkable. Robert’s is MI-4857A.

Ask before you assume the tree has to come down.

Free on-site estimates across Farmington Hills. We check the city’s position and tell you honestly whether trimming would do the job instead.

Call or Text 248-672-8058 Request a Free Estimate

Robert Burgund, ISA Certified Arborist and owner of Tree Pros

Written and reviewed by Robert Burgund

ISA CERTIFIED ARBORIST · MI-4857A
Owner of Tree Pros, LLC in Bloomfield Township. Verify the certification by name in ISA’s public directory.