Tree rules and permits around Fayetteville

Taking down a tree in and around Fayetteville can touch the city, the power company, state law and NC811. Here is what each publishes, and where we could not find a citable answer.

City of Fayetteville

• The ordinance: development in the city is governed by the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), Chapter 30 of the City Code, effective August 1, 2011. We could not retrieve its tree preservation and landscaping sections in a form we can cite, so we don't summarize them here.
• Who to ask: Planning & Zoning, (910) 433-1612. Ask before removing a large tree on a lot under development, a property in a historic district, or a tree near the street.
• Historic districts: the city has a Historic Resources Commission, and Certificates of Appropriateness are filed through its IDTPlans portal. Whether a tree removal needs one, ask the city.
• Street trees: under the city's ReLeaf planting policy (Policy 140.2), trees the program plants on city street rights-of-way become the property and responsibility of the City of Fayetteville. If a tree by the street may be the city's, ask before cutting it.

Other towns and the county

Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Eastover and Stedman are separate towns in Cumberland County, and Raeford is the Hoke County seat. None of them had tree rules online that we could quote, so the town hall, or the county outside town limits, is the place to ask.

State law

• Forestry (G.S. 160D-921): local governments can't regulate forestry on present-use value forestland or under a registered forester's plan, but can deny development permits for up to three years after a harvest that removed protected trees (five if willful).
• Digging (G.S. 87-122): three full working days' notice before excavation; the notice expires 28 calendar days after the work start date.
• Licensing (G.S. 87-1): a general contractor's license is needed for $40,000-plus projects covering buildings, highways, public utilities, grading or any improvement or structure. The statute doesn't mention tree work.
• Burning: the NC Forest Service requires a valid burn permit for debris burning and allows only vegetation to be burned. Local bans can apply on top.

Fayetteville PWC

PWC clears its lines every 3 to 5 years, does not remove trees along service drops, and asks for 24 hours' notice on a weekday to disconnect a drop for a removal. See trimming and power lines.