Town of Brookhaven Tree Removal Laws: Permits and Penalties

A Brookhaven tree removal permit is required before you cut down any protected tree on a commercial or industrial parcel of any size, or on a residential parcel larger than two acres. The rule sits in Chapter 70 of the Town Code, and the town will only issue the permit alongside a building permit for the same property. Skip the process and you can face fines, forced restoration, a tripled application fee, and revocation of your building permit.¹²

When You Need a Permit

Two things decide whether Chapter 70 applies to your property: zoning and size. On commercial or industrial land, a permit is required regardless of acreage. On residential land, the trigger is a lot larger than two acres.¹

If you own two or more contiguous parcels, the town treats them as one. Two neighboring one-and-a-half-acre lots under the same owner add up to three acres, which puts you over the residential threshold.¹

There is a linkage that catches people out. The town will not issue a tree clearing permit unless a building permit has also been issued for the property. Removing trees purely for landscaping preferences, with no associated building project, does not qualify for a Chapter 70 permit at all.¹

A permit is also required when a commercial property has no approved site plan, when a subdivision has no approved clearing plan, or when you need to clear beyond what was previously approved.²

What Counts as a Protected Tree

Chapter 70 defines a tree as any living, perennial, woody plant that is greater than three inches in diameter measured three feet from ground level and at least six feet tall.¹

That three-inch threshold is smaller than most people assume. A young tree can hit it within a few years of planting. Woody plants below three inches in diameter or under six feet tall fall outside the code, and you can remove them without a permit.

What Isn’t Exempt

Chapter 70’s exemptions are narrower than most homeowners expect. There is no general exemption for a dead tree, a diseased tree, or an emergency removal on a permit-required property. The code defines a “dead or dying tree” as one that is dead, damaged beyond repair, or in advanced decline as determined by the Commissioner or an ISA-certified arborist, but that definition feeds into how the Planning Board evaluates your application, not whether you need one.¹

The exemptions that do exist are specific:

Approved subdivisions and site plans already satisfy Chapter 70. For subdivisions, clearing before building permits are issued is limited to areas being developed as roads or drainage facilities.¹
Public utilities regulated by the New York State Public Service Commission can trim, prune, or alter trees to the minimum extent needed to repair existing services without a permit.¹
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation can act under state law without a local permit.
Tree removal incidental to surveying or soil testing still requires approval from the Commissioner of Planning, Environment and Land Management on permit-covered parcels, and you must submit a plan before any trees come down.¹

Landmark Trees Need a Second Approval

Some trees carry extra protection as “landmark trees,” designated by the Town Board for environmental, social, aesthetic, or historical significance. On private property, the designation only happens with the owner’s written consent.¹

Removing a landmark tree requires a standard tree permit and separate permission from the Town Board. The exceptions are emergencies where a hazardous or dead landmark tree poses an imminent danger to people, wildlife, or property, and situations where the Highway Superintendent or a regulated public utility acts within its legal authority.¹

How to Apply

Applications go to the Planning Board, which administers Chapter 70 and can delegate day-to-day processing to its staff. The code requires every application to include the name and address of the applicant and the property owner (if different), the purpose of the removal, its location, and a sketch or plan showing existing wooded areas and any improvements on the property.¹

The online submission asks for more than the statutory minimum. Expect to upload a transactional disclosure form, a property owner authorization form if you are not the owner, a project plan, a Short Environmental Assessment Form, photographs showing front, rear, and side views of the property along with the areas planned for clearing, and a survey less than ten years old. Commercial applications also need a site plan with topography, existing and proposed structures, and drainage plans.²

If your project disturbs more than an acre of land, you will need a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. Properties near wetlands may also require a Town of Brookhaven Wetland Permit or a NYS DEC Wetland Permit.²

The permit fee is set by Town Board resolution rather than fixed in the code, so the amount can change. Staff will contact you about fees and any additional documents after you submit.³

How the Planning Board Decides

Chapter 70 gives the Planning Board six factors to weigh:

The location and size of the trees you want removed
The condition of the trees, including disease and any hazardous conditions
How close the trees are to existing or proposed structures and utilities
Whether removal is truly necessary for the proposed project
The environmental effect of the removal
The broader goals in the chapter’s legislative intent: soil stabilization, air quality, noise buffering, wildlife habitat, and aesthetics¹

The board relies on advice from the Town’s Division of Environmental Protection. The Commissioner may approve a scaled-back version of what you requested rather than the full removal. Decisions come in writing.¹

Penalties If You Skip the Permit

A first offense for removing a tree without a permit, or in a manner inconsistent with a permit, carries a fine of $500 to $2,000, up to 15 days in jail, or both. A second offense raises the fine range to $1,000 to $3,000, with the same jail exposure.¹

Unauthorized removal of a landmark tree carries a fine of $500 to $2,000 per violation, with the money going into a dedicated fund for planting trees in Brookhaven. Ignoring a stop-work order is the most expensive violation at $5,000 to $10,000 per offense, and each day of continued work counts as a separate offense.¹

On top of any fine, the Planning Board can order you to restore the property. If you refuse, the town can go to court to compel the work and bill you for every dollar it spends.¹

Two consequences hit projects hardest. The Commissioner of Planning, Environment and Land Management can revoke your building permit after unauthorized tree removal, which can end a construction project mid-stream. And starting clearing work before approval triples the application and review fees.¹²

A stop-work order can arrive from a building inspector, town investigator, engineering inspector, or environmental analyst if any of them has reasonable grounds to believe the removal violates the code, departs from an approved permit, or is being done unsafely. All tree work must stop immediately once the order is issued, and it stays in force until the violation is corrected.¹

1
Town of Brookhaven, NY. Town of Brookhaven Code Chapter 70 – Tree Preservation
2
Town of Brookhaven. Tree Clearing
3
Town of Brookhaven. Planning and Environmental