The short answer, place by place
| Where the lot is | Ordinary tree on a home lot | When permission is needed | Who to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Denham Springs | No permit found | Clearing one acre or more; development clearing; any tree in a street area or on public property | Building Official, (225) 667-8326 |
| City of Walker | No permit found | Land clearing other than a single-family lot | Permits & Inspections, 225.665.8893 |
| Unincorporated parish | No parish tree ordinance found | Subdivision and commercial clearing; a tree in a parish road right-of-way | Building & Permits, (225) 686-3021; Public Works for road trees |
| Smaller towns | Not confirmed online | Ask town hall | Town of Livingston, (225) 686-7153 |
| State highway frontage | No DOTD permit for trees on your own lot | Any trimming or removal in the state right-of-way | DOTD District 62, 800-545-9280 |
Phone numbers and rules checked Nov 11, 2026. About 132,334 of the parish's 155,036 residents live outside any city, town or village (Census Bureau, July 1, 2025), so the parish column covers most homes.
City of Denham Springs: the landscape ordinance
Denham Springs' tree rules sit in Chapter 78, Article III of its code, the Landscape Ordinance. The copy the city posts on its Planning and Development page shows Ordinance 08-01, adopted January 8, 2008, as amended by Ordinance 12-09 on June 12, 2012. The city's online code may carry later amendments, so confirm anything that matters with the city (checked Nov 11, 2026).
Who it covers. The ordinance applies to new commercial, industrial, multifamily, religious, educational, institutional and public developments built after January 13, 2008, to large building additions, to residential-to-commercial conversions and to parking areas with five or more spaces. A single-family home on its own lot isn't on that list.
The tree removal permit. "Prior to clearing any tract of one acre or more, the property owner shall obtain a tree removal permit," and "No land shall be cleared until said permit has been obtained." A permit is also needed for clearing for commercial, office, industrial or institutional development and for residential development on sites over an acre. Exempt: timber and pulpwood harvests and traditional farming, commercial land with no native trees, residential clearing under one acre, and projects with an approved landscape, tree preservation or replacement plan.
The native-tree table. Within those permits, the city lists native trees with the trunk size, measured about 4½ feet up, at which they count:
| Native tree | Diameter (inches) |
|---|---|
| Live oak, cow oak, pond cypress, bald cypress, winged elm, cedar elm | 18 |
| White oak, overcup oak, Nuttall oak, willow oak, Shumard oak, American elm | 24 |
| Red oak, cherrybark oak | 36 |
Water oak and the pines aren't in the table. The ordinance doesn't say how the city applies it to a residential lot of exactly one acre; ask before clearing one.
Fees and penalties. The city may collect a $50 application fee, included in building permit fees. Removing a tree without a required permit is a public nuisance, with a fine of $150 per day for each tree; general violations carry $50 to $1,000, up to 30 days in jail, or both, with each day a separate offense.
Decisions and appeals. The landscape review coordinator enforces the article and reviews plans within ten working days; appeals go to the planning commission within 30 days, then to the city council. The city's Planning and Development page names Building Official Rick Foster, (225) 667-8326; City Hall is at 116 North Range Avenue, (225) 665-8121, Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Denham Springs street trees and public property
This is the part of the city's ordinance most likely to touch a homeowner. "No person, including public utilities, shall remove any tree or shrub growing within dedicated street area" without a permit, and "Unless authorized by the landscape review coordinator, it shall be unlawful to cut, trim, spray, remove" trees on public property. If the coordinator doesn't act within ten working days, the permit is issued automatically. Utilities can get special pruning permits, and emergency work is allowed if it's reported afterward.
The ordinance also protects public trees during construction: a 3-foot setback for trunks up to 12 inches thick and, for larger trees, a setback equal to the trunk's circumference, up to 6 feet. Trees removed from public property for non-city construction must be replaced (city's posted ordinance, checked Nov 11, 2026).
Sick trees on private lots. The coordinator may require an owner to treat diseased or pest-infested trees, and if drastic action is needed to protect healthy trees, the owner must cut them or let the city do it at the owner's cost. See dead or leaning trees.
The Antique Village. The Denham Springs Commercial Historic District, 100 to 239 North Range Avenue, is on the National Register of Historic Places (National Park Service listing); the city's Main Street page puts it as "The entire village is on the National Register of Historic Places." No local historic-district rule on trees turned up for this site (checked Nov 11, 2026).
City of Walker: the Unified Development Code
Walker's Unified Development Code, adopted September 9, 2013 and last amended February 10, 2025, puts tree clearing in Chapter 8. Section 8.2's land clearing rules apply in all zoning districts, but "This does not include the clearing of a single subdivision lot or conforming residential lot for a single-family house." For other clearing, a Land Clearing Notification or Fill Permit, good for no more than six months, comes before cutting, along with a pre-clearing inspection request at least three working days ahead. The code also sets 50-foot buffers along both banks of natural streams, riverbanks and drainage canals for those projects (checked Nov 11, 2026). The Walker page covers the rest, including Walker's debris rules.
Unincorporated Livingston Parish
No parish tree ordinance turned up. The chapter list of the parish code, as shown in a third-party copy, has chapters for buildings, floods, zoning, planning and development, subdivisions, commercial development and more, but none on trees or landscaping. That's based on the parish's own ordinance documents and that index, not the full official code, which this site couldn't reach (checked Nov 11, 2026).
The clearing rules that do exist are for developers. The subdivision regulations (revised January 4, 2024) and the commercial development ordinance both say: "The Drainage Impact Study shall be approved before any clearing of property," and "Removal of bushes, shrubs, and small trees under eight (8'') inches shall be allowed." The parish's Building and Permits office, at 20399 Government Boulevard in Livingston, (225) 686-3021, issues building, electrical, plumbing and similar permits; its page doesn't mention trees (checked Nov 11, 2026).
Livingston, Albany, Killian, Springfield, French Settlement and Port Vincent
These towns and villages have their own governments. A third-party index of the Town of Livingston's code shows a section titled "Landscaping and screening," but its text wasn't read for this site, and no online code turned up for the others. If your lot is inside one of them, call town hall before removing a tree near the street. Town of Livingston: (225) 686-7153 (checked Nov 11, 2026).
Trees along city, parish and state roads
- Denham Springs streets. A city permit, as above. The Street Department, (225) 667-8352, manages street rights-of-way.
- Parish roads. Livingston Parish Public Works maintains more than 833 miles of roads and lists "Tree removal located in a Right of Way (must have Director's approval)." For state roads, it sends people to DOTD (checked Nov 11, 2026).
- State highways. DOTD's Vegetation Maintenance Permit, "Required by State Law," covers planting, trimming and removing vegetation in the state right-of-way, including trees six inches or larger. "Permit must be signed by the owner or lessee of the property," and "Contractor may NOT acquire permit." Work within 20 feet of the travel lane needs DOTD's written authorization, and equipment can't be parked or stored on the highway. Livingston Parish is in DOTD District 62; its permit office is at 685 Morrison Boulevard in Hammond, 800-545-9280 (checked Nov 11, 2026).
The power line law
Louisiana's Overhead Power Line Safety Act (La. R.S. 45:141 to 146) bars anyone from doing work where a person, tool or piece of equipment could come within 10 feet of a line carrying more than 600 volts. The line's owner must get notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and holidays, and the work goes ahead only after "satisfactory mutual arrangements" for safety, such as barriers or de-energizing the line; the line owner must start agreed measures within three working days (checked Nov 11, 2026). Entergy's line for these notices is 800-368-3749; DEMCO takes line clearance requests at 1-844-693-3626 or ROW@DEMCO.org.
Louisiana 811 before grinding
Notice to Louisiana 811 is required at least 48 hours, and no more than 120 hours, before excavation, weekends and holidays excluded (La. R.S. 40:1749.13, checked Nov 11, 2026). This site reads stump grinding as excavation. Details are in the stump grinding guide.
Burning limbs and brush
The Denham Springs Fire Department posts a copy of the state's outdoor burning rule, LAC 33:III.1109. Its yard-waste exception allows "the burning of leaves, grass, twigs, branches, and vines by a private property owner on his own property" for noncommercial purposes in parishes with 300,000 people or fewer, "provided the property owner attends the burning of yard waste at all times." A separate exception for burning trees and brush covers only parishes of 90,000 or fewer, and only outside city or town limits. The posted copy shows amendments through 1998 (checked Nov 11, 2026).
Livingston Parish has 155,036 residents (Census Bureau, July 1, 2025): under the first limit, over the second. Reading the two together, a homeowner may burn their own leaves and branches while watching the fire, but the trunk and limbs of a felled tree don't fit that exception. A few more points:
- Burn bans. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry says state and local authorities decide when risk is high enough for a ban, and the State Fire Marshal says "the only legal items you can burn in Louisiana are vegetation and ordinary yard waste items." Check its burn ban map, or call the Office of Forestry at (225) 925-4500 (checked Nov 11, 2026).
- Inside Denham Springs. The fire department's permit form says "Fire Inspectors must examine all burning" sites and lists $50 as the cost of its permits. Call the fire chief's office, 225-667-8345, before burning inside the city.
- Storm and flood debris. After the 2016 flood, LDEQ's secretary said, "It is illegal to burn solid waste."
State laws on neighbors' trees and Chinese tallow
- Cutting someone else's tree. La. R.S. 3:4278.1 makes it unlawful to cut, fell or remove trees on another's land without the owner's consent. Willful violators owe three times the trees' fair market value plus attorney fees, and good-faith violators owe the same treble damages if they should have known they lacked consent (FindLaw copy, checked Nov 11, 2026).
- Boundary trees. Civil Code article 687: trees on the boundary are "presumed to be common," and a neighbor who demands removal of one that interferes with his property "must bear the expense of removal."
- Overhanging branches and roots. Article 688 lets a landowner demand that a neighbor trim branches or roots that extend onto his property and interfere with its use, at the neighbor's expense.
- Chinese tallow. La. R.S. 3:1791 declares Chinese tallow a noxious plant that "may be destroyed wherever found in this state" (checked Nov 11, 2026).
Your subdivision's covenants
None of the government sources above covers homeowners association rules. If your subdivision has recorded covenants or an association, read the deed restrictions or ask the association before removing a healthy tree, especially one in the front yard. Walker's code, for one, requires a large-growing tree in the front buffer of each new single-family lot, so ask the city before taking out the front-yard tree on a newer Walker lot.
Rules questions answered
Does the city have to approve taking out a live oak in my Denham Springs yard?
Not for an ordinary home lot under an acre, by the city's posted ordinance. Live oak appears in the city's native-tree table at 18 inches, but that table applies within clearing and development permits. If the oak stands in the street right-of-way, a city permit is required.
I live off Juban Road. Which rules apply to me?
It depends on whether your lot is inside Denham Springs, inside Walker or on parish land, and a mailing address doesn't settle that. Ask either city hall to look up the address.
Can I burn the limbs from a tree I had cut down?
The posted state rule lets a homeowner burn leaves, twigs and branches on their own property while attending the fire, if no burn ban is in effect. Whole trees and large brush don't fit that exception in a parish this size.
Who decides if a tree is in the right-of-way?
The government that owns the road: the city, the parish or DOTD. Ask before cutting anything in the strip between your yard and the pavement.
Questions about a specific tree can be sent from this site to one independent contractor working in Livingston Parish. Permits and approvals come only from the offices named above.
Where this comes from
- City of Denham Springs, Landscape Ordinance (Ch. 78, Art. III, as posted), Planning and Development, Street Department, Main Street and Fire Department; National Park Service, Denham Springs Commercial Historic District. Checked Nov 11, 2026.
- City of Walker, Unified Development Code and Building/Code Enforcement. Checked Nov 11, 2026.
- Livingston Parish, Planning and Development, subdivision ordinances, commercial ordinance, Building and Permits and Public Works; third-party code indexes for the parish and the Town of Livingston; Town of Livingston, Town Hall. Checked Nov 11, 2026.
- DOTD, Vegetation Maintenance Permit (Rev 3/23) and permit contacts. Checked Nov 11, 2026.
- La. R.S. 45:141, 45:142, 45:143, 40:1749.13, 3:1791 and 3:4278.1 (FindLaw copy); Louisiana Civil Code art. 687 and art. 688; Entergy, Louisiana Overhead Power Line Safety Act; DEMCO, Line Clearance Procedures Manual. Checked Nov 11, 2026.
- Denham Springs Fire Department, Outdoor Burning Reference (LAC 33:III.1109) and Various Permits; LDAF, fire safety; LDEQ, open burning of flood debris; Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 subcounty file. Checked Nov 11, 2026.