Remove a dangerous tree in Greensboro is a defined term when the threat is a utility line. Section 30-12-1.12 of the Land Development Ordinance says that, under normal circumstances, no more than one-fourth of a tree’s crown is removed in a year. If safety and reliability clearances need more than one-fourth, or the tree is otherwise a danger tree, the utility evaluates it for removal. A danger tree, in sections 30-12-1.9 through 30-12-1.15, is a tree that can adversely affect utility service by falling into a line because it is cut, blown into, or otherwise falls, given its physical condition.[1]
- Danger tree is a line-strike definition, not a synonym for every large hardwood.
- Existing single-family houses are outside the conservation ordinance.
- Winston-Salem’s forestry crew works city property and rights-of-way, including hazardous trees there.
The rule on this ground
The conservation regulations aim at remaining canopy, and they apply to principal buildings and open uses developed after 17 Oct 2000, to listed changes of use, and to expansions, unless an exemption in 30-12-1.3 applies. The city’s own FAQ is blunter about houses: the ordinance applies to commercial, retail, and multi-family development, and it does not apply to new single-family subdivisions or existing single-family residences. NCDOT roadway projects are also outside it. Staff enforce the ordinance. Advocacy groups do not.[2]
That split is the practical one. A silver maple rotting over a 1950s roof on an existing lot is not, by the FAQ, a tree-conservation permit. It is still a removal if you need the stem gone. If the same maple can fall into a line, the danger-tree sentence is the one the utility uses, and the one-fourth crown limit is why a hard prune is not always the legal alternative to taking it down. The ordinance does not publish a dollar fee for that evaluation. The city arborist’s office, which administers the ordinance, is listed at 336-373-2150. Street-tree requests on city property go to 336-373-2489. This desk does not replace either number. It takes the removal job when you want a crew to call you.
Winston-Salem publishes a different boundary. Urban forestry, in place since 1995, plants and maintains trees on city property and rights-of-way, removes hazardous trees, and manages more than 100,000 trees. The page states that topping is against the city ordinance. It also states that the city does not maintain private yards, and that the canopy on those yards depends on the people who own them.[3] Chapter 74, Article XI of the city code is the codified tree article. The section text behind a private-lot penalty was not in the page we could read, so this note does not quote a fine. The operational fact from the city’s own forestry page is enough to keep Winston-Salem from being a renamed Greensboro.
If you skip it
Cutting more than one-fourth of a crown for line clearance, without treating the tree as a removal candidate, is the practice the ordinance tells the utility not to follow. On a regulated development site, disturbing trees that were supposed to be saved is a conservation violation enforced by city staff. The FAQ does not extend that permit to an existing single-family yard, so threatening a homeowner with a conservation fee the ordinance does not apply would be the mistake. On a Winston-Salem street tree, topping is the violation the city names, and removal of a hazardous street tree is the city’s work, not a private saw on a right-of-way.
Denise manages a small office park in Greensboro. A sweetgum at the property line has a hollow trunk and the primary line crosses the drip line. She is in the danger-tree definition, and she is also in a commercial use the conservation ordinance can cover. The utility’s evaluation and the city’s development rules can both be in play. Her sister, in a 1948 house two miles away, has the same species over a bedroom and no line. The sister’s lot is an existing single-family residence. The conservation ordinance, per the FAQ, does not apply. The removal is still the job if the tree is dangerous. The paperwork is not the office park’s paperwork.
Who signs, who pays, how long
| Situation | Who acts | Fee the document prints |
|---|---|---|
| Greensboro danger tree on a line | Utility evaluates removal | No fee printed in 30-12-1.12 |
| Commercial or multi-family conservation | City staff enforce the LDO | No danger-tree dollar fee on the FAQ |
| Existing single-family yard | Owner hires the removal | Conservation ordinance does not apply, per the city FAQ |
| Winston-Salem street or park tree | City urban forestry | Hazardous-tree removal is a city task on city land. Private-lot fee not quoted here. |
Why Raleigh’s four tests are the wrong paste
| Test | Greensboro | Raleigh |
|---|---|---|
| What “dangerous” means | Potential to fall into a utility line | Defect, size, failure potential, and any target, including a building |
| Existing house | Outside the conservation ordinance | A recorded conservation area can still bind the lot |
| Pruning limit | One-fourth of the crown in a year, then evaluate removal | Not the sentence in Chapter 12 |
The neighbor page is Triangle hazardous trees. A four-part target test does not become true because you drove west on I-40.
Checklist for this query
- Say whether a line is in the path of the tree. That is the danger-tree question in Greensboro.
- Say whether the lot is an existing house or a commercial site. The conservation ordinance cares.
- Do not top a Winston-Salem street tree. The city calls that an ordinance violation.
- Call the city only for city trees. A private stem is a crew, which is what the callback is for.
- Do not import a rot rate for silver maple or sweetgum. No Guilford study in this packet states one.
Fee or timeline the document prints
The sections cited here do not print a permit fee or a review-day count for a danger-tree removal. The one-fourth crown limit is the quantitative rule they do print. Winston-Salem does not print a private-yard price on its forestry page. The crew’s price is not in either document. Verify it when someone calls.
Questions people type before they hire
What does Greensboro mean by a danger tree?
Land Development Ordinance section 30-12-1.12 says a danger tree has the potential to hit utility service by falling into a line, because it is cut, blown, or otherwise falls, given its condition. Under ordinary conditions no more than one-fourth of a crown comes off in a year. If clearance needs more than that, or the tree is a danger tree, the utility evaluates it for removal.
Does the conservation ordinance cover my house?
The city’s tree FAQ says the landscaping and tree conservation ordinance applies to commercial, retail, and multi-family development inside the city. It does not apply to new single-family subdivisions or existing single-family residences, and it does not apply to NCDOT road projects. A dangerous tree on an existing house is not automatically a conservation-permit case.
Will the city remove a tree in my yard?
The same FAQ says the city removes trees on city property, including rights-of-way, parks, and other city land. It does not take private yard trees. A maintenance request for a street tree goes to 336-373-2489. The city arborist who administers the ordinance can be reached at 336-373-2150. Those are city desks, not this callback.
Is Winston-Salem the same ordinance?
No. Winston-Salem’s urban forestry page says crews plant and maintain trees on city property and rights-of-way, remove hazardous trees there, and look after more than 100,000 trees. Topping is against the city ordinance. The page says private canopy depends on owners. It does not adopt Greensboro’s one-fourth-crown sentence. That difference is why one Triad note cannot cover both cities by swapping the name.
Related: Counties and Triangle hazardous trees.
References
- City of Greensboro. Land Development Ordinance section 30-12-1.12, crown limit and the danger-tree definition. Accessed 12 Oct 2026. Greensboro LDO.
- City of Greensboro. “Tree FAQs,” scope of the conservation ordinance and which trees city crews remove. Accessed 12 Oct 2026. Tree FAQs.
- City of Winston-Salem. “Urban Forestry,” city-property maintenance, hazardous-tree removal, more than 100,000 trees, topping prohibited. Accessed 12 Oct 2026. cityofws.org.
- City of Greensboro. “Landscaping and Tree Conservation,” ordinance history and the city arborist’s role. Accessed 12 Oct 2026. landscaping page.