Tree removal in Gresham, Oregon

Permit rules for removing a tree in Gresham

Gresham Development Code Section 9.1000 regulates trees of 8 in DBH and up citywide, and 6 in and up inside the floodplain, hillside/geologic-risk and natural-resource overlays mapped in sections 5.0200 and 5.0700. Under 6 in there is no permit anywhere in the city, and a tree of 6 to 8 in outside the sensitive areas needs none either.

A single-family or middle-housing lot of 35,000 sq ft or less may remove up to 3 regulated trees in any 12 months, and a larger lot up to 6, under a free exemption; past that count the job is a Type II permit at a fee from the city schedule, which the city’s pages did not state when checked. Type I and Type III reviews carry no fee. The Planner on Duty at Urban Design & Planning (503-618-2780, POD@GreshamOregon.gov) says which type your tree needs.

Replacement is required and the arithmetic is in Table 9.1042: one replacement tree for each tree under 24 in removed, and for a tree of 24 in or more, 1 caliper inch of new tree for every 4 in removed, with a fee-in-lieu by resolution where there is no room. A street tree in the right-of-way takes a separate free Type I permit and is replanted from the city-approved list.

What tree removal costs in Gresham

The modeled range below is crew-hours times the Oregon crew cost, with surcharges within 10 ft of a structure and where no truck can reach the tree; the numbers are a model, not a quote. Two Gresham items sit on top: the replacement planting the code requires, which for a tree of 24 in or more means caliper inches of nursery stock, and the Type II fee if you are past the exemption count.

The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners is $35.04 an hour by BLS figures, the labor index behind the table rather than a price, and the metro counts 1,160 in the trade. With 73% of Multnomah County’s storm reports falling November through February, a removal booked for the dry months is priced as planned work and the same tree in December competes with storm calls.

Modeled estimate, not quotes (method): crew-hours × $225 per crew-hour; ×1.25 within 10 ft of a structure, ×1.3 with no truck access; a crane day adds $1,500–$3,500; stump grinding is separate.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013. Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm records for Multnomah County

Multnomah County ranks 5 of 36 Oregon counties for storm reports in NOAA’s database, with 208 logged since 2016. Heavy Snow leads with 66, Winter Storm and Wildfire tie at 34, Strong Wind has 26 and High Wind 20; the record also holds 9 ice storms, 3 tornadoes and 3 blizzards. December, February and January are the peak months and 73% of reports fall November through February, which is when removals get booked out.

The recent three years logged 51 reports against 84 in the prior three, a drop of roughly 40%. FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county Relatively High for ice storm and winter weather, Relatively Moderate for wind and Relatively Low for wildfire despite the 34 wildfire reports, and the county’s NWS zones reach the North Oregon Cascades and the West Columbia River Gorge I-84 Corridor, not only the metro.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: East Portland Metro; Inner Portland Metro; North Oregon Cascades; Outer Southeast Portland Metro; Tualatin Valley; West Columbia River Gorge I-84 Corridor.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2016 to June 2026 · NWS zone-county correlation files (2019 to 2026 versions). Checked 2026-10-02. NOAA Storm Events 2016-2026; zone-based events assigned to every county the NWS zone covers using the zone-county correlation file in force on the event date (2019-04-02 file used for 2016-2018).

Pests and quarantines

Emerald ash borer (EAB) · quarantineMediterranean oak borer (MOB)

Emerald ash borer is confirmed in Multnomah County and the Oregon quarantine applies here. Raw ash wood stays inside the quarantine area; it can leave only as chips of 1 in or less or as kiln-dried, debarked lumber, or after heating to a 160F core for 60 minutes with ODA permission, and loads are covered during the April 1 to September 30 flight period. Sightings go to the Oregon Invasive Species Online Hotline, and OregonEAB.com carries the current map.

Mediterranean oak borer is also confirmed, without a quarantine: do not move cut oak firewood more than 10 miles from the tree, and an infested oak is cut and then burned or chipped to 1 in or less on site, stump included, with photos and the location reported to the Oregon Invasives Hotline. Whether the burn option is open to you is Oregon DEQ’s decision, not the city’s. For a removal the choice is made before the first cut: ash and oak do not go to a firewood pile across town.

• Emerald ash borer (EAB): OR (ODF/ODA): keep raw ash wood inside the quarantine; move only as <=1-in chips or kiln-dried debarked lumber, or heat 160F core for 60 min with ODA permission; cover loads during flight period Apr 1
• Mediterranean oak borer (MOB): Don't move cut oak firewood >10 miles from source; cut then burn or chip (<=1 in) infested trees including the stump on site; report with photos/location to Oregon Invasives Hotline

Source: Emerald ash borer (EAB) · Mediterranean oak borer (MOB). Checked 2026-10-02.

How removals are done here

Multnomah County’s top event type is Heavy Snow with 66 of 208 reports, and Winter Storm ties Wildfire at 34; snow and ice loading break out tops and leaders rather than uprooting whole trees, so the typical Gresham removal is a damaged Douglas fir or bigleaf maple taken down in sections from a climb, not a felled stem. A house within 10 ft of the trunk carries the model’s structure factor, and a crane in the street avoids a two-day rig-down where the back yard is fenced.

Wind is the other third of the log: Strong Wind 26 and High Wind 20 reports, plus 3 tornadoes on the record. A tree that lost its top to snow and then stood through a wind season is the one to take down before the next December, the county’s peak month.

Ash is the special case. Emerald ash borer is confirmed in the county and Gresham is inside the Oregon quarantine, so a dying ash is removed and the wood stays local, chipped to 1 in or less or left as logs inside the quarantine; the pest section below has the rule.

• Crane removal
• Dead tree removal
• Large tree removal
• Near power lines

What to do next

Measure the trunk at chest height: under 8 in outside an overlay, no permit; from 8 in, count what has come out in the last 12 months against the 3-tree exemption; from 24 in, price the replacement before you price the removal. Then call the Planner on Duty (503-618-2780) with the address, and the number on this page for the work. Check the company first at the Oregon license lookup, and if the tree is an ash, read the Oregon EAB page before any wood leaves the lot.

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