Tree service in Monroe, Washington

Tree removal permits in Monroe

Monroe does not make you pull a permit for one tree. The code defines a tree as 6 in DBH or larger at 4.5 ft (MMC 22.86.030), but that definition feeds a land clearing and forest practices permit, not a per-tree trigger. The permit applies to clearing, with exceptions in 22.86.050 for clearing under half an acre over six years with no development permit attached, for emergencies, and for routine maintenance. Applications go through Community Development’s zoning administrator (22.86.040) and a permit stays valid for two years; the fee section was not retrieved when this page was checked.

Because the rule is a qualified one, the question is which bucket your job lands in. A single hazard tree in a yard is routine maintenance or an emergency removal and needs nothing from the city. Clearing a wooded lot, or any cutting tied to a building permit, is where 22.86 applies, and critical areas under MMC 22.80 (streams, wetlands, steep slopes) carry their own rules regardless of tree count. There is no street-tree permit chapter in Title 12, but disturbing the right-of-way takes a permit under MMC 12.36; whether that covers trees was not verified. When in doubt, send Community Development the parcel number and a photo before cutting.

Every city compared: tree removal permits in Washington.

Source: Community Development (zoning administrator, 22.86.040), MMC 22.86.030, 22.86.040, 22.86.050; MMC 22.80 (critical areas); MMC 22.46 (landscaping). Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm records for Snohomish County (covers Monroe)

Snohomish County’s storm count has fallen. NOAA logged 33 reports in the most recent three years against 54 in the three before, a drop of about 39 percent, though the county still ranks 15 of 39 in Washington with 139 reports since 2016. A quieter stretch does not change what the reports are made of: heavy snow (68), high wind (26), winter weather (18) and ice storms (11) account for most of the record.

The county’s NWS forecast zones run from the Everett and Marysville lowlands up to the foothills and valleys of the North Cascades, so the total blends shoreline and foothill weather. Peak months are February, December and January, and FEMA’s National Risk Index puts the county’s ice storm rating at Very High. Read that as fewer reports lately, but the ones that arrive are the kind that load limbs and bring down lines.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Cascades of Snohomish and Northern King Counties; Downtown Everett / Marysville Area; Foothills and Valleys of Snohomish and Northern King Counties; Foothills and Valleys of the North Cascades; Lowlands of Western Skagit and Northwestern Snohomish Counties; Shoreline / Lynnwood / South Everett Area.

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).

Power lines and utilities in Monroe

Snohomish County PUD serves Monroe. Its vegetation program covers the primary lines along the street; by its own statement it does not maintain vegetation around service lines, meaning the single drop to your meter, or around stand-alone communication lines. Trees within 10 ft of a primary conductor are off limits to anyone but a qualified electrical worker. The outage line is 425-783-1001, and a tree resting on a wire is an outage call first and a tree-company call second.

Snohomish PUD serves all of Snohomish County

Source: utility vegetation-management pages linked above; WAC 296-24-960 (WA L&I). Checked 2026-10-02.

Growing conditions in Monroe

Zone 8b on the 2023 USDA map covers Monroe’s ZIP codes, the same rating as the rest of the Snohomish lowlands. Winters are mild enough to replant almost anything that grows west of the Cascades; the county’s Relatively High winter weather rating from FEMA means the sensible choice after a removal is a tree that tolerates wet snow and will not grow into the PUD’s 10 ft zone.

USDA hardiness zone 8b (2023 map, by ZIP code).

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.

Labor index for Monroe

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro, which BLS uses for Monroe, pays tree trimmers and pruners a mean of $33.85 an hour and a median of $32.75 across roughly 310 workers. Treat the figure as an index of what a crew costs to field, not as a quote; the site’s modeled ranges convert it into crew-hours. Monroe’s lack of a per-tree permit means no filing time on an ordinary removal, which is one less line on an invoice.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $33.85 per hour mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners (BLS, May 2025). This is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour cost used on this site is $210 (method).

443 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Snohomish County in 2023 (Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 561730).

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013 · U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 561730. Checked 2026-10-02.

ZIP codes and nearby cities

Monroe’s two main ZIP codes are 98272 and 98290, and the 2025 population estimate is 20,025, up from 19,699 in 2020. Mill Creek is 10 miles away, Lake Stevens 11, Everett and Bothell 12, and Redmond and Kenmore 14. Companies based along the Everett and Bothell corridor routinely reach Monroe; outside the city line, Snohomish County rules take over.

ZIP codes with the most land inside Monroe: 9827298290

• Mill Creek10 miles
• Lake Stevens11 miles
• Everett12 miles
• Bothell12 miles
• Redmond14 miles
• Kenmore14 miles

County page: Snohomish County.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZCTA to place and county relationship files. Checked 2026-10-02.

Tree services in Monroe

Use the links below for the job you actually have. Removal in Monroe is mostly a no-permit affair unless you are clearing a lot; trimming is governed by the PUD’s 10 ft rule more than by city code; stump grinding follows the removal; and the emergency page is for a tree already down on a roof or a line. All four draw on the county storm record above.

• Tree removal (statewide guide)
• Tree trimming in Monroe
• Stump grinding (statewide guide)
• Emergency tree service (statewide guide)
• Arborists and tree health
• Check a license in Washington

What to do next

Walk the tree first: a dead top, fungal conks at the base, or a new lean after a wet week are the signs that justify a removal rather than a prune, and a risk assessment settles the question. Then decide whether the job is maintenance, which Monroe exempts, or clearing, which it permits under MMC 22.86.

Check the company in the Washington license lookup before signing. Burning the slash falls under the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency; the burning rules page covers what it allows. If the tree is already down, go straight to fallen tree removal.