Tree service in Pasco, Washington

Tree removal permits in Pasco

Pasco’s code has no removal permit for a private tree. Title 25, the zoning code, contains no tree chapter, and its landscaping section 25.180 sets yard-cover requirements for developed lots without any rule on taking a tree out. The city requires no provider registration either. What the code does regulate is PMC 12.12: trees in planting strips and drainage swales, where a permit is required to plant, substantially prune or remove a tree under sections 12.12.050, 12.12.080 and 12.12.120.

Two more pieces still apply. Title 28, chapters 28.12 through 28.32, is the critical areas code, and a tree near a shoreline, wetland or steep slope can fall under it regardless of the zoning silence, so ask the city before cutting there. PMC 12.12.150 makes abuse or mutilation of a planting-strip tree an offense with penalties under 12.12.160, and the same chapter covers nuisance abatement. Start at City Hall, since 12.12.020 defines the enforcing authority rather than naming a department. The Washington permit guide has the statewide rules.

Every city compared: tree removal permits in Washington.

Source: Enforcing authority per PMC 12.12.020 (not specified), PMC 12.12.050, 12.12.080, 12.12.100, 12.12.120, 12.12.150; PMC 25.180.020; PMC 28.12-28.32. Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm records for Franklin County (covers Pasco)

Storms are rare in Franklin County by Washington standards, so most removals in Pasco are planned jobs. NOAA logged 52 reports since 2016, rank 35 of 39 counties in the state, and only 6 of those came in 2023 through 2025 against 19 in 2020 through 2022. There is no four-month crush of emergency calls to work around here; 54 percent of reports fall from November through February, with February, December and January the peak months, and the rest spread through the year.

What does show up is wind: 21 High Wind reports lead the table, with Wildfire at 11, Heavy Snow at 9 and Thunderstorm Wind at 4. FEMA’s National Risk Index rates the county Relatively Low overall, with ice storm the only category at Relatively Moderate and winter weather, strong wind and wildfire all Relatively Low. For a homeowner that means the main reasons to remove a tree in Pasco are drought stress, structure and placement rather than storm damage, and the schedule is yours to pick.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Lower Columbia Basin of Washington.

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 Pasco

Franklin PUD serves Pasco, and its outage line, taken from an alert on its site, is (509) 542-5300. The PUD maintains its primary lines only; the secondary service to your house is the customer’s responsibility, so a tree growing into the drop is your removal or trim to arrange. Within 10 feet of a high-voltage line, only a qualified line-clearance contractor may work, which means a general tree crew will need one for that part of the job.

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

Growing conditions in Pasco

Pasco is in USDA hardiness zone 7a, and no NOAA station normals are mapped for the city, so there is no rainfall chart here. It is dry-side country: the trees in Pasco yards are irrigated, a mature tree that loses water declines quickly, and a replacement needs cold hardiness, drought tolerance once established, and a drip line from the first summer. Fall planting gives roots the winter to settle before the heat.

USDA hardiness zone 7a (2023 map, by ZIP code).

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

Labor index for Pasco

With no metro wage estimate published for Pasco, the labor index here is Washington statewide: BLS puts the mean at $32.20 an hour for tree trimmers and pruners, the median at $30.70, and the occupation at 700 people across the state. A statewide wage is a loose fit for a city the Census Bureau estimates at 82,848 people in 2025, so treat it as a reference point. It is not a price in any case; the modeled ranges on the service pages are built from crew-hours that bundle equipment, insurance and disposal with labor, as the methodology explains.

Washington statewide: $32.20 per hour mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners (BLS, May 2025); no metro estimate is published, so the statewide figure is shown. This is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour cost used on this site is $210 (method).

51 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Franklin 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

A single ZIP code, 99301, is mapped to Pasco, a city that has grown from 77,108 people in 2020 to 82,848 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Kennewick is 5 miles away and Richland 8, both with their own pages, and Walla Walla is 40 miles out; companies based in Kennewick or Richland are local to Pasco, while a crew coming from Walla Walla will price the drive.

ZIP codes with the most land inside Pasco: 99301

• Kennewick5 miles
• Richland8 miles
• Walla Walla40 miles

County page: Franklin County.

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

Japanese beetle and local tree programs in Pasco

Pasco is on the Japanese beetle map. The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s 2023 eradication wrap-up reports that five beetles were captured in Pasco that year, the first captures ever in the city, and that WSDA then placed 250 more traps in the area to find and remove any other adults. The beetle feeds on the leaves of many shade and fruit trees, so before moving yard debris, soil or rooted plants out of a neighborhood, check WSDA’s current Japanese beetle quarantine and yard-debris rules.

Pasco is also a recognized Tree City USA: the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ list of communities that earned the Arbor Day Foundation award for 2022 includes Pasco. Basin Disposal, the city’s garbage hauler, directs Pasco customers to recycle Christmas trees at the golf course on Road 36 and treats other household yard waste as garbage in its service guidance.

For pest and tree health questions, the WSU Extension Master Gardeners of Benton and Franklin Counties run an in-person plant clinic at 7102 W. Okanogan Place, Suite 102, in Kennewick, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed noon to 1 p.m.), from May through October; call 509-735-3551.

Source: WSDA · Washington DNR · Basin Disposal · WSU Extension. Checked 2026-10-02.

Tree services in Pasco

Pasco’s service pages cover removal, trimming, stump grinding and emergency work. Removal on private land needs no city permit, so the cost guide and an arborist’s opinion are the two things to read first; trimming includes the planting-strip permit for substantial pruning and Franklin PUD’s 10-foot rule; stump grinding can be scheduled almost any month in this climate; and the emergency page covers wind, the type that leads the county record. The arborist page covers assessment and the health of irrigated trees.

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

What to do next

Locate the tree first. On your own lot and outside a critical area, Pasco has no permit to issue, so the next step is a risk assessment if the tree is declining or an estimate if the decision is already made; in a planting strip or drainage swale, the PMC 12.12 permit comes first, and cutting without it carries penalties.

Then check the company through the Washington license lookup, confirm who handles any work within 10 feet of a Franklin PUD line, and ask where the wood goes, since burning falls under Washington Department of Ecology rules here. The Franklin County page has the full storm and hazard record.