Tree services in Delaware County, PA: shade tree rules, older suburbs and complaints

Updated November 10, 2026 · KeystoneProGuide editorial team

What should Delaware County homeowners know before hiring a tree service?

That the street in front of the house may have its own rules. Delaware County is divided into forty-nine municipalities, according to the county, and each can write its own tree ordinance. Haverford Township's, set out below, shows how far such a code can reach onto private property. The county also has a consumer affairs office that will mediate a dispute with a contractor.

How does Haverford Township regulate trees?

Firmly. The township's tree ordinance states a policy of "no net loss of trees" within its boundaries, and its rules on public shade trees can apply on your side of the property line.

• What a public shade tree is. Any tree in a public park or street, or the part of any tree that extends within the lines of a public street. The rules apply "including the portion of a public shade tree on private property".
• Permits. No one may plant, prune, remove or spray a public shade tree on a public street without a written permit from the Township Manager. Removing a public shade tree of four inches in diameter at breast height from any property needs one too.
• What is allowed without a permit. Minor pruning and trimming, clearance trimming, and cutting off low or broken branches that create a danger.
• What is forbidden without a permit. Climbing a public shade tree with spikes, cutting or interfering with its main roots, and spraying it with chemicals, except where life or property must be protected immediately.
• Clearances. Owners of trees on private property must keep branches at least 12 feet above public walks for mature trees, nine feet for newly planted ones, and 14 feet above the street.
• Removal orders. The Township Manager may order the removal of any tree on private property that is diseased, dead or a hazard to the public.

A permit application states the work, the location, the species and the reasons for removal, and carries a fee set by the township. The Manager may send it to the Shade Tree Commission for review and may be guided by International Society of Arboriculture standards. If a company offers to take down or cut back a tree near the sidewalk in Haverford, ask who is getting the permit. Other Delaware County municipalities have their own codes. The wider rules are in what Pennsylvania and its towns require.

Why do older neighborhoods matter here?

Because the county's suburbs grew early. The county says there was considerable residential development after the First World War in Upper Darby, Drexel Hill, Havertown and Springfield, continuing after the Second World War in communities such as Westbrook Park and Marple Township. The Census Bureau estimates that 22.1 percent of Delaware County's 229,715 housing units were first built in 1939 or earlier, against 25.0 percent statewide, and that only 3.5 percent have been built since 2010, against 6.1 percent for Pennsylvania.

Penn State Extension, writing for shade tree commissions, says some species wall off decay much better than others, naming sugar maple and oak as better and silver maple and poplar as worse, and that a tree can look healthy and green yet have major structural defects or fungal growth at its base. Where a tree's condition is unclear, Penn State says to bring in a certified arborist trained and qualified in tree risk assessment.

What do the Census figures say about Delaware County homes?

The Census Bureau counts 75.6 percent of the county's housing units as single-family houses, detached or attached, close to the state's 75.4 percent, with a median of 6.3 rooms. Of 216,946 occupied homes, 69.6 percent are owner-occupied and 30.4 percent rented.

How do you avoid a bad pruning job?

Ask how the crew will cut. The International Society of Arboriculture says topping is "perhaps the most harmful tree pruning practice known", and that reducing a tree's size is better done by cutting back to branches at least one-third the diameter of the cut stem. The full set of checks is in how to choose a tree service.

Where can you check a company or take a complaint?

Look the company up on the Attorney General's contractor search, which can be filtered to Delaware County and lists "Tree services" as a type of work, though its type-of-work data is still limited. If a job goes wrong, Delaware County's Office of Consumer Affairs offers voluntary mediation and takes complaints about home repair and remodeling, referring suspected fraud to the District Attorney or the Attorney General. The office is in the Government Center Building, 201 West Front Street, Media, and its number is 610-891-4865. Businesses serving the county are on the Delaware County tree services page.

Sources

1. Chapter 170: Trees, Township of Haverford
2. Your County at a Glance: History, Delaware County
3. 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
4. 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
5. Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures, Delaware County
6. Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
7. Dealing with Tree Risk: Tips for Municipal Shade Tree Commissions, Penn State Extension
8. Pruning Trees, International Society of Arboriculture (TreesAreGood.org)