Heritage Tree By-Law

Brookline has a sizable urban forest made up of thousands of trees that filter out pollutants and clean our air air, that reduce our energy costs by providing shade and protection from the wind, and that help reduce the stress and strain of urban living by reducing noise and providing us with natural beauty. There are over 11,000 street trees on public land that are managed by the Town, but the vast majority of our trees are found on private property.

Unfortunately, there is currently no protection in place that prevents these trees from being removed, despite the long list of benefits these trees provide to the community. A draft by-law that would help protect trees of a certain height and width that are located on private property was developed by a Town Moderator’s committee in 2001. Brookline GreenSpace and others are currently working with the Town to identify the funding needed to help enforce the requirements of the proposed by-law before it is adopted. For more information on this topic, go to our publications page. In the GreenViews section, you will find several articles on the value of trees and the need to protect them