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Tree service in Hillsboro, Oregon

Hillsboro starts a few blocks west of our office and runs to the far side of the county seat's old downtown. It covers a lot of ground and a lot of tree types: century-old street trees in the downtown neighborhoods, Oregon white oaks around Orenco, and twenty years of new subdivisions with young trees planted close together.

Call (503) 386-0199 Request an estimate

Harry Fauver, founder. Updated September 2026.

Where Hillsboro sits.

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The trees of Hillsboro

ZIPs 97123, 97124 and 97006. City of Hillsboro, a Tree City USA community since 2018.

It is its own city with its own tree code, which centers on the public right-of-way. If the tree is a street tree, Hillsboro wants a permit first. The permit is free, and it is required for removal, replacement and major pruning.

Downtown and the older neighborhoods east of it have the big trees: bigleaf maples, elms, walnuts and Douglas-firs from the early 1900s, many in planting strips that were generous once and are tight now. Their size is an asset, and their deadwood over streets and sidewalks is the owner's responsibility.

The Tualatin Valley floor was oak savanna before it was farmed, and Hillsboro still has remnants, most visibly at Orenco Woods and along Rock Creek. A mature Oregon white oak on a home lot is worth careful treatment: little pruning, no summer irrigation under the canopy, and no digging in the root zone.

In the newer subdivisions the trees are young and were planted for quick effect: red maples, pears, zelkovas and ash in narrow strips. Pears and ash are the ones to watch. Pears split in ice, and emerald ash borer was first found in Oregon in 2022 in Forest Grove, just west of Hillsboro.

What we are usually called for in Hillsboro

Street tree pruning to city standards

Clearance of 8 feet over sidewalks and 15 feet over streets, done to ANSI A300 standards, with the Tree Care Permit in hand when the pruning is heavy enough to need one. Tree trimming and maintenance.

Permitted street tree removal and replacement

Removal under the city's permit, the stump taken out, and the strip left ready for the required replacement tree. Tree removal.

Ice and wind damage

Split pears, broken maple limbs and trees across driveways after winter storms. Emergency tree service.

Stump grinding in new subdivisions

Small yards with utilities and irrigation close to the surface, so the 811 locate and a walk-through come first. Stump grinding.

Around Hillsboro

Local landmarks, and what the trees around each one tell you about your own.

Downtown and Shute Park

The city's oldest park and the streets around the courthouse have Hillsboro's largest planted trees. Big old street trees here are the adjoining owners' to maintain, and removing one takes a permit and a replacement.

Orenco and Orenco Woods

Orenco began as a nursery company town, and the nature park beside it keeps oak woodland along Rock Creek. The neighborhoods around it mix preserved oaks with dense new street tree plantings.

Jackson Bottom Wetlands

The preserve on the Tualatin River floodplain south of downtown is ash, willow and cottonwood country. Properties near the floodplain share those species and the regulations that come with wet ground.

Tanasbourne and AmberGlen

The east end of the city, around our office, is apartments, shops and offices with required landscape trees. We cover it on its own page, together with Rock Creek.

Hillsboro on the map. Open in Google Maps

Which tree rules apply in Hillsboro

Hillsboro has its own tree code, separate from Beaverton's and from the county's. It is built around trees in the public right-of-way.

Inside Hillsboro city limits

Hillsboro regulates trees in the public right-of-way. You need the city's free Tree Care Permit before planting, removing or replacing a street tree, and before major pruning, which the code defines as removing branches or roots 2 inches across or larger, or more than 20 percent of the crown. A street tree that comes out has to be replaced.

The owner next to a street tree maintains it to ANSI A300 standards and keeps it 8 feet clear over the sidewalk and 15 feet clear over the street. Trees on your own lot are generally yours to manage, unless they stand in a mapped natural resource area or were required by a development approval.

Specific to Hillsboro

Contractors working for a property owner also need the Tree Care Permit before touching a street tree, so we obtain it as part of the job. Pockets around Hillsboro, including much of Reedville, are still unincorporated, and there the county's rules apply instead. Trees in mapped natural resource areas along Rock Creek, McKay Creek and the Tualatin River are regulated whoever owns them.

The permit checker gives a first answer in two questions, and the permit guide has the detail. We check every tree's status before a job is booked.

Tree services we offer in Hillsboro

How a job goes

You call or send the form and tell us what the tree is doing. Phone photos help.
We walk the site and write the estimate in plain language.
Permits and the 811 utility locate are sorted out before any saw starts.
On the day, drop zones are protected and anything over a structure is roped down.
We rake, blow and haul, then walk the yard with you before we leave.

Nearby areas we also serve

Tree service questions from Hillsboro

Do I need a permit to remove a street tree in Hillsboro?

Yes. Hillsboro requires its free Tree Care Permit before a street tree is planted, removed or replaced, and the removed tree has to be replaced. Contractors need the permit too, so we obtain it as part of the job.

Do I need a permit to prune my street tree in Hillsboro?

For light pruning, no. Major pruning needs the free permit: removing branches or roots 2 inches across or larger, or more than 20 percent of the crown. So does any pruning that blocks a sidewalk or a traffic lane while it is done.

How high must branches clear the street in Hillsboro?

Eight feet over sidewalks and 15 feet over streets and alleys. The 15-foot figure took effect in 2020 to protect garbage trucks, buses and city vehicles. The owner next to the tree is responsible for keeping that clearance.

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in my Hillsboro backyard?

Generally not. Hillsboro's code focuses on right-of-way trees. The exceptions are trees in mapped natural resource areas and trees a development approval required. If your lot backs onto a creek or a greenway, check first.

Do you give free estimates in Hillsboro?

Yes. We walk the site, tell you what the tree needs, and put the scope in writing: what is cut, how it comes down, where the wood and chips go and whether the stump is included. Call (503) 386-0199 or send the form on this page.

Request an estimate

Tell us about the tree and we'll call to set up a site walk. For emergency service, skip the form and call.