Tree removal permits in City of Mercer Island: fees, timeline & requirements (2026)

When does a tree removal need a permit in City of Mercer Island?

Triggered by removal of a tree that the city's own tree ordinance protects — commonly defined by a diameter at breast or standard height, a listed-species table, a grove or heritage designation, or a canopy-cover target. This baseline row carries NO verified local threshold; read the city's tree chapter before quoting a number. Some cities do not permit removal above a size at all — they prohibit removal of regulated trees outside enumerated exceptions, so a "permit required at X inches" reading is wrong there.

From City of Mercer Island's own code

“A permit approval is required prior to removing any tree, except for trees that are exempt pursuant to MICC 19.10.030 .”

Source ↗verified 2026-09-06

What City of Mercer Island says in its own permit handout

From Tree Inventory and Replacement Submittal Information (dated 02/2022), published by City of Mercer Island. This is the jurisdiction's own guidance on its permit process, not the ordinance text — where the two differ, the code governs.

“no replacement tree is needed if the tree fits all of the following; Less than 10 inches in diameter, not an exceptional tree, and not a replacement tree from another tree permit.”

Checklist ↗read 2026-09-05

Required submittals

• site plan with tree locations + DBH
• arborist report (sometimes)
• replacement / mitigation plan

Inspection sequence

1. site verification (arborist or planner)
2. final replacement compliance

Contractor specialties needed

general

Notes & caveats

Issuing body is city planning / urban forestry. Replacement requirements common (e.g. 1:1 or 2:1 by canopy area). Critical-area parcels (steep slope, salmon stream buffer) have stricter rules. A hazardous or dead tree is usually treated differently, but EXEMPT IS THE WRONG WORD for most cities: the common pattern is that the permit is still required and the FEE is waived, on an arborist's report. Issaquah is the measured case — "No fee is applied when all trees proposed for removal are deemed hazardous" — which is a waiver, not an exemption, and a homeowner told they need no permit would remove a regulated tree without one. Check whether this city waives the fee or the permit.

Tree removal permit fee estimate in City of Mercer Island

Worked example for a $25,000 tree removal project (building permit). Your actual fee scales with project valuation.

Tree-removal permits commonly $50-$300 per tree; replacement bonds in some cities. Computed from the City of Mercer Island fee bracket schedule · source ↗. Impact/utility fees may apply separately.