Orange Beach protects trees at a lower diameter than anywhere else we work. A six inch trunk is enough to bring the ordinance into play, which is smaller than most homeowners expect and smaller than the beach city next door. If you are planning anything involving a tree here, start with what is protected.
Tree Service in Orange Beach, Alabama
What counts as a protected tree in Orange Beach
Article 16 of the city's zoning ordinance sets three thresholds rather than one.
| Tree type | Protected from |
|---|---|
| Dogwood and redbud | 4 inches diameter at breast height |
| All other trees, including live oak | 6 inches diameter at breast height |
| Longleaf pine | 18 inches diameter at breast height |
Diameter is measured at four and a half feet above grade. Pines other than longleaf are not protected, and neither are the recognized invasives: Chinese tallow, chinaberry, tree of heaven, mimosa and paper mulberry. A healthy protected tree at 30 inches or more becomes a heritage tree. One of those may be removed only where it falls inside the footprint of a proposed building and every reasonable effort to keep it has been made.
There is a real exemption for homeowners. Single family and duplex lots are exempt from the tree protection rules inside the footprint of the residence, and that footprint includes the garage, carport, driveway and swimming pool. Where a heritage tree is on the lot the exemption narrows to the principal building only. Trees irreversibly damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster are exempt as well.
We check which of these your tree falls under before quoting. Getting it wrong is expensive, and the replanting obligation on an unpermitted removal is not small.
Working canal and waterfront lots
The lots along the back bays and canals are the hardest access we deal with. Water on one side, a seawall or bulkhead at the edge and a house filling most of what is left. There is frequently no fall lane at all.
That means sectional removal, taking the tree apart from the top and lowering every piece under rope to a landing zone we have cleared. Around a seawall or a pool deck we keep loads off the structure entirely rather than trusting it to take an impact. The repair on a bulkhead costs more than the tree job.
Access is the other half of it. On a narrow waterfront lot we bring smaller tracked equipment and use ground protection so the machine does not print into soft ground or crack pavers on the way through.
If you have a tree in a spot that looks impossible, call 251-551-1087 and let us look at it. Most of them are not.
Salt wind and unbalanced canopies
Trees on the exposed side of a lot here take constant salt-laden wind, and it shapes them. Foliage thins on the windward face and the crown fills out downwind, so the whole tree carries its weight off-center. Add a storm and that imbalance is a lever working against the root plate.
Balanced trimming is the fix. We reduce the heavy side rather than shearing the light one, thin the interior so gusts move through the canopy and clear deadwood out of the structure. Well-pruned trees survived hurricane winds at 73 percent, against 47 percent for unpruned trees in the research on this. That gap is the argument for booking maintenance before the season rather than after.
Remember that pruning a protected tree is regulated in Orange Beach too, so it is worth having someone do it who knows the ordinance.
Stump grinding near hard surfaces
Most Orange Beach stumps sit close to something you do not want damaged: a pool deck, a paver drive, a seawall cap or an irrigation line. We locate what is under and around the stump before the wheel turns, and where a stump is tight against concrete we grind rather than excavate so nothing gets levered.
Stump grinding usually gets quoted with the removal rather than as a separate visit, which keeps the mobilization cost down on a lot that is awkward to get equipment onto.
Storm cleanup
Weather is why most people here first call a tree service. We put trees on structures at the front of the queue, and after a named storm we work the coast until it is clear. Call our emergency line at 251-689-9211.
Free estimates
If you are not sure whether your tree is protected, that is the first thing we will tell you. Coastal Tree & Land Services is family operated and veteran owned, licensed and insured, and runs the coast out of Fairhope. Call 251-551-1087 or use the contact form.
