Oak Tree Removal in Gastonia, NC

Historic districts: removing any tree needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from Historic District Commission staff first, including dead or diseased trees. City trees and public rights of way are covered by the city's tree ordinance; the city says it does not apply to single-family and duplex homeowners on their own lots.

Oaks: willow, red and white oaks shade older neighborhoods and get large over roofs. Loblolly pine: tall pines near houses that snap or uproot in storms. Sweetgum and tulip poplar: fast-growing trees common on wooded lots.

Like the rest of the Charlotte region, Gastonia gets winter ice storms and summer thunderstorms that break limbs from oaks and pines over houses and drives.

In Gastonia's historic districts, removing a tree, even a dead or diseased one, needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from Historic District Commission staff before it comes down.

Gastonia's tree ordinance covers trees on city property and in public rights of way, and work on those trees needs city approval. The city says the ordinance doesn't affect owners of single-family homes or duplexes on their own lots.

Older mill-village and downtown-area lots are small, with trees close to houses and overhead lines; newer subdivisions to the south and west are wooded, with tall pines left from clearing.