Is the tree yours or the city's?
Start with where the trunk stands. Lebanon's tree chapter defines the "treelawn" as the part of a street between the property line and the part normally used by cars, and it defines the right-of-way as "any portion of the public way, street, alley, or sidewalk." You may mow that strip, but the code counts it as part of the street. The chapter doesn't define "public tree" word for word, so treat a tree in the tree lawn as the city's until the Service Department tells you otherwise.
That matters because of Section 907.03 of Lebanon's code. Apart from trees on private property inside an established utility easement, "no person, or contractor, shall commence or proceed with any operation involving a public tree" without first getting a right-of-way permit from the Director, who is the city's Director of Service. Planting, trimming or removing a public tree under that permit is done at the applicant's expense (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Mason and Springboro handle the same question their own way:
- Mason. The 2013 version of Chapter 939 posted on the city's site says planting, removing, pruning or treating a tree on city property needs the City Manager's approval in advance, good for up to 60 days, and work in a city right-of-way also needs the City Engineer's approval. Existing lots in the R-1 through R-7 districts used for single- or two-family homes are exempt from the chapter's landscaping requirements, except lots approved as part of a new subdivision (checked Nov 10, 2026).
- Springboro. Chapter 280 requires a city permit before removing a "protected tree," and the owner lists replacement trees or pays $100 for each required replacement. Trees that are diseased or that threaten public health or safety don't need the permit. If the tree is healthy, call the city at 937-748-4343 before anyone cuts (checked Nov 10, 2026).
- Elsewhere. In South Lebanon, Morrow, Maineville, Waynesville or a township, call your local government office before touching a tree beside the road.
For a tree well inside a Lebanon lot, Chapter 907's permit section is written around public trees. If you aren't sure where the right-of-way ends, the Service Department at (513) 933-7200 can tell you (checked Nov 10, 2026). Homeowners associations in newer subdivisions may also have their own covenants about front-yard trees, which they enforce separately from the city.
How a tree comes down in a tight yard
In most subdivisions around Mason, Springboro and Lebanon, a mature tree has a house, a deck, a fence or the neighbor's garage within reach of its crown. The contractor picks a method after looking at the tree's height, which way it leans, how heavy the crown is, and what's below.
- Felled in one piece. Only possible where there's an open lane longer than the tree is tall, such as across a big back lawn or into a field. The cutter notches the trunk on the side toward the lane, then saws in from the back, stopping short so a strip of uncut wood acts as a hinge and guides the tree down.
- Taken down in sections. The usual way beside a house. A climber or a bucket truck works from the top down, cutting limbs first and then the trunk in pieces, lowering them on ropes or dropping them onto a cleared landing spot.
- With a lift or crane. For trees hanging over a roof, trees too damaged or dead to climb, or spots where nothing below can take a falling piece. Thumbtack's removal guide, last updated March 24, 2026, notes that just delivering a 4x4 tree lift that reaches 120 to 150 feet can be around $450 (checked Nov 10, 2026).
The ground counts as well. Miamian, a soil mapped widely in Warren County, has a brown silt loam surface over clay loam and clay, and its USDA description gives its permeability as moderately slow near the surface and slow or very slow below. A lawn on soil like that can stay soft after heavy rain, so ask how the crew will keep trucks and log loaders from rutting it, and point out any buried sprinkler lines or a septic field before work starts.
The wire to your house and other lines
The service line, the wire running from the pole to your house, is the owner's responsibility to keep clear in Lebanon. The city's Electric Department says so plainly and suggests hiring a tree service for it. To make that work safer, the city will temporarily shut off power to the service line at no charge during normal business hours; call (513) 228-3210 at least two business days ahead (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Outside the city's electric system, the rules sound much the same. AES Ohio says its line clearance crews won't trim near a service line and that keeping it clear falls to the property owner (checked Nov 10, 2026). Duke Energy tells customers to call its customer service line and ask for the line to be de-energized before any tree work near a service drop (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Main distribution lines are different. If a private tree threatens Lebanon's main lines or poles, the city may do a "make-safe" cut, taking the top of the tree down and leaving the wood. Anything leaning on or touching a main line is a job for the utility's own crews, not a homeowner or a contractor with a saw. More on this in the permits and lines guide.
Logs, brush and the curb
Each city collects some brush, but none of them will take a whole tree. Settle in writing what the crew hauls and what stays.
| Where you live | What the city says (checked Nov 10, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Lebanon | Rumpke collects yard waste with regular trash if it's bundled in 4-foot sections or bagged. The city also announces spring and fall drop-off days in LebanonLife and on its homepage. Service Department: (513) 933-7200. |
| Mason | City crews take brush one quarter of the city per week, curbside by 7 a.m. Monday, cut ends toward the street. Pieces 4 to 12 feet long, branches no more than 4 inches thick. No brush pickup in January, February or March. Stumps, root balls and trunks over 4 inches aren't taken. Public Works: 513-229-8580. |
| Springboro | Rumpke collects yard waste from April 1 to December 31, in bundles no more than 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and 50 pounds. City office: 937-748-4343. |
That leaves the usual options: the crew hauls everything away, the brush is chipped on site and the chips left for your beds, or the trunk is cut into rounds that stay with you. Ohio EPA's list of registered compost facilities, dated December 9, 2022, has Warren County entries, three of them on Route 42 near Lebanon and Mason; ask before hauling whether one takes logs. Burning is a different matter, covered under burning rules.
If the tree is a dead ash
If the tree is an ash, the emerald ash borer has likely reached it: the beetle has been in Warren County since at least 2006. Ohio State University Extension warns that dead ash "can snap at any time without warning" and that the risk grows the longer one stands. Brittle wood changes how the job is done: a crew may decide not to climb it at all and bring a lift instead. The ash tree guide covers the signs, the city rules and the treatment cutoff.
The stump
A removal normally leaves a stump cut low, as in the photo above. Grinding it out is usually a separate line on the price. Thumbtack's removal guide puts cutting a tree down and removing the stump at $884 to $1,627 on average, against $450 to $1,450 for the tree alone (checked Nov 10, 2026). Grinding disturbs soil, and OHIO811 says to contact it any time the soil is disturbed, so ask the contractor about the ticket; see stump grinding.
Published removal prices
These are national figures, not prices from Warren County contractors. Thumbtack's guide to removing a tree, last updated March 24, 2026, breaks its prices out by trunk diameter and canopy size, using Xactware data for equipment and labor (checked Nov 10, 2026):
| Trunk diameter | Smaller canopy (under 30 feet) | Bigger canopy (over 30 feet) |
|---|---|---|
| Trunk less than 12 in. | $226 to $596 | $359 to $946 |
| Trunk 12–24 in. | $517 to $1,364 | $808 to $2,132 |
| Trunk 24–36 in. | $976 to $2,573 | $1,562 to $4,117 |
The same guide lists equipment at $155 to $363 and labor at $257 to $2,476, and an overall range of about $373 to $3,300 for one tree (checked Nov 10, 2026). The full set of figures, including trimming and grinding, is on published prices. What the contractor writes down after seeing your tree is the price that matters.
Where removals go wrong
- A tree-lawn tree treated like a yard tree. In Lebanon, cutting a public tree without a right-of-way permit breaks Chapter 907, which carries a fine of up to $100, with each day or occurrence counted separately (checked Nov 10, 2026).
- A city notice left in a drawer. If Lebanon gives written notice that a tree along the right-of-way is dead or hazardous and the owner doesn't act within 30 days, the city or its contractor can do the work and bill the owner for all of it, administrative charges included (checked Nov 10, 2026).
- No agreed landing zone. Settle where pieces will come down and how the deck, fence, gutters and plantings will be protected.
- A brush pile the city won't take. In Mason, a pile with thick branches, or one put out in winter, can sit at the curb for months. Get hauling or chipping written in.
- The service wire left live. Ask who calls the utility, and when.
- Waiting for the storm. A tree you were already worried about is harder and riskier to take down once it's split or lying on the roof.
Removal questions
Is the strip between the sidewalk and the street mine?
You may mow it, but in Lebanon that tree lawn is part of the street under the city's code, so treat a tree growing there as a public tree. Work on a public tree needs the Director of Service's right-of-way permit. In Mason, a tree on city property needs the City Manager's approval first (both checked Nov 10, 2026).
Can the city make me take a tree down?
Yes, in some cases. Lebanon can order an owner to remove a tree the city designates as dead, dying, diseased or hazardous, with 30 days after written notice. Mason's code lets the city order removal of dead or diseased hazardous trees on private property with 60 days' written notice, and if the owner doesn't act, it may remove the tree and add the cost to the property tax bill (both checked Nov 10, 2026).
What if the tree sits in a utility easement?
Lebanon's permit rule exempts trees on private property inside an established utility easement, and its Electric Department says it can remove any tree in an easement or right-of-way that poses an immediate threat to lines, property or public safety. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel explains that utility easements transfer with the property deed (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Can I keep the wood?
Yes. Ask for the trunk cut into rounds and left where you want them, which saves the crew hauling. If it's ash, ODNR still asks people to limit moving firewood: "Burn it where you buy it."
How close to the house can a tree be felled in one piece?
There's no fixed distance. The tree needs a clear path at least as long as it is tall, plus a margin, in the direction it's meant to fall. Few subdivision yards have that much open ground.
Ask for a removal here and the details reach one independent contractor who works around Lebanon and Mason. This site never takes a tree down itself.
Sources
- City of Lebanon Codified Ordinances, Chapter 907: 907.01 Definitions, 907.03 Permit required, 907.07 Duty of private property owner, 907.99 Penalty. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- City of Lebanon, Electric Department line clearance and refuse and recycling. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- City of Mason, Landscaping and Street Tree Ordinance, Chapter 939 (revised Nov 18, 2013) and brush and leaf collection. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- City of Springboro, Codified Ordinances 280.03, Permits and trash and yard waste. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- AES Ohio, what to expect from tree trimming; Duke Energy, tree trimming practices; Ohio Consumers' Counsel, tree trimming fact sheet. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- USDA, Miamian series description (revised Nov 2021); Warren County Regional Planning Commission, soils map; Ohio EPA, registered compost facilities (Dec 9, 2022).
- Ohio State University Extension, "Beware of falling ash trees"; ODNR Division of Forestry release, reposted by Deerfield Township; OHIO811 FAQ.
- Thumbtack, Tree Removal Cost Guide 2026 (last updated Mar 24, 2026). National figures, checked Nov 10, 2026.