Tree removal in Scarborough, Maine.

Whether a Scarborough tree can simply come down depends on where it stands. Across most of town, removing a dead or unwanted tree on private land is the owner's decision. Within the shoreland zone, 250 feet from tidal marsh, rivers and wetlands and 75 feet from streams, the town's shoreland ordinance spells out how hazard, storm-damaged and dead trees are handled, down to whether the stump may be pulled.

Every job begins with a look at the tree and a free estimate given on site. From there the crew fells it, whatever the reason it has to go, and the brush leaves with us. Big trees and dangerous takedowns are priced individually.

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Hazard and dead trees near the marsh

Scarborough lets an owner take down a dangerous tree near the water with no permit, provided the town's code officer is contacted beforehand. If felling it within the 75-foot strip opens more than 250 square feet of sky, native trees have to be planted back unless young growth is already coming in, and the stump stays in the ground. The code officer can first request a written opinion from a licensed arborist or forester, and can call for several replacements when the tree measured more than eight inches across.

Standing dead trees are simpler: they may come down without a permit or replanting, so long as no new lawn is created and the stumps stay. Storm-damaged trees in the buffer are left to regrow on their own, and if nothing returns after one growing season, native seedlings go in at one per 80 square feet of lost canopy.

Stumps, brush and ash trees elsewhere in town

Outside the shoreland zone, Scarborough's erosion ordinance draws a useful distinction: cutting trees without grubbing or stump removal is not disturbed area, while pulling stumps and grubbing roots across a larger clearing turns the job into construction activity that needs an erosion control plan. Residents can take household brush to the Casella Transfer Station at no charge.

Ash trees deserve a look before a storm makes the call. The Maine Forest Service lists every Cumberland County town under its emerald ash borer quarantine, and a declining ash beside a house or driveway is a candidate for a planned removal rather than an emergency one.

Trees at the edge of the road need one more check. Chapter 1106 gives the Town Arborist authority over trees in public rights-of-way, including removing ones that threaten power, phone, gas, water or sewer lines, and bars anyone else from removing a public tree without approval. Ownership of a roadside tree is confirmed before any cut is made.

Dead · Storm-Damaged · Hazardous

How we handle tree removal

When a tree has to come down, we start with an honest assessment and a free on-site estimate, then remove it — unwanted, dead, storm-damaged or hazardous — and haul the brush away. Large or hazardous takedowns are quoted case by case.

See the full tree removal service page or everything we do in Scarborough, Maine.

Tree Removal in nearby towns

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Sources for the local facts on this page

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Tree Removal in Scarborough? Let's talk.

Tell us about your property and we will walk it with you — free estimates, straight answers, stonework guaranteed to hold its lines.

Call (207) 402-2169 Request an Estimate

Mon–Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm · Based in Cumberland, Maine