Storm-Season Ready, Based in Columbus
Call now for a free on-site estimate.
No Permit for a Tree on Your Own Lot
A cottonwood limb through the garage roof after a July storm, a silver maple whose twin trunks spread wider each spring, a green ash gone bare at the top since the borer reached town. Platte Valley Tree Co. rigs it, lowers it in pieces and chips the brush before the afternoon wind comes up.
For a tree on your own lot, Columbus asks for no permit. The rules start at the boulevard strip and when a trunk must come down across the street. Trees on a house or hung in a service drop go first.
Where We Work
From Columbus we cover Platte County and the nearby edges of Colfax, Butler, Polk, Nance, Merrick, Boone and Madison counties, Richland, Tarnov and Cornlea included. See every town we serve →
The silver maple heaving the sidewalk, the Colorado spruce planted against the foundation in the 1980s, the Siberian elm seeding every flower bed. With nothing in the boulevard, there is no city paperwork, and most jobs land on the calendar within a week.
Platte County trees break in summer thunderstorms and under winter ice. A tree on the carport, across the farm lane, or split and still standing goes to the top of the list. At night we make it safe and cut at daylight.
The emerald ash borer was confirmed in Columbus on August 17, 2021, and the Nebraska Forest Service advises removing ash already in decline. Dead ash turns brittle fast and drops its top without warning, so we never climb one; it comes down from the bucket. Not sure what you have? Try the Tree Diagnosis tool.
A tree between the property lines on either side of a street is a street tree. Under § 96.05 the owner pulls a Public Works permit before we cut, and we check for it. Then § 96.06 asks for a replacement tree or a City Clerk payment. Felling onto the street takes 24 hours' notice (§ 96.11), which we file. Read the permits guide.
Cost Planning
| Tree size | Typical cost range |
|---|---|
| Small tree (under 30 ft) | $300–$700 |
| Medium (30–60 ft) | $700–$1,500 |
| Large (60 ft+) | $1,500–$3,500 |
| Storm / emergency removal | Priced on-site after the hazard is assessed |
Ranges are typical for east-central Nebraska based on published industry cost guides; your written estimate reflects your specific tree and site.
Closeness to the house or the service drop, whether the tree can fall whole or must be lowered in pieces, and any street closure move it from there. A dead ash costs more than a live one its size, because it comes down slowly from the bucket.
Wade Kucera spent four seasons clearing utility lines across Platte, Colfax and Butler counties before starting the company in 2016. On every job, the rope is on before a saw starts.
Columbus makes tree services register with the City Clerk by April 1 and carry liability insurance (§ 96.11). We do both and bring the certificate to the estimate. Ask anyone bidding your tree for the same.
Your price is on paper before the first cut, and nothing gets added later. When a tree can stay, we tell you and leave without a sale.
Burning is banned inside Columbus (§ 91.18), so wood, limbs and brush ride out on our truck that day. Want the oak or walnut cut to stove length and stacked? Just ask.
How It Works
A tree on a roof, across a drive or leaning into a line usually gets a same-day or next-day visit, ahead of routine work. After a derecho or ice storm, we take the worst hazards first and tell you honestly where you are in line.
Not on your own lot. A boulevard tree needs a Public Works permit that the owner pulls (§ 96.05) and a replacement or payment afterward (§ 96.06). See our permits guide.
Near house service drops, yes, with extra rigging and sometimes a call to have the drop disconnected first. Primary lines belong to the utility's crews, and we say so up front. Until the utility says otherwise, a wire on the ground after a storm is live.
Call or request a free estimate, and we will come take a look.
Type a Platte County town or a ZIP code to check our coverage.