Tree Service in Holly Springs, GA

Holly Springs writes its own tree rules

Holly Springs is an incorporated city in southern Cherokee County, between Canton and Woodstock along the I-575 corridor. Inside the city limits, Cherokee County's Article 27 does not govern tree removal. The city has its own tree ordinance, which the city cites as ORD-19-2017 in its project documents, and its own Tree Removal Permit. A Holly Springs mailing address can still fall in unincorporated Cherokee County, so check your parcel record or tax bill first.

If the parcel is unincorporated, Article 27 applies. It exempts tree removal by existing single-family and duplex homeowners unless the tree is a Heritage Tree. Our county ordinance guide covers that case.

The city tree removal permit

The City of Holly Springs publishes an Application for Tree Removal Permit. It asks for the contractor's company details and a 24-hour contact, the property address and parcel number, a description of the trees to be removed, the number of trees with an 8-inch or larger caliper, and the number, size and type of any specimen trees. The city's building department approves or disapproves it.

The city's fee schedule, last amended by City Council on September 10, 2026, sets the Tree Removal Permit fee. For single-family residential lots it is $50 when six or more trees of 8-inch or larger diameter are removed in a calendar year. For all other lots it is $50 per acre, up to $500. The same schedule lists tree protection plan review and tree replacement fund amounts for development sites.

Removing one or two trees from a yard may not trigger the fee, but the ordinance may still apply, and specimen trees get special attention. Call City Hall at 770-345-5536 before work starts and ask whether you need a permit, then keep the answer. A provider who works regularly in the city should know the form and can list their contact details on it.

Clearing and development

For larger work, the city's Land Development team reviews plans, inspects sites and issues land disturbance permits. The city says its inspectors check erosion control, stream and lake buffers and other site rules. Its fee schedule lists a single-family residential land disturbance permit at $500 plus $50 per acre, with a $650 minimum. If you are clearing for a pool, addition or new house, ask about the land disturbance permit and a tree protection plan before cutting. Our land clearing guide explains how clearing jobs are planned.

Burning in Holly Springs

Cherokee County Fire says residents inside Holly Springs follow the city's own outdoor burning ordinance rather than the county's approach to hand-piled debris. State rules apply on top. Cherokee County is in Georgia EPD's summer open burning ban, so no yard or land-clearing debris may be burned from May 1 to September 30. Cherokee is also one of the 19 metro non-attainment counties where EPD does not allow the forestry prescribed-burning exemption during the ban. On suburban lots, chipping and hauling is usually the practical choice. See burning tree debris.

Suburban lots, lines and stumps

Many Holly Springs homes are in subdivisions with smaller lots, fences and nearby houses, so removals often mean climbing or crane work rather than felling. Ask how the provider will protect fences, driveways and neighbors' property, and whether they carry insurance for the work. If the tree is near a power line, Georgia Power says not to climb it and to report trees touching lines; see trees near power lines.

Georgia's Utility Facility Protection Act treats mechanized stump removal as excavation, so a Georgia 811 locate request comes before grinding. Subdivision lots often have buried cable, gas and irrigation lines. See stump grinding.

Hiring for a Holly Springs job

Ask the provider who will submit the city permit application if one is needed, and get the scope in writing: each tree, its size, cleanup, stump work and haul-away. For trees you keep, ask how they will protect the roots. The critical root zone calculator gives a working number. For the rest of the county, see tree service in Canton.