Homeowners

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
They use about 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and last up to 10 times longer. Please recycle them as hazardous waste. Call Hennepin County at: (612) 348-3777 for proper disposal or go to Hennepin County.

Click here for more information on compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Energy
Explore ways to save on your energy bill and find alternative energy sources.

• Energy Efficiency MN Dept of Commerce
• Green Power
• Living Green
• US Dept of Energy

Mulch - Wood Chips

Free shredded wood mulch from tree trimming or storm damage clean-up is available to St. Louis Park residents. Mulch is stored near the intersection of Cedar Lake Road and Colorado Avenue (south side of Cedar Lake Road adjacent to the railroad tracks). The site is open weekdays and weekends during daylight hours. Before going to the site, you may wish to call (952) 924-2565 to verify availability.

The city also offers mulch delivery within St. Louis Park. The cost is $50 for a half load (2 to 2 1/2 yards) and $100 for a full load (5 yards). For more information, call Rick Beane, Park Superintendent, at (952) 928-2854 or click here for more information on delivery.

City Permits:

When considering construction projects, a permit may be necessary. Please click on the links below for more information.

• City Permits
• Information about erosion control permit

Help your trees
You can help protect all your trees by

• Watering trees - even mature ones - during prolonged dry periods. The best way to water small trees is to let a hose run very slowly at the base of the tree for about an hour. For trees larger than six inches in diameter, water under the outer edges of the branches for one or two hours using a sprinkler.
• Saving routine pruning and trimming for winter. (Don't trim elms, oaks and honey locusts in the spring or summer. Trimming between mid-April and mid-August greatly increases their disease susceptibility.)

You are welcome to call the city forester at (952) 924-2565 with any questions about tree care, tree selection or planting. For more information about trees, click on www.mntrees.org.

Tree removal
Trees infected with Dutch elm disease and oak wilt (whether on boulevards or private property) must be removed so they don't spread the disease to nearby healthy trees. Downed trees must also be promptly removed.

Dutch elm disease symptoms:

• Wilting of one or more of the upper branches. The leaves on these branches turn dull green, then yellow, wilt and eventually fall off.
• Brown staining of the wood immediately under the bark. (In healthy trees, the sapwood is milky white.)

For more information, click here.

Oak wilt symptoms:

• Leaf discoloration begins at the outer edge of the leaf and progresses inward. Leaves turn a dull green, bronze or tan and finally turn brown and shrivel.

For more information, click here.

If the diseased tree is on the boulevard or public right-of-way, the City of St. Louis Park pays half the cost and the adjacent property owner pays the other half of the tree removal and disposal charges. The City will arrange for a contractor to remove the tree. Property owners are free to reject the City contractor's bid and hire their own contractor to remove a tree from the boulevard. However, property owners who hire their own contractor to remove a boulevard tree are not eligible for the 50/50 cost sharing. Instead, the property owner will have to pay the entire cost of tree removal. Homeowners contracting for boulevard tree removal must also make sure that their contractor removes the tree by the City's deadline and removes the stump.

If the diseased tree is on private property, the homeowner is responsible for 100 percent of the removal and disposal cost. The City will arrange for a contractor to remove the tree. (Contractors selected by the City have met licensing requirements and have submitted competitive bids for tree removal and disposal.) Property owners are free to reject the City contractor's bid and hire their own contractor to remove a tree from private property.

Oak and Elm Tree Injections:

If you have a healthy elm tree or an infected oak tree, you may wish to have your tree injected with a fungicide that prevents Dutch elm disease or halts oak wilt disease. The cost of tree injection is shared by the city and property owner: the City will pay 40 percent and the homeowner will pay 60 percent for the injection.

For questions or concerns about tree removal or injections, please contact Jim Vaughan at (952) 924-2699 or jvaughan@stlouispark.org.

Tree Removal Restrictions
City ordinance prohibits anyone (homeowners, rental property owners, developers and commercial property owners) from cutting down live trees from public land. The city has an ordinance that provides requirements for tree removal and replacement on public and private land. Click here for more information.

If your construction plans call for tree removal, contact

• Zoning Administrator Gary Morrison at (952) 924-2592 or gmorrison@stlouispark.org OR
• Environmental Coordinator Jim Vaughan at (952) 924-2565 or jvaughan@stlouispark.org.

Tree replacement
If a diseased tree is removed from the boulevard, public property, the city will plant a replacement boulevard tree at no charge to the adjacent property owner. If the diseased tree is removed from private property, the homeowner can buy a replacement tree from the city at a reduced price (usually between $150 to $275) by contacting the city forester at (952) 924-2565.

Tree trimming
Routine trimming of public property trees is handled by city contractors. Boulevard trees are only trimmed once every seven years at no cost to the adjacent property owner. The adjacent property owner may opt to pay for earlier trimming as long as they use a tree service licensed by the City of St. Louis Park. To view a map of rotational boulevard tree pruning area, click here.

Property owners are responsible for the full cost of trimming trees on private property. Property owners may use only tree trimmers licensed by the City of St. Louis Park. For a list of licensed tree trimmers, click here. Trimming to remove dead branches or storm damaged oaks and elms is allowed at any time; however, routine trimming of oaks and elm trees is prohibited between May 1 and July 31. Pruning during these months is prohibited because the pruning wound produces attractants for the beetles that spread Dutch elm disease and oak wilt.

Water Conservation
Tips and practices for saving water for homeowners

• Water Supply Conservation