At R & R Tree Service, we proudly serve homeowners and businesses across Norcross, GA with top-quality, affordable tree care. Whether you need to remove a dangerous tree, maintain your trees with expert trimming, grind unsightly stumps, or get fast emergency assistance after storm damage, our experienced team is here to protect and enhance your property.
We understand the unique landscape and tree care needs throughout Norcross neighborhoods and commercial areas, and we tailor our services accordingly.
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Inside the city limits, yes — for any tree six inches across or more, even if you are not building anything. This is where Norcross parts company with most of Gwinnett. Its ordinance applies to any land disturbing activity inside the corporate limits and, separately, to the removal or destruction of any tree with a diameter at breast height of six inches or greater — the code says so explicitly, regardless of whether it is associated with land disturbing activity. There is no construction trigger to hide behind. Six inches is a modest tree, roughly a nineteen-inch tape measure around the trunk.
The ordinance does carve out sensible exceptions. A tree the Community Development Director finds to be a danger or hazard to public health, safety and welfare may be removed immediately, on the Director's written authorisation. Diseased or infested trees can be removed once verified by a qualified forestry professional acceptable to the Director. During an emergency — the code names tornado, ice storm, flood or any other act of nature — the requirements may be waived. Utility work in rights-of-way and easements, government agency work, and trees within burial plots are all exempt. If your address reads Norcross but sits outside the city limits, Gwinnett County's much lighter homeowner rules apply instead.
Rules change. Confirm anything load-bearing with the local office before you cut — we do that check as part of every quote.
Norcross sets three separate thresholds. Overstory hardwoods — oaks, hickories, yellow poplars, sweetgums — become specimen trees at twenty-eight inches DBH. Pines of all species at thirty. Understory trees such as dogwood, redbud and sourwood at only twelve. So a modest dogwood can carry the same protection as an enormous oak, which catches out anyone assuming that small equals unregulated.
A tree only qualifies as a specimen if it is in fair or better condition, and the code spells out what that means: a life expectancy above fifteen years, a structurally sound trunk that is not hollow and free of extensive decay with under twenty percent radial dieback, no more than one major and several minor dead limbs on hardwoods, and no major insect or disease problem. A genuinely failing giant does not get specimen protection — but you need someone competent to make and record that judgement.
The ordinance allows a smaller tree to be treated as a specimen where it is a rare or unusual species or otherwise exceptional. That clause exists for the unusual stems people plant in older gardens and forget about, and it is a reason not to assume a tape measure settles the question. Around the historic streets in particular, there are ornamentals well outside the ordinary Piedmont mix.
Where dissimilar zoning districts meet, Norcross requires a buffer along the perimeter lot line — twenty feet between most neighbouring categories, widening to forty where residential abuts the heavier commercial and industrial districts, with the option to halve the depth if an eight-foot screening wall is included. If your garden backs onto a different zoning district, the strip along that boundary is very likely doing a job, and it is not the place to start clearing.
Norcross dates to 1870, and the residential streets around the old centre carry canopy that has been there a very long time. Old trees in a tight historic grid means overhead lines, narrow verges, brick walls, mature root plates under pavements, and decades of accumulated pruning history. Historic topping cuts are the ones we watch: the regrowth is vigorous, heavy and attached far more weakly than the original limb ever was.
Public utility companies working in rights-of-way and easements sit outside the chapter, which is why the pruning along a power corridor can look brutal next to the shaping on the same species in a garden. Directional pruning away from conductors is a safety specification rather than an aesthetic one. If a utility crew has reduced one side of your tree, the remaining canopy is now unbalanced and worth assessing before the next big blow rather than after.
Where replanting is required, the ordinance sets a minimum caliper of two inches before a new tree earns any credit in the tree unit calculation, with credit scaling upward from there. Planting a handful of whips to make a number work does not work. Worth knowing before you agree a replacement plan, because the difference between a two-inch tree and a bare-root sapling is a real cost line.
R & R Tree Service offers licensed, bonded, and insured tree removal, trimming, stump grinding, mulching, and more throughout Norcross, GA.
Regular trimming keeps your trees healthy, improves their appearance, and reduces the risk of falling limbs, especially during storm season. Our certified team members use proper techniques to promote long-term tree health.
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Most RequestedWe safely remove hazardous, dead, or unwanted trees of all sizes, using the right equipment and techniques to prevent damage to your property. From single trees to full lot clearing.
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24/7 AvailableStorm damage? Fallen trees? We're available for fast, reliable emergency response to protect your property and restore safety. Our crew responds 24/7 across Norcross and surrounding areas.
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After a tree is removed, we can grind down the stump to restore your yard and prevent regrowth or pest infestations. We remove all debris for a clean, finished result.
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SpecialtyFor large or hard-to-reach trees, our specialized crane equipment provides the safest solution, protecting your property, fencing, and landscaping during removal.
Get a Quote →We serve residential and commercial clients throughout Norcross, including these neighborhoods and surrounding areas.
We understand the unique tree care needs in Norcross's neighborhoods and take pride in protecting your home or business while enhancing the natural beauty of your landscape.
From first call to final cleanup, we make professional tree care easy for Norcross homeowners.
Call or message us. We visit your Norcross property, assess the situation, and answer all your questions, with no obligation.
You receive a clear, itemized quote with transparent pricing. We explain exactly what work will be done and why, with no surprises.
Our own certified crew arrives on time with the right equipment. We protect your property and complete the work safely and efficiently.
We remove all debris, branches, and wood. Your Norcross yard is left immaculate. We follow up to confirm your satisfaction.
"For the past eight years, R and R Tree Service has meticulously tended to our landscape needs. From pine tree removal to diagnosing damaged or diseased trees, I fully and completely trust this honest and hard working crew. They estimate fairly and give competitive prices. It's reassuring to know they will 'take care of business'."
"We have used R and R Tree Service since we moved to the Norcross area over 16 years ago. They are professional, dependable, and do an excellent job. Their crane service is a definite advantage. There is never any damage to surrounding trees."
"Within 24-hours of being contacted, Randy and his team gave me a quote and removed two mature trees uprooted during Hurricane Helene. Arrived at the crack of dawn and finished before lunch. True professionals."
Full details on the licensed, insured tree care R & R provides in Norcross. Tap any service to learn more.
Yes, inside the city limits. The chapter applies both to land disturbing activity and to the removal or destruction of any tree of six inches DBH or greater regardless of whether it is tied to land disturbance. Permits are issued through the Community Development Department. Below six inches you are outside the trigger.
No. Where the Community Development Director or their designee finds a tree presents a danger or hazard to public health, safety and welfare, it may be removed immediately by the owner or the owner's agent on the Director's written authorisation. Get that authorisation in writing rather than relying on a verbal nod — it is the record that protects you afterwards.
A different one. Removal of diseased or infested trees is exempt once verified by a qualified forestry professional acceptable to the Community Development Director. In practice that means getting a competent assessment in writing first, then removing — not removing and explaining later.
It can be set aside. During an emergency such as a tornado, ice storm, flood or any other act of nature, the Community Development Director may waive the requirements of the chapter. Photograph everything before it is cut, because the waiver rests on the circumstances being evident.
Twenty-eight inches DBH for overstory hardwoods like oak, hickory, yellow poplar and sweetgum; thirty inches for pines of any species; and just twelve inches for understory trees such as dogwood, redbud and sourwood. The tree must also be in fair or better condition as the code defines it, and a smaller tree can still qualify if it is a rare or unusual species.
Then Gwinnett County governs, and it is far lighter: no permit for a live tree on your own occupied residential lot unless it stands in a required zoning buffer, stream buffer, conservation or open space, the Chattahoochee River Corridor or a tree save area, or is a street tree — and you keep at least two live trees on the lot. Confirm which side of the line you are on before planning the work.
That is the normal job here. Overhead services, brick walls, narrow access and mature canopy directly over rooflines mean sectional dismantling with rigging, or lifting sections out by crane where there is no drop zone at all. We own the crane rather than hiring one in, so the technical route is always available and does not depend on someone else’s diary.
Whichever you choose — it is quoted separately. Left in place a stump is a mowing obstacle and a trip hazard, and it becomes a slow decay column that draws carpenter ants and fungi close to the house. Ground out, the ground can be levelled, turfed or replanted straight away, which matters if a replacement tree has to go in nearby.
Licensed, fully insured, and a member of the Tree Care Industry Association — and no, we never subcontract. R & R has been family-run in North Georgia since 1987 and owns all its own equipment, so the crew that quotes your job is the crew that turns up. Free estimates on site, emergency cover 24/7 on (678) 482-9994.
Sources: City of Norcross UDO — Ch. 200 Art. V, Tree Conservation, Buffers and Landscaping · Gwinnett County — Tree Removal Information for Homeowners (rev. 20 Jun 2025)
When you need trusted tree service in Norcross, GA, turn to the professionals at R & R Tree Service. We deliver quality work, excellent customer service, and affordable rates every time.
Licensed · Insured · Serving Norcross Since 1987
