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A lot of Northville’s residential neighborhoods were built out in the 1960s and 70s, and the trees that went in with those homes — silver maples, Bradford pears, ash trees — are now well past the age where you can assume they’re fine. Silver maples split under wind and ice load. Bradford pears develop weak branch unions that fail without much warning. And if you have ash trees on your property, the Emerald Ash Borer has been working through Wayne County since 2002 — a dead ash becomes brittle and dangerous within a year or two of infestation.
When you hire Ivan’s Tree Services for tree removal in Northville, you’re not just getting a crew with chainsaws. You get ISA Certified Arborists and TRAQ-qualified risk assessors who use a documented, science-backed process to evaluate what’s actually happening with your tree before recommending anything. That matters in a community where homes are worth $500,000 or more and where the wrong call — or the wrong crew — can cost you far more than the job itself.
Every removal ends with full site cleanup. Logs, brush, chips — gone before we leave. Your yard looks like a yard again, not a logging site. That’s how the job gets done.
Ivan’s Tree Services is a family-owned company headquartered in Oakland — close enough to Northville that we know this area well, and small enough that you’re dealing with real people every time you call. Ivan leads every job in the field. Cecilia handles scheduling and communication on the back end. When you reach out, you get a straight answer and a fast response — not a call center.
We’ve spent seven-plus years working throughout Southeast Michigan and Oakland County, and that includes properties throughout the Northville area — from the tree-lined streets near the Historic District to the larger wooded lots closer to Maybury State Park in the township. We know the species that tend to cause problems here, the soil conditions that affect root stability, and the municipal framework that governs what you can and can’t do with a tree on your property.
Ivan’s team is fully licensed and insured — general liability and workers’ compensation both. That protects you from personal liability if anything goes wrong on-site. It also means you’re not taking a risk on an unverified crew working on a property worth half a million dollars.
It starts with a conversation and a site visit. We don’t quote jobs over the phone, because a number without eyes on the tree isn’t a real number — it’s a guess that usually goes sideways. Someone from Ivan’s comes to your property, walks the site with you, and takes a close look at the tree in question. From there, you get a written estimate that covers exactly what’s included: removal, cleanup, and any stump grinding if that’s part of the scope.
Here’s something a lot of Northville homeowners don’t know until they’re already in the process: if the tree you want removed is eight inches in diameter or larger at breast height, the City of Northville requires a review by the Community Development Director before any work begins. Depending on the situation, that may involve a formal permit application, a replacement plan, and in some cases a performance guarantee. For dead trees, there’s a simplified pathway — but it still has to happen before the crew starts. We know this process and can walk you through what’s needed so you don’t end up on the wrong side of a city enforcement notice.
Once everything is cleared and scheduled, the crew arrives, works safely and methodically — using controlled rigging near structures, and certified techniques near power lines — and cleans up completely before leaving. The job isn’t done until the yard looks right.
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Ivan’s Tree Services handles the full range of tree removal situations that come up for Northville homeowners. Routine removal of dead, dying, or structurally compromised trees. Hazardous tree removal where a tree is leaning, cracked, or showing signs of root failure. Emergency tree removal after storm damage — available 24/7, because a tree through your roof on a Tuesday night doesn’t wait for business hours. Northville’s tornado activity runs above both the Michigan state average and the national average, and spring thunderstorms regularly bring the kind of straight-line winds that take down compromised trees fast.
If you’re in Northville Township near Maybury State Park or in one of the city’s established neighborhoods where mature trees grow close to structures and overhead utility lines along Seven Mile Road or Beck Road, there’s a specific consideration most tree services won’t tell you: not every company is trained to work safely near energized power lines. Ivan’s team is. That’s a certified capability, not a marketing claim, and it makes a real difference when the tree that needs to come down has grown into the utility corridor.
Stump grinding is available as a separate service if you want the stump removed after the tree is gone — it doesn’t happen automatically, and any company that implies otherwise isn’t being straight with you. We’ll tell you exactly what’s included before the job starts, and that’s what you’ll pay.
Yes — and this catches a lot of Northville homeowners off guard. Under Chapter 90, Article II of the City of Northville’s municipal code, any tree that is eight inches or more in diameter at breast height requires a review by the Community Development Director before removal. Depending on the specifics, you may need to submit a formal permit application, a tree replacement plan, and in some cases a cash deposit or performance guarantee to ensure compliance.
The one exception that moves faster is dead trees — there’s a simplified application pathway for those, but you still need to go through the process before work begins. If you skip this step and a crew removes a protected tree without the required review, you’re looking at mandatory replacement requirements and potential enforcement action under Section 90-41 of the City Code. It’s actively enforced. When you work with Ivan’s Tree Services, we know this process and can help you understand what your specific situation requires before anything gets scheduled.
This is one of the most common questions we hear, and it’s a fair one — nobody wants to remove a tree that could have been saved. The honest answer is that it depends on what’s actually wrong, and you can’t always tell from the outside. A tree can look relatively healthy above the canopy while having significant internal decay, root damage, or structural compromise that only becomes visible during a professional assessment.
In Northville specifically, the trees most likely to need removal rather than trimming are silver maples and Bradford pears that were planted during the 1960s and 70s development era — both species develop structural problems as they age that trimming can’t fix. A silver maple with a significant lean or visible trunk splitting isn’t a trimming candidate. Neither is a Bradford pear with a multi-stem union that’s starting to spread. Our TRAQ-qualified assessors use a formal, documented methodology to evaluate structural risk — not an eyeball-and-guess approach — so when we tell you a tree needs to come down, we can explain exactly why.
First, stay away from any tree that’s fallen near or on a structure, fence, or power line until a professional has assessed it. What looks like a simple cleanup situation can involve hidden structural damage — split root systems, partially uprooted anchoring roots covered by snow or debris — that makes the tree unpredictable. This is especially relevant in Northville, where spring thunderstorms and winter ice events regularly cause tree failures, and where tornado activity runs above the Michigan state average.
Second, if the tree has fallen on your home or another structure, contact your homeowners insurance company before removing it. Insurance may cover storm-related tree removal if the tree fell due to a covered event and damaged a structure — but removing the tree before an adjuster visits can complicate or void the claim. Once you’ve made that call, reach out to Ivan’s Tree Services. We offer 24/7 emergency tree removal in Northville for exactly these situations, and we can respond fast when you need the tree dealt with before more damage occurs.
It can be done safely, but only by a crew that’s specifically trained for it — and that’s not every tree service operating in the area. Working near energized power lines requires certified proximity training, the right equipment, and a clear understanding of safe working distances and procedures. A crew without that training working near an overhead line is a serious liability for you as the property owner, not just a risk to them.
This comes up regularly in Northville’s established neighborhoods, where mature trees — particularly along residential streets near Seven Mile Road and in the older subdivisions throughout the city — have had decades to grow into the utility corridors above them. Ivan’s team holds specific power line proximity certification. That means when a tree needs to come down and the utility line is part of the equation, we have the training and the protocol to handle it correctly. Most local competitors don’t advertise this capability because most of them don’t have it.
Tree removal pricing varies based on the size of the tree, its location relative to structures and utility lines, what the job requires in terms of equipment, and whether stump grinding is part of the scope. Nationally, professional tree removal averages somewhere in the range of $630 to $906, with smaller trees under 30 feet running lower and large trees over 80 feet running higher. Emergency removal after storm damage can cost significantly more depending on the complexity and timing.
What we don’t do is quote a number over the phone and then adjust it after we’ve seen the job. Ivan’s comes to your property, looks at the tree, and gives you a written estimate that covers exactly what’s included. In Northville, where the permit process may also factor into the timeline and scope, it’s important to have a clear picture of the full job upfront. If you’re comparing quotes, make sure every quote accounts for cleanup, debris removal, and whether stump grinding is included — those are the line items that tend to disappear in low bids and reappear as add-ons after the fact.
Yes — Ivan’s Tree Services works throughout both the City of Northville and Northville Township. The two are governed separately, and the permit requirements differ. The city’s tree preservation ordinance under Chapter 90 applies within city limits. Northville Township has its own framework under Article 23, which governs tree removal in development and landscaping contexts within the township’s jurisdiction. If you’re in the township — closer to Maybury State Park, off Beck Road, or in one of the newer subdivisions developed in the 90s and 2000s — the rules that apply to your removal may be different than what applies to a neighbor inside the city boundary.
Dead tree removal is one of the more time-sensitive situations we handle in this area. A dead ash tree compromised by the Emerald Ash Borer, for example, becomes brittle and structurally unpredictable within one to two years of infestation — and Wayne County has had active EAB pressure since 2002. The longer a dead tree sits, the more difficult and potentially hazardous the removal becomes. If you have a dead or dying tree on your Northville Township property, getting a professional assessment sooner rather than later is the practical move.
Other Services we provide in Northville
