Last updated July 2026
Cherry Hill’s mature canopy — those 60- and 70-year-old oaks and maples planted with the neighborhoods — is beautiful for ten months a year and a liability question for the other two. With the heart of hurricane season (mid-August through mid-October) a few weeks out, here are straight answers to the questions we hear most, in the order people usually ask them.
Ask anyone who was here on September 1, 2021, when the remnants of Ida spun up an EF-3 tornado — 150-mph winds on a 12.6-mile path — in Gloucester County, one county over. It was New Jersey’s first EF-3 since 1990, and Cherry Hill itself logged multiple trees and wires down that night. Go back further and the June 2012 derecho left parts of South Jersey waiting roughly seven and a half days for power to come back — one of the longest restorations in the country that year — and Sandy that fall produced the largest outage in New Jersey history. Tropical remnants, derechos, tornadoes: this township has taken all three inside recent memory, and trees were the common thread in the damage.
Four ground-level checks, best done in midsummer while everything should be in full leaf:
One of these near a structure, a driveway, or your electric service line is when to bring in a professional rather than a rope and a reciprocating saw. Request your free estimate and we’ll assess everything on the property in one visit.
In New Jersey, the general rule turns on the tree’s health. A healthy tree that a storm throws onto your house is treated as an act of God — you claim on your homeowners policy, regardless of whose yard the trunk stood in. But if the owner knew or should have known the tree was dead or dangerous and left it standing, negligence can shift responsibility to them. Practical move: raise it with your neighbor now, in writing, with a dated photo — that both gives them a fair chance to act and documents the “should have known” point if they don’t. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice; for an actual dispute, consult an attorney.
Usually yes when the tree hits something insured — the house, the garage, a fence — and the policy generally pays for the repair plus removal, though the removal piece is typically capped at roughly $500 to $1,000 per tree. A tree that lands harmlessly in the grass usually generates no claim at all; hauling it is on you. Two more essentials: photograph everything before any cleanup starts (adjusters need the scene, not the log pile), and remember that flood damage is excluded from homeowners policies — New Jersey’s insurance regulators at the Department of Banking and Insurance stress this every season, because covering it takes a separate flood policy. General information only, not insurance advice — your policy and agent have the final word.
Cherry Hill is PSE&G territory (not JCP&L, whatever a search result may claim). Report outages at 1-800-436-PSEG (1-800-436-7734) or text OUT to 4PSEG (47734). Downed wires are a different protocol: call 911 first, then PSE&G, and keep everyone — kids, dogs, helpful neighbors — at least 30 feet away, which PSE&G describes as about two pole spans. Assume every downed line is live, including ones tangled in tree limbs. The utility’s downed power line safety page is a two-minute read worth doing before the season.
Two layers, both free. Camden County’s alert system is CivicReady — sign up here. The township itself uses Nixle: text your ZIP code or CHTWP to 888777, or register through the township’s Nixle page. County covers the big picture; Nixle carries township-specific notices like debris pickups and road closures — which matters for the next question.
Under normal rules, Cherry Hill’s curbside collection takes branches cut to 4 feet and bundled under 50 pounds, and trunk pieces up to 2 feet long and 6 inches across, stacked at the curb — never in plastic bags. The current standards live on the township’s collection guidelines page. After major storms, the township has at times offered special storm-debris collections with relaxed limits — that’s a case-by-case decision, so call Public Works at 856-424-4422 (and watch Nixle) after any big event to ask what’s running. Two constants regardless: crews take what one person can move to the curb, and the township won’t remove trees from private property — that part is yours, or ours.
Yes — Cherry Hill requires a permit for removing any tree 5 inches or more in diameter, including dead ones — but the residential permit is free, and dead or hazardous trees don’t count against the township’s healthy-tree limits. For a tree that becomes an imminent threat (hanging over the roof after a squall), the township’s procedure is to contact DPW before removal rather than wait out the normal review. Our Cherry Hill tree removal permit guide covers the whole process, including the emergency path — and we file the paperwork on every job.
The pattern repeats after every big blow: out-of-town crews knocking on damaged doors, unmarked trucks, pressure to pay cash today. Your one-minute defense is the state registry — New Jersey requires every business doing tree work for hire to be registered with the NJ Board of Tree Experts, and the public lookup shows who’s legitimate. Not listed? Not on your property. A real local company will also happily come back tomorrow with a written quote.
Now — and that’s scheduling reality, not a sales line. Once the first tropical remnant threatens the Delaware Valley, every reputable crew in Camden County is booked and triaging emergencies. Preventive pruning and dead-tree removal done in late July or early August costs less, gets scheduled sooner, and includes the free township permit handled properly. Send us your worry list with a free estimate request; we’ll tell you what genuinely needs attention before the peak weeks and what doesn’t.
Answers reflect township, county, and utility information as of July 2026 and are general guidance only — not legal or insurance advice. Programs and procedures change; Cherry Hill DPW at 856-424-4422 can confirm current details.
Ready to get started in Cherry Hill?