Land & Lot Clearing in Columbus, GA

Land and lot clearing covers everything from cutting a fence line through a tangle of privet to opening up an acre for a new house. In Columbus, the work tends to follow the terrain. North of the Fall Line, in north Columbus, Midland, Fortson and over into Harris County, lots are larger, hillier and often wooded with pine and mixed hardwoods. Further south and in the older city neighborhoods, clearing is more often an overgrown back lot, a vacant lot being brought back into use, or a strip of woods along a creek that has grown into the yard.

Selective clearing, not scraping

Most homeowners don't want a bare lot. They want the undergrowth, vines and crowded small trees gone, and the best large trees kept for shade. Before any cutting, we walk the property with you and flag the trees to keep. Those keepers need their root zones protected: heavy equipment parked or driven over roots compacts the soil and can kill a mature tree slowly over the next few years. We plan access routes and work areas to stay off those zones where we can.

What gets cleared

Typical clearing includes underbrush and vines, small and medium trees, dead and leaning trees, and stumps either ground or left low depending on how the land will be used. On lots being built on, the builder's site plan sets what has to go. On lots that will stay as yard or woods, the goal is usually open, mowable ground with healthy trees left standing. Pines killed by bark beetles in a crowded stand are a common part of the work, and thinning the survivors gives them more room, which the Georgia Forestry Commission notes helps keep pines vigorous.

Burning and disposal

The Georgia Forestry Commission says land-clearing burns require notification or a burn permit, with debris burned only on the property where it was cut, and machine-piled debris can fall under state environmental rules. Columbus's Pine Grove Landfill accepts land-clearing debris along with limbs, stumps and trees, at a published rate per ton for organic waste. We tell you on the quote whether brush will be chipped on site, hauled or both.

Permits and rules

Clearing land for development in Columbus falls under the city's Unified Development Ordinance, which includes its environmental rules, and a building project usually has its own permits. A homeowner thinning trees and brush on an existing lot is a much simpler matter. If your lot is in a historic district or the work is part of a building project, check with the city's planning office first; we can work from your approved plans.