Tree Removal in Selma, NC, Among Its Historic Street Trees

Selma's Own Plan: Street Trees Uptown and an Interstate Coming

Selma's 2040 Comprehensive Land Use Plan is specific about its historic core. Goal 2 calls for "an active, vibrant and revitalized Uptown area," and Objective 7.8 commits the town to "encourage the planting of street trees along public rights-of-way." That objective covers the public right-of-way, not the trees on private lots, but it tells a homeowner that a tree in the strip along the street is part of a plan the town has put in writing. Before cutting one there, ask the town whether it is yours to cut. The same plan looks at the town's edge too: Objective 7.9 prepares for "the conversion of US Highway 70 into Interstate Highway 42."

Uptown is not just a planning label. Its commercial core is the Downtown Selma Historic District, about 12 acres centered on Raiford and Anderson Streets, with 68 buildings and one structure and a period of significance from about 1875 to 1960, listed on the National Register on 30 August 2010. A few blocks west, the West Selma Historic District covers 90 acres and 217 contributing buildings, bounded by West Railroad, North Brevard, West Richardson and North Pollock Streets. Its nomination notes that most lots measure a half acre or less and that tree coverage varies, with the most street trees along West Anderson Street.

On a lot that size, a mature tree rarely has open ground on every side. When one stands over a house, a garage or a neighbor's fence, pruning may take the weight off a long limb and keep the tree; when it has to go, a sectional tree removal brings it down in pieces instead of in one fall. The free written quote names which approach it prices, and why, before anything is scheduled.

From Rail Junction to Highway Junction: How Selma Grew

Selma began as a railroad town. The town's own land use plan says it grew as a settlement around the North Carolina Railroad, platted in 1867. The Downtown Selma Historic District nomination adds the detail: in 1867 the North Carolina Railroad moved the depot of the community that preceded Selma, Mitchener's Station, to the site, and the building still stands at the southwest corner of Webb and East Railroad Streets. In 1886 a branch of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, later the Atlantic Coast Line, crossed the North Carolina Railroad at Selma, and the nomination records a period of rapid growth that followed.

The highway age repeated the pattern. The town's plan describes Selma in the twentieth century as "an important junction in the highway age as the interchange between Interstate 95 and US Highway 70," and the plan names the US-70/I-95 interchange area as the town's second commercial center after Uptown. That gives Selma two distinct settings for a tree job: the older grid on either side of the tracks, where the historic district nominations document lots of a half acre or less, and the newer growth by the interchange.

The setting changes the access, not the offer. On an older in-town lot, the quote accounts for the house, the sidewalk and the neighbors; on a newer lot by the interchange, it accounts for whatever sits under that tree. Either way, tree removal, pruning and stump grinding are priced in writing before anything is scheduled, from the same bands used across the site.

Before You Touch a Line: Selma's Own Electric Department

Selma runs its own municipal electric utility. The town's Electric Department page puts its customer count at about 2,650, served through 2 distribution substations and 7 distribution circuits over 65 miles of line, and ElectriCities of North Carolina counts it among its public power members, one of four in Johnston County. The department lists tree trimming and removal among its own services, and its safety guidance is direct: "Never trim tree limbs that are on power lines. Call us first!" The department takes those calls at (919) 965-8981.

That puts the line side of any job with the town. A limb touching a service drop or a street line is the Electric Department's call, whether the wire runs to a single house or down the block; a tree company does not cut it free. The Johnston County power line guide compares Selma's rule with the other providers in the county. Outside the town limits the provider may differ, so if you are unsure, check whose name is printed on the power bill.

Once the line side is handled, or if the tree has nothing to do with a wire at all, the removal or pruning is quoted the ordinary way, in writing, before anything is scheduled. This site quotes planned work only. A tree on a structure or a live wire right now is a call to Selma's Electric Department or a 24-hour tree service first; the cleanup and any stump left behind can be quoted after it is stable.

Selma's Six-by-Six Limb Rule and What It Means for Your Quote

Selma collects limbs and yard waste itself, and its written rules are specific. Limbs go out stacked at the curb and "must not exceed six (6) feet in length and six (6) inches in diameter." Yard waste is collected Monday and Thursday for single-family customers. The same town sheet then draws a line that matters for any tree job: "Removal and disposal of any yard waste generated as a result of commercial landscape, tree, or lawn services is the responsibility of the property owner."

Debris from paid tree work therefore does not go out for town pickup, and who hauls it belongs on paper before anyone starts. The quote this site writes names where the debris goes, chipper and haul-off or firewood stacked for you, and prices stump grinding as a separate choice. When you compare quotes from any tree company, check that each one answers the same question.

The tree removal cost guide sets out the bands that apply in Selma: $500 to $2,000 for a typical tree, $100 to $400 per stump for grinding, and $300 to $1,500 for trimming and pruning. If the tree sits in the right-of-way or on a lot with a recorded buffer, the Johnston County permit guide covers what Selma's ordinance says.