In 1999, the City Council adopted an ordinance protecting all large oak, bay, cypress, maple, redwood, buckeye, and sycamore trees from indiscriminate cutting and removal. In doing so, the ordinance requires that property owners apply for and obtain a permit from the City before any heritage tree can be destroyed or removed. The removal of hazardous heritage trees or portions thereof must be approved by the City. However, the removal of healthy heritage trees is only approved in conjunction with a permit by the City for new construction under circumstances which justify such action. For new developments, an architect or designer must make every effort to design a project in order to minimize or eliminate the need to impact or remove healthy heritage trees.
Heritage Tree Ordinance Regulations Brochure