Landscaping Rules in Hercules, CA (2026)
3 verified landscaping rules for Hercules, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
Hercules requires trees overhanging a sidewalk or pavement that create a nuisance or hazard to be removed or trimmed. The same street-tree standard also forces removal or trimming of any tree that conflicts with grading, utilities, or other improvements.
Hercules Sidewalk Tree Clearance Rule
Some RestrictionsHercules Municipal Code Sec. 10-2.618(a)
Sec. 10-2.618. Street Trees. (a) All trees conflicting with the grading, utilities, or other improvements, or overhanging the sidewalk or pavement so as to form a nuisance or hazard, shall be removed or trimmed to eliminate such nuisance or hazard.
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Hercules bans removing any living tree with a trunk 12 inches or more in diameter from undeveloped or partially developed land, public or private, under Sec. 4-15.03, though the City Council specifically exempted residential property owners' own yards. Violating it, or lying to get a removal approved, is a misdemeanor carrying up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
Hercules Mature Tree Removal Restrictions
Significant RestrictionsHercules Municipal Code Chapter 15, §§ 4-15.01–4-15.06
Except as provided in Section 4-15.04 or 4-15.05, no mature tree shall be removed from any undeveloped or partially developed property, whether public or private, within the City of Hercules for any reason. ... "Mature tree" includes any living tree with a trunk diameter measuring twelve (12) inches or greater when measured at "breast height," which is roughly four and one-half (4-1/2) feet abo...
Water Restrictions
Hercules requires new landscape projects and major renovations to run irrigation controllers only between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. and to schedule turfgrass watering no more than once every 3 days, under the irrigation standards in Section 13-30.700.
Hercules New-Development Irrigation Water Limits
Some RestrictionsHercules Municipal Code § 13-30.700(2)(D)
9. Electrical controllers shall be set to water between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. ... 12. Plans shall include a water budget that includes: A) Estimated annual water use (in gallons). B) Irrigated area (in square feet). C) A monthly irrigation schedule for the plant establishment period and the following year. This irrigation schedule will include the following information for each valve: (1) Pl...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Hercules city rules.
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