Tree Protection in Arlington County, VA (2026)
3 rules for unincorporated Arlington County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Heritage & Protected Trees
Arlington County designates heritage, memorial, specimen, and street trees by County Board ordinance after a public hearing, and once designated a tree cannot be removed or damaged except for an overriding public-improvement need or severe hardship. Violators face a civil penalty up to $2,500 per violation.
Arlington County Heritage Tree Preservation Rules
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 67-7
No heritage, memorial, specimen, or street tree shall be removed or damaged in any way unless the County Board determines that: (i) there is an overriding need for public improvements; or (ii) a severe hardship exists for reasonable use of a site. Should the County Board determine to permit such treatment, the County Board may require that the tree be replaced with a similar tree or trees to ap...
Protected Tree Species
Arlington County does not protect trees by species; it individually designates specific heritage, memorial, specimen, and street trees under Code § 67-6. A County-designated arborist or urban forester recommends a tree to the County Board, which must hold a public hearing before adopting an ordinance protecting it, on public land or on most private property.
Arlington County Heritage and Specimen Tree Rules
Significant RestrictionsArlington County Code § 67-6
A County urban forester or an arborist designated by the County Manager may, in accordance with the provisions of this article, recommend to the County Board that certain trees located within the County on public property or private property, excluding parcels used for a single-family dwelling unless the owner of such property consents to the designation of such tree, be designated by ordinance...
Parkway Planting
Arlington County Code § 67-4 puts all planting, pruning, and removal of trees and shrubs in street rights-of-way, parkway strips, and other County-owned land under the County Manager's direction. Anyone besides County employees or contractors needs written approval before planting there, and the work must follow the County's tree guidelines; only routine watering and mulching skip the approval step.
Arlington County Parkway Tree Planting Standards
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 67-4
The planting, pruning, maintaining, removal, or other treatment of trees and shrubs upon the streets, public rights-of-way, other County-owned public lands, and public vehicular or public pedestrian access easements where Arlington County is responsible for the maintenance of such easement shall be under the direction of the County Manager. Such planting, pruning, removal, or other treatment sh...
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