Tree removal permit rules in Columbia County, GA — sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances — list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Columbia County does not require homeowners to get a permit to remove trees from a single-family or two-family yard. The county's tree and landscape rules (Code Sec. 90-140) apply to new commercial and multi-family development, which must meet tree-canopy and planting standards.
There is no statewide Georgia law requiring a homeowner to obtain a permit before removing a yard tree, and Columbia County's landscape ordinance explicitly exempts single-family detached and two-family dwellings. Tree regulation kicks in at the development level: new non-residential and multi-family projects must comply with the landscaping, tree-planting, and screening standards in Code Sec. 90-140 (amended by Ord. 25-04, May 2025), and land disturbance is governed by the Chapter 34 tree-management provisions. Removing a tree that sits in a required buffer, landscape strip, or protected area on a development site, or a tree in the public right-of-way, does require county approval. HOAs in Evans and Martinez often add their own tree-removal approval on top of county rules.
No county penalty for removing a tree from a single-family yard. On development sites, removing protected or required trees without approval violates Sec. 90-140 and can require replacement planting.
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See how Columbia County's tree removal & heritage trees rules stack up against other locations.
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