Avondale, AZ Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Avondale's tree-protection rules operate through its zoning landscape ordinance (Chapter 28, Article 12) rather than a dedicated heritage-tree code. For landscaping installed under an approved landscape plan, section 28-298 requires prior approval from the zoning administrator or authorized designee before permanent modification or removal, except where needed for utility, infrastructure or unforeseen repairs; removing approved landscaping without that approval is reported to code enforcement and may trigger a notice of violation, and material must be replaced in kind. The same section makes it a violation to abuse, destroy or mutilate any tree, plant or shrub within the public rights-of-way, to attach rope, wire or other items to a plant other than to support it (without zoning-administrator approval), or to let harmful substances reach plants.

Section 28-293 requires diseased, dying or dead trees and shrubs to be removed and replaced promptly in kind, and section 28-294 addresses preserving or salvaging existing trees on development sites. Ordinary removal of a tree from a typical private residential yard is not subject to a city permit. S. Title 3, Chapter 7, including section 3-904) governs protected native plants, with a residential exemption for parcels of ten acres or less where construction has already occurred.