Yuba County, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Yuba County's 2030 General Plan, Policy NR10.1, gives priority to preserving existing oak trees with a diameter at breast height (dbh) of 6 inches or greater and all other trees with a dbh of 30 inches or greater, planned for retention during building placement, grading and circulation design. Action NR10.1 committed the County to adopt a tree preservation and mitigation ordinance that addresses native oaks 6 inches dbh and larger and other trees over 30 inches dbh, and that implements state oak-woodland mitigation requirements under Public Resources Code Section 21083.4. Under that state law, when a discretionary project may significantly affect oak woodlands, the County must require mitigation, which the General Plan says can occur through conservation easements, planting (up to 50 percent of the requirement), restoration, payment into the Oak Woodlands Conservation Fund, or equally effective measures. For an ordinary homeowner removing a single yard tree outside a development project, there is generally no county permit, but removals tied to grading, subdivision or other discretionary permits are reviewed against these policies. Fire-safety clearance can override tree retention in defensible-space situations.