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

Shasta County does not regulate the removal of trees on private property for routine maintenance or owner preference. There is no county-wide heritage-tree or oak-woodland protection ordinance for the unincorporated area. Tree removal becomes regulated only through other mechanisms. Removal connected to land disturbance can trigger the County grading ordinance in Title 12 (Chapter 12.12), which requires a grading permit for clearing or grading above the County's thresholds and includes erosion-control conditions; note that brush clearing under PRC 4291 or Chapter 8.10, and ordinary agricultural cultivation and forestry under an approved Timber Harvest Plan, are exempt from grading-permit requirements (County Code 12.12.050). When trees are removed as fire fuel under Chapter 8.10, stumps must be cut no higher than eight inches above the ground (Section 8.10.050(A)). Commercial logging is governed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection under the Forest Practice Rules, generally requiring a Timber Harvest Plan. Discretionary development projects reviewed under Title 17 zoning and CEQA may carry tree-retention or replacement conditions. The incorporated cities of Shasta Lake and Redding have their own tree ordinances that do not apply to unincorporated land.