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

El Dorado County's tree-removal authority is the Oak Resources Conservation Ordinance, originally adopted as Ordinance 5061 and now implemented through Chapter 130.39 of Title 130 (Zoning) and the County's Oak Resources Management Plan (ORMP). The ordinance applies to native oak trees in the unincorporated area of the County and requires a permit before removal of any native oak with a single main trunk of at least 6 inches diameter at breast height (dbh), or a multi-trunked oak with an aggregate diameter of at least 10 inches dbh, with limited exceptions. The ORMP defines covered species (typically including blue oak, valley oak, interior live oak, canyon live oak, and black oak in the foothill zone). Mitigation - typically replacement planting at a specified ratio or in-lieu fees - is required for permitted removals on covered projects. Exemptions include: (a) personal-use removal of up to 8 native oak trees from a single parcel per year, with the total diameter of trees removed not exceeding 140 inches dbh - exempt from the mitigation requirement (though hazardous-tree documentation may still be requested); (b) healthy oaks with written documentation from an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)-certified arborist or an insurance company that the tree presents a hazardous condition (about to fall on a structure, for example) - exempt from the permit requirement; (c) routine maintenance pruning that does not remove the tree. The ordinance is administered by the El Dorado County Planning Division. Penalties for unpermitted removal of covered oaks can include fines up to three times the current market value of replacement trees plus the cost of replacement, and/or replacement of up to three times the number of trees required by mitigation. The County General Plan oak woodland policies also direct development-project review to retain and protect oak woodlands. Non-oak tree removal is generally less regulated in the unincorporated area but may be controlled by Title 130 zoning permits for development projects, defensible space requirements (Chapter 8.09), TRPA tree removal rules in the Tahoe Basin, and California Forest Practice Act requirements for commercial timber operations.