Charlottesville, VA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Development Code Sec. C requires a Tree Removal Permit before removing any tree with a diameter breast height (DBH) of 8 inches or more, applying to all lots citywide. The permit process itself is set out in Sec. 1, which confirms Permit Review applies to tree removal on all properties and carves out an exception: trees of any size determined to be dead, dying, or hazardous by the Administrator do not require a permit for removal. The underlying intent in Sec. A is to preserve trees as part of land development, protect specimen trees, and support a healthy urban ecological system while allowing reasonable use of land.

Beyond the individual removal permit, Sec. D requires every development project to preserve and plant enough trees that, 20 years after planting, the site reaches a minimum tree canopy coverage: 10% for all residential (R- and RN-), residential mixed use (RX-), corridor mixed use (CX-), node mixed use (NX-) and industrial (IX-) districts, and 15% for special districts. The Administrator can waive this canopy requirement in whole or part for dedicated school sites, non-wooded recreation areas, to preserve wetlands, or where strict application would cause unnecessary hardship to the developer.

Trees required by streetscape, parking-lot, or screening standards elsewhere in the code count toward the canopy total, and the Administrator maintains a Master Tree List that can exclude species prone to harming native plants, damaging structures, or structurally failing.