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

Fairfield Municipal Code Section 25.36 (Tree Conservation) treats the removal of 'protected trees' as a regulated activity that requires advance approval. Protected trees include all trees on public property, trees planted or preserved on private property as a condition of project approval or under an approved landscape plan, and certain species on undeveloped private parcels that exceed six inches in caliper at breast height (measured 4.5 feet above ground). Removal may be authorized only when there is no feasible alternative that allows reasonable property use, when written documentation from a utility or city department shows the tree interferes with existing utilities or structures, when the tree is dead or in severe irreversible decline, when it carries a contagious disease threatening other trees, or when removal benefits the overall environmental health of the parcel. When authorized removal occurs, replacement is required on an inch-for-inch basis (the sum of the diameters of replacement trees must equal the diameter of the removed tree). Removal performed without authorization carries a 3:1 mitigation penalty: three replacement inches for every inch of tree removed. Removal of street and park trees requires Public Works approval under Chapter 21.