Salt Lake County, UT Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Salt Lake County's tree-removal regime tracks the overlay-zoning model used along the Wasatch Front. On a typical valley-floor residential lot in unincorporated areas, no county-issued tree-removal permit is required for routine removal of a private-lot tree. However, two overlay regimes apply. First, the Foothills and Canyons Overlay Zone (FCOZ), codified at Salt Lake County Code Chapter 19.72, was amended in 2022 to align with the Wildland-Urban Interface Code. Section 19.72.020 states that no trees or vegetation may be removed outside the approved limits of disturbance unless specifically exempted. The FCOZ covers the foothills above the unincorporated benches and the canyons (Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, Mill Creek, Parley's). The stated purposes include preserving the visual qualities of the foothills, controlling erosion and sediment runoff, increasing slope stability, and protecting wildlife habitat and migration corridors - all directly tied to the Wasatch Fault and the wildfire-prone urban-wildland interface. Second, Salt Lake City Chapter 2.26 (Urban Forestry) regulates the removal of any 'public tree' (trees in the public right-of-way, park strips, parks, and city-owned land). It is unlawful to plant, prune, or remove a public tree without first obtaining a permit from the Department of Public Lands. The Urban Forester must approve any removal permit and as a condition may require the permittee to compensate the city for the value of the tree(s) removed either by replacement or by monetary assessment. Reasonable efforts to mitigate conflicts must be demonstrated to have been tried and failed before Urban Forestry will consider removing an otherwise healthy public tree. Suburban Salt Lake County cities (West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, Murray, South Salt Lake) have urban-forestry chapters that mirror these requirements - removal of a park-strip or street tree without a permit is a code violation in each.