Hanover County, VA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Hanover County, VA, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Advance notice required
- 14 days, written, to the planning director (Sec. 22.5-4)
- Only two removal exceptions
- Safety hazard or disease/weakened tree (Sec. 22.5-4)
- General exceptions
- Federal/state land, emergencies, utility maintenance, home gardening (Sec. 22.5-5)
- Penalty
- Up to $2,500 per violation (Sec. 22.5-7)
- Enforcement
- Civil penalty plus possible injunction
Summary
Once the Board of Supervisors designates a tree as heritage, specimen, memorial or street under chapter 22.5, removing, relocating or altering it, or disturbing land within its canopy, is barred unless the owner gives the planning director fourteen days' written notice and the work fits a safety-hazard or disease exception. Breaking the rule costs up to $2,500 per violation.
No tree designated pursuant to this chapter shall be removed, relocated, or altered nor shall any development, or land disturbing activities occur within the canopy coverage of the tree unless the planning director is notified in writing by the property owner at least fourteen (14) days in advance, and unless the action is required by one of the following conditions:(1)Safety hazard. Necessity to remove, relocate or alter trees which pose a traffic hazard or threaten to cause disruption of public services; or which pose a safety hazard to persons or buildings.(2)Diseased or weakened trees. Necessity to remove, relocate or alter diseased trees or trees weakened by age, storm, fire or other injury. ... Violations of this chapter shall be punishable by civil penalties not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) for each violation.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 5, and bars any development or land-disturbing activity within the tree's canopy coverage, unless the planning director is notified in writing by the property owner at least fourteen days in advance and the action fits one of exactly two conditions: a safety hazard, meaning the tree poses a traffic hazard, threatens disruption of public services, or endangers persons or buildings, or a diseased-or-weakened-tree condition caused by disease, age, storm, fire or other injury. Sec. 5-5 layers on separate, chapter-wide exceptions that apply regardless of designation: work on federal or state property, emergency work to protect life, limb or property, routine installation, maintenance and repair of cable, electric, gas or telephone lines, activities with only minor effects on trees such as home gardening and individual-home landscaping, and commercial silvicultural or horticultural activity. Sec. 1 of title 25 of the Code of Virginia.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 22.5-7 punishes any violation of the chapter, including removing, relocating or altering a designated tree without the required fourteen-day notice or a qualifying exception, with a civil penalty of up to $2,500 for each violation, with the assessment procedure set by the planning director; the chapter can also be enforced by injunction in addition to the civil penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cut down a protected tree on my Hanover County property?
Is trimming my own bushes or landscaping covered by this rule?
What is the penalty for removing a protected tree without notice in Hanover County?
Do utility crews need approval to trim near a protected tree?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hanover County
Compare Hanover County to another location·View the Virginia landscaping rules overview
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