Lafayette, LA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Lafayette, LA, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- UDC § 89-36(h)(3)
- Trigger
- removal of a credited preserved tree
- Replacement duty
- new trees equal to credited count
- Broader duty
- replace any removed required landscape material
- Maintenance standard
- in perpetuity until a new plan is approved
Summary
Lafayette's Unified Development Code requires that a property owner who removes a preserved tree that was counted for landscape credit must plant new trees equal to the number of trees for which credit was given, under UDC § 89-36(h)(3).
(3)Maintenance. Landscape material which is preserved or installed as part of the minimum landscape requirements of this section shall be maintained in perpetuity, or until a new landscape plan is approved and implemented. If any such landscape material is removed, the landowner shall replace it with material necessary to return the site to compliance. If a preserved tree is removed, the property owner shall install new trees equaling the number of trees for which credit was given.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).
Full Breakdown
" That duty attaches specifically to trees that were counted for landscaping credit, under 89-36(f), a developer or property owner can satisfy part of a site's minimum planting requirement by preserving existing healthy trees rather than installing new ones, with credit scaled to the trunk diameter at breast height (DBH) of the preserved tree. The tradeoff is that the credit is not permanent forgiveness: the same subsection requires the critical root zone be fenced during construction and protected from compaction or grade changes for as long as the tree stands in for new plantings.
" Read together, a property owner who cuts down a credited preserved tree owes replacement trees sufficient to restore the original credited count, while a landowner who removes other required landscape material (shrubs, buffer plantings) owes whatever replacement material is necessary to bring the site back into compliance with its approved landscape plan. The section sits within Article 3, Development Standards, of Chapter 89, and its purpose clause frames the whole landscaping article around conserving natural resources and protecting existing tree canopy citywide, which is why the mitigation obligation is written as an ongoing maintenance duty tied to the approved landscape plan rather than a one-time planting requirement.
Violations & Fines
Because tree replacement is embedded in the landscaping maintenance clause of the Unified Development Code, failure to replant after removing credited or required landscape material is treated as noncompliance with the site's approved landscape plan and is enforced through the Department of Planning and Development's general zoning code-enforcement process rather than a standalone tree-removal penalty schedule in the text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to replant if I cut down a preserved tree in Lafayette?
What if I remove shrubs or buffer plantings instead of a tree?
Which section of the Lafayette code covers tree replacement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lafayette
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