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

Sec. 38-8 of the city code governs removal of trees growing in the treelawn, defined in Sec. 38-1 as the part of a street right-of-way lying between the property line and the paved portion used for vehicular traffic. No one may remove a treelawn tree for construction or for any other reason without first filing an application and procuring a permit from the urban forester. The permit is not simply a removal authorization: it comes tied to a replacement requirement, and the replacement tree must meet the standards of size, species and placement the urban forester sets in the permit itself, following the adopted arboricultural specifications referenced back in Sec.

38-2's community forest plan. Cost falls entirely on the person or property owner who removed the tree, who bears the expense of both the removal and the replacement planting. The same section gives a narrower option where planting directly on the treelawn is not possible: the requirement can be satisfied by planting an equivalent number of trees of an accepted species and size on neighboring public or private property, so long as the result still creates a tree-lined street effect. This section works alongside Sec.

38-9, which separately requires a permit from the urban forester before planting or cultivating any plant, tree or shrub within a public right-of-way, and Sec. 38-11, which requires a permit before anyone cuts, removes or prunes a tree growing in a public alley or unimproved right-of-way. All three provisions route through the same urban forester's office inside the public works department's buildings and grounds division.