Madera, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Madera, CA, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Who removes
- Abutting property owner
- Trigger
- Dead, dying, diseased, or hazardous tree; curb damage
- Replacement rule
- Must replant from approved street-tree list
- Exception
- Not required where site unsuitable for planting
- City override
- City forces may remove without owner request
Summary
Madera Municipal Code § 4-6.02 puts the removal duty on the abutting property owner: any street tree that is dying, dead, decayed, diseased, hazardous, or damaging a sidewalk or curb must come out at the owner's expense. Once it's gone, the owner has to replant with a tree from the city's approved street-tree list unless the spot no longer works for planting.
Whenever it becomes necessary to remove a tree to prevent damage to sidewalks or curbs, or to remove a dying, dead, decayed, diseased, or hazardous tree, such tree or trees shall be removed by the owner of the property abutting that portion of the public right-of-way where the tree is located; provided, however, upon removal thereof, the property owner shall replace the tree with a tree of an approved type as designated on the approved street-tree list unless the area from which the tree was removed is no longer suitable for planting. Nothing in this section, however, shall preclude the removal by city forces of any tree without the request of a property owner.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2024 S-50: Current through Ordinance 1010 C.S., passed 6-5-24).
Full Breakdown
02, part of the 1965 street tree chapter (Ord. , amended by Ord. in 1982), assigns removal responsibility to whoever owns the property abutting the section of public right-of-way where the tree stands, not to the city. Two triggers require removal: the tree is dying, dead, decayed, diseased, or otherwise hazardous, or it is actively damaging a sidewalk or curb. 01, unless the removed tree's location is no longer suitable for planting at all, for example where a driveway or utility conflict has since developed.
02 stops city crews from removing a tree on their own initiative, without waiting on or requiring a request from the property owner, which matters for trees the city itself judges to be an immediate hazard. 04, which lets the Director of Code Enforcement order removal or trimming on separate nuisance grounds. 01, plus the city's standing power to abate the condition itself and bill the cost back.
Violations & Fines
There's no standalone fine written into § 4-6.02 itself; a refusal to remove a hazardous street tree or replant with an approved species falls under the general code penalty at § 1-2.01, chargeable as a misdemeanor (up to $1,000 and six months in jail) or, since 1981, typically as an infraction under Cal. Gov't Code § 36900, with the condition also abatable by the city as a public nuisance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to remove a dead or hazardous street tree in Madera?
Do I have to replant after removing a street tree?
Can the city remove my street tree without asking me first?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madera
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