Tree removal permit rules in Chesterfield County, VA — sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances — list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
A Chesterfield homeowner may generally remove trees on their own developed lot without a county permit. The key exception is the Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area buffer, where removing vegetation requires county review and often replacement planting.
Chesterfield does not require a general permit to fell healthy trees on an established residential lot outside protected areas; tree-conservation mandates apply mainly during subdivision and site development. The binding limit is environmental: land within a Resource Protection Area, the 100-foot buffer along streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, is protected because intact buffers protect water quality. To remove or disturb vegetation there you must file a Resource Protection Area Encroachment Request; small removals need a replacement planting, while larger or illegal clearing triggers a restoration planting plan. HOA covenants may add stricter private tree rules.
Clearing an RPA buffer without approval is a Chesapeake Bay ordinance violation; the county can order a restoration planting plan and replanting, plus civil penalties under the local Bay program.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Chesterfield County's tree removal & heritage trees rules stack up against other locations.
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