Modesto, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

05(d). A property owner who wants to remove a tree from the right-of-way or planting easement abutting the property must submit an application to the Public Works Department's Solid Waste Division. The Director then decides whether keeping the tree is necessary to preserve the intent of the Street Tree Plan, weighing the inconvenience or hardship retention would cause the property owner against the condition, age, desirability of variety and location of the tree. If the Director finds the tree can go without undermining the Plan, the owner may remove it at the owner's own expense and liability.

Once issued, a removal permit runs on the clock: all removal work must finish within sixty days of issuance, under the Director's general supervision and rules, and stumps must come out to a depth the Director sets. An unused permit lapses automatically after sixty days unless the Director extends it. 05(a) gives the Director separate, broader authority to order removal or replacement of street trees found to be unhealthy, hazardous, undesirable or damaging to public improvements, independent of any owner-initiated application. 06(e) separately declares it unlawful to injure or destroy a City-planted street tree by any of a list of specific acts, including pouring deleterious material near a tree, piling materials around it, or operating construction equipment that contacts it.