Pasco, WA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Tree removal in Pasco is governed by Chapter 12.12 (Trees and Shrubs). PMC 12.12.080 covers permission to remove trees or substantially prune trees, so removing a tree in the public planting strip or right-of-way requires the city's permission rather than being done at will. PMC 12.12.150 separately prohibits damaging, destroying, or mutilating any tree, shrub, or plant in a public planting strip or other public place. Owners or occupants may trim or remove trees and plants in the planting strip of their own property in accordance with the chapter's provisions. For trees located entirely on private property, Pasco's published code does not establish a citywide permit-to-remove or significant-tree-protection program like some larger Washington cities maintain; the main constraints are the nuisance code (which requires removing dead, dying, or hazardous trees) and the landscaping standards that require minimum live-vegetation coverage in required landscape areas. Beware of online "residential tree removal permit" forms that reference SB 518, lot-clearing, or a Land Development Code - those belong to Pasco County, Florida, not Pasco, Washington. Property owners should confirm the right-of-way status of any tree with the city before removal, since planting-strip and street trees fall under city permission requirements.