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

Article II of Chapter 36 governs any city-owned street tree or park tree, not trees on private lots. Sec. 36-28 makes it unlawful to prune, spray, remove, destroy, cut, girdle, or deface any tree or shrub located on city property, or to injure it by root cutting, root exposure, or by applying any chemical or substance to the surrounding ground, without first securing a permit from the city's director of parks, recreation and leisure services (defined as "the director" in Sec. 36-26). The same permit requirement extends to protective devices: no one may injure, misuse, or remove any guard, stake, or other device placed around a tree without a permit.

A companion rule at Sec. 36-27 requires a separate permit before planting any tree or shrub on city property, and gives the director authority to trim, prune, or remove any tree or shrub planted without a permit, without having to notify the abutting property owner first. The article also bars impeding air and water to a tree's roots by requiring at least four square feet of open ground around the trunk (Sec. 36-31), requires builders to fence off nearby trees during construction (Sec. 36-33), and bars tying animals to a city tree in a way that could damage it (Sec.

36-34). None of these sections regulate trees on privately owned residential or commercial lots; the general code sets no citywide permit for removing a tree from private property. Applicants apply through the parks, recreation and leisure services department, which the ordinance leaves to set permit procedures administratively since Sec. 36-28 itself states no fee schedule.