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

Section 30-92-5(A) sets general landscaping standards that apply to any building or development requiring a site development plan under § 30-90. ' The 24-inch measurement is taken at five feet above grade, the standard diameter-at-breast-height method, so the rule reaches large, mature canopy trees rather than saplings or ordinary landscape trees. Replacement has to be with a tree 'of similar species or characteristics,' not just any tree, though the zoning administrator can approve a different substitute. The same section requires landscape plans behind any development to be prepared by a registered landscape architect, certified nurseryman, arborist or professional engineer, and sets a floor under § 30-92-5(A)(1) that at least 50 percent of all plantings on a site be native species.

Existing vegetation the developer wants to keep, including any tree being counted toward this requirement, must be protected during construction with fencing at the drip line, per § 30-92-5(F). Because the tree-removal trigger sits inside the site-plan landscaping article, it applies to commercial, industrial, multi-family and other developments that go through site plan review; § 30-90(A)(1) exempts single-family and two-family dwellings built on individual lots from that review, so an individual homeowner removing a large tree in their own yard is not reached by this particular section.