San Antonio, TX Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

The city arborist inside the Planning and Development Services department administers San Antonio's tree preservation ordinance under Sec. 35-523(b), and the trigger for a permit is broad: any new industrial, commercial, office, multi-family, residential or institutional construction, any building addition over 2,500 square feet, a new parking lot larger than 2,500 square feet or an expansion past that size, any grading, filling or clearing, any cutting or removal of a significant or heritage tree, chemical or biological treatment that could kill a protected tree, and any trenching or excavation that could damage one, all fall within Sec. 35-523(a)(1)(C).

Once a project is regulated, the applicant chooses between a tree survey or a tree stand delineation to show how much canopy or diameter-inches will be preserved, and Table 523-1A sets the floor: 35 percent of significant-tree diameter inches on single-family lots, 40 percent on multi-family and nonresidential sites, and 100 percent of heritage trees regardless of use. Up to 80 percent of the preservation requirement can be met through mitigation, paying into the tree mitigation fund or planting replacement trees, rather than actual preservation.

Several categories are exempt outright: trees the city arborist finds diseased, dying, dead or hazardous; trees on a lot where a single-family, two-family or three-family home has already been completed; trees in a clear-vision sight-distance area; and trees blocking a needed traffic lane. An applicant who cannot meet the standard can request a variance from the city arborist, appeal a denial to the director of planning and development services, then to the planning commission, and finally to city council.