Stafford zoning requires that trees installed as part of an approved landscape plan be preserved or replaced if removed, ensuring developments maintain their original tree counts and parking-lot canopy coverage over time.
Under Section 102-71.6 of the Stafford Code of Ordinances, commercial and multi-family developments must install landscape and parking-lot trees in compliance with approved site plans. When a required tree dies, is damaged, or is removed, the property owner must replace it with a tree of comparable species and minimum caliper to preserve the approved planting plan. Removal of required trees without an approved revision to the landscape plan can constitute a zoning violation. Stafford does not impose a citywide protected-tree permit on single-family lots, so private homeowner removals are generally unregulated by the city.
Removing required landscape trees without replacement; failing to replace dead site-plan trees; deviating from approved landscape plans.
See how other cities in Fort Bend County handle tree removal & heritage trees.
See how Stafford's tree removal & heritage trees rules stack up against other locations.
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