Taunton, MA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 440-701, Land Clearing, opens Article VII, General Provisions, and applies to any parcel anticipating a use permitted by right or by special permit under Chapter 440, or under state law. The prohibition is broad: land clearing, clear-cutting, excavation, gravel removal and filling are all barred until the applicant holds every required approval, permit, variance, license and authorization, though the code carves out limited clearing and excavation needed to gather the survey and engineering data used to secure those permits in the first place. Subsection B directs that development be sited to preserve natural features, avoid disturbing environmentally sensitive areas, minimize impacts on neighbors, and preserve mature on-site trees and scenic points to the extent practicable, a planning-level standard the City Planner applies during site plan review rather than a fixed numeric cap.

Section 440-702's buffer requirements add a hard number: within any required landscaped buffer, mature woodlands cannot be thinned by more than 50%, and where woodland already exists inside the minimum buffer, preserving it can substitute for the canopy and understory trees otherwise required. Where dense mature foliage is absent, the code instead requires two canopy trees at least 10 feet tall and five understory trees or shrubs at least two feet tall for every 500 square feet of buffer, positioned so they don't block sightlines for vehicles entering or exiting the site.

Anyone installing required plantings must send the City Planner written certification within 30 days of installation, and the Zoning Enforcement Officer enforces every landscaping requirement in the section.