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

Sec. 28-31 covers new residential and nonresidential development, and redevelopment that expands a building's footprint or involves total demolition and reconstruction, whether the land sits inside city limits or in Taylor's extraterritorial jurisdiction. A permit is required before anyone cuts down, tops, damages, or otherwise destroys a protected tree measuring six inches or more in diameter at 24 inches above grade; protected species are Pecan, American Elm, Cedar Elm, Texas Ash, Southern Magnolia, Cottonwood, all Oak varieties, and all Maple varieties except Boxelder and Silver Maple.

Trees within, or within ten feet of, a building footprint, or within a proposed on-site sewage facility area, do not need a removal permit but remain subject to mitigation; trees in a dedicated right-of-way, a utility easement, or that are injured, dying, diseased or insect-infested are exempt from preservation entirely. The application must include existing and proposed topography, the location of property lines, easements, setbacks, parking, and sidewalks, and a tree inventory giving total DBH inches on site, DBH inches to be removed, DBH inches preserved, and any proposed mitigation or preservation credit.

Removed or damaged protected trees must be mitigated on the same site at a one-to-one caliper-inch ratio with replacement trees of at least three-inch caliper, or, if on-site planting is not feasible, by donating trees or paying a fee in lieu for planting at public parks, schools, or other public facilities. The planning and zoning commission, and ultimately city council, can grant relief from mitigation on a written application showing site conditions like existing facilities, unusual topography, or a high number of protected trees.