Temecula, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 8.48.210(A) bars anyone from cutting, removing, relocating a Protected Tree, or encroaching into its protected zone, without first getting a permit. Subsection B exempts ISA-standard pruning and health maintenance, trees a city arborist finds irreparably diseased or dead, imminent-danger removals ordered by police, fire or code enforcement, fire department emergency removals, cases where an owner cannot obtain insurance because of the tree, CEQA-cleared capital projects, right-of-way or sight-distance work directed by public works, and utility or public-agency facility work. Applications go to the director with a council-set filing fee (8.48.220(A)); for five or fewer trees on a single parcel the director approves, denies, or conditionally approves, appealable to the planning commission, while larger requests go straight to the commission, whose decisions can be appealed to the city council under Section 17.03.090.

Approval requires a finding that the work is necessary to protect the tree's health, protect life or property from a hazard the tree poses, or allow reasonable, conforming use of the property otherwise blocked by the tree (8.48.230(A)). The decision-maker can condition approval on mitigation: three on-site replacement trees of comparable mature size for every Protected Tree removed, or two 48-inch box trees planted off-site if on-site planting is not feasible, a five-year maintenance program verified by a certified arborist, or an in-lieu fee valued under ISA appraisal standards (8.48.230(C)).