Santa Barbara County, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Santa Barbara County's tree-protection framework is split across several documents. (1) DECIDUOUS OAK PROTECTION (the strictest layer). The County Land Use and Development Code (LUDC) Chapter 35, Article IX, codifies the Deciduous Oak Tree Protection and Regeneration Ordinance, which the Board of Supervisors first adopted in the 1990s to address loss of valley oak (Quercus lobata), blue oak (Quercus douglasii), black oak (Quercus kelloggii), and other deciduous oaks especially on the County's Santa Ynez Valley, Cuyama, Tepusquet, and inland-foothill grazing lands. The ordinance applies in the unincorporated inland area to protected deciduous oaks above defined diameter-at-breast-height (DBH) thresholds. A discretionary Oak Tree Removal Permit, with Planning Commission jurisdiction (or staff approval for ministerial categories), is generally required before removal of a protected deciduous oak. Standard exemptions include: (a) trees that are dead, dying, or uprooted from natural causes; (b) trees within 50 feet of an existing residential structure (a fire-safety / defensible-space accommodation under PRC 4291); (c) trees in conflict with active agricultural operations on lands so used; and (d) routine pruning consistent with International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) standards. Replacement plantings at a defined ratio (often 5:1 or 10:1 depending on tree size and circumstance) are typically required as a condition of any removal permit. (2) COAST LIVE OAK AND OTHER NATIVE SPECIES. The County does not maintain a separate countywide Coast Live Oak ordinance like some California cities, but coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), California sycamore (Platanus racemosa), California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), and other native species are protected through CEQA environmental review on discretionary projects, the General Plan Conservation and Open Space Element (biological resources policies), and Specific/Community Plans (Eastern Goleta Valley, Toro Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley, Montecito, Summerland). (3) COASTAL ZONE. Within the Coastal Zone, the Coastal Land Use Plan and Coastal Zoning Ordinance (parallel zoning code applicable in coastal areas) add Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) protections that often prohibit or severely restrict native-tree removal in coastal canyons and bluffs. (4) STREET TREES. Public street trees in unincorporated areas adjacent to County-maintained roads are managed by the County Public Works Department; pruning or removal requires County approval. (5) HAZARD TREES. Removal of a tree that an arborist or County Fire / Planning has determined to be a public-safety hazard (immediate fall risk, dead and threatening a structure, diseased) is generally streamlined, with documentation kept on file. (6) GRADING ORDINANCE. County Code Chapter 14 (Grading Code) regulates grading activities that may impact root zones of protected trees, and grading near protected oaks may require an arborist report and tree-protection fencing during construction.