Westminster, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Westminster, CA, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Removal grounds
- Dead, dying, diseased, hazard, or documented damage
- Permit required
- Director's permit under § 12.12.100
- Owner cost
- Owner pays for owner-requested removal, § 12.12.060(D)
- Unauthorized cutting
- Prohibited by § 12.12.090
- Enforcement
- Director/designee, code enforcement, city attorney
Summary
Street and parkway trees in Westminster cannot be removed unless they are dead, dying, diseased, causing documented water or sewer problems, medically triggering allergies, an unacceptable species, or a determined public hazard. Anyone wanting to remove or interfere with vegetation along a city street must first get a permit from the director.
Street or interim street trees and shrubs shall not be removed unless they are dead, dying, diseased, maintain medically-documented allergies, or are the cause of documented water or sewer problems, or are unacceptable tree species as designated by the director and requested by the adjacent property owner, or constitutes a public hazard or nuisance, as determined by the director. ... Any person desiring permission to plant, remove or in any way interfere with the natural growth of any vegetation matters planted along city streets, or on other city property, shall make an application to the director for a permit therefor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4982734; v10 updated 2026-06-10).
Full Breakdown
100 requires anyone who wants to plant, remove, or otherwise interfere with the natural growth of vegetation planted along a city street or on other city property to apply to the director for a permit, and the director may require the work to be performed under city supervision. 090 separately bars any unauthorized person from cutting, trimming, mutilating, pruning, injuring, or removing a street tree except as the street forestry policy allows. 060(D) makes the owner responsible for the full cost of removal and any replacement planting, though the owner may petition the city council for hardship relief from that cost, and the council may waive the assessment in its sole discretion. 060(F) also directs the city to use due care so that a statutorily protected or endangered tree is not improperly removed.
Violations & Fines
Removing, cutting, or otherwise interfering with a street tree without the director's permit and without meeting one of the removal grounds in Section 12.12.060(E) violates Sections 12.12.090 and 12.12.100 and is enforced by the director or designee under Section 12.12.040, which authorizes notice of violation and legal proceedings with code enforcement and the city attorney; the responsible property owner can also be billed for the cost of removal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Westminster resident remove a street tree in front of their house?
Who pays to remove a Westminster street tree?
What happens if someone cuts down a Westminster street tree without authorization?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Westminster
California rules heatmap·Compare Westminster to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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Tree Removal & Heritage Trees in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle tree removal & heritage trees.