Bishop, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Unincorporated Inyo County does not have a private-property tree-trimming permit scheme. Property owners are generally free to prune trees on their own land without a county permit. Two limits apply. First, vegetation that overhangs or obstructs a public road or right-of-way, or that creates a sight-distance or safety hazard, can be addressed as a nuisance under Inyo County Code Title 22 (Ch. 22.08 defines nuisance conditions; Ch. 22.12 governs abatement). Second, in fire-prone areas California Public Resources Code section 4291 requires owners to create defensible space, which includes limbing up trees and maintaining clearance between tree canopies and structures — a state mandate enforced by CAL FIRE in State Responsibility Areas, not a county tree ordinance. The County's adopted Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance also encourages planting climate-appropriate shade trees but does not impose a trimming permit. Because much of the Owens Valley land and water is owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), work on trees on LADWP land would be subject to that agency's rules rather than County authority.