Carlsbad, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

California Public Resources Code Section 4291(a) requires anyone who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in a fire hazard area to maintain defensible space at all times, and three of its listed duties are tree-specific: remove any portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of the outlet of a chimney or stovepipe, keep every tree, shrub, or other plant adjacent to or overhanging a building free of dead or dying wood, and keep the roof clear of leaves, needles, and other vegetative debris that trees drop nearby.

A person is not required to enter or alter a neighbor's property without consent to comply, per subdivision (b). 4 to require compliance with these vegetation-management duties, citing Public Resources Code 4291 or its Local Responsibility Area counterpart Government Code Section 51182, before the building official grants final approval on a building permit. Acceptable proof can come from a local, state, or federal fire authority, the enforcing agency itself, a certified third-party inspector, or, where the enforcing agency allows it, the property owner's own certification.

05 separately designates medium, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones across Carlsbad based on the current Cal Fire Local Responsibility Area map, dated March 24, 2025, and on file with the City Clerk; where zones overlap a structure, the most severe designation governs.