Dublin, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

030(A) puts the duty to maintain that vertical clearance on the private property owner for trees on private property or in the adjacent right-of-way planter strip, and separately bars any tree or planting from obstructing sightlines to intersections, signage, or traffic control devices. 060(A) makes it unlawful for anyone to trim an approved street tree without first obtaining an encroachment permit from the Public Works Department, again with the fee waived for tree service providers. 060(B). Subsection (C) carves out narrow no-permit exceptions: removing sucker growth, waterspouts, or low-hanging branches under two inches in diameter that cause obstructions, or removing less than ten percent of the tree canopy.

The chapter's definitions section caps ordinary pruning generally at no more than twenty-five percent of a tree's canopy removed in one growing season, with anything beyond that requiring the recommendation and supervision of a Qualified Tree Professional. 'Tree topping,' cutting large branches to a stub, is explicitly not an approved pruning practice and is treated as tree removal under the chapter, triggering the removal-permit and compensation rules instead. 100, which lets the Public Works Director order abatement pruning on public right-of-way trees without prior owner notice if there is an immediate danger to public health, safety, or property, and treats improperly maintained or topped trees as a public nuisance abatable under the chapter's procedures. All of this traces to Ordinance 3-14.