Placer County, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Part 4 of Placer County Code Chapter 9, Article 9.32 (Hazardous Vegetation and Combustible Material Abatement), as repealed and replaced by Ordinance 6015-B (effective May 21, 2020), imposes specific tree-maintenance duties on every owner, occupant, and person in control of any improved or unimproved parcel in the unincorporated county. For improved parcels, § 9.32.160(A)(1) requires that within the 100-foot defensible space around every building or structure, tree branches must be limbed up six (6) feet from the ground, all portions of trees within 10 feet of a chimney and/or stovepipe outlets must be removed, trees adjacent to or overhanging structures must be kept free of dead/dying wood, and roofs must be cleared of leaves, needles, and other dead wood. For unimproved parcels, § 9.32.160(B)(3) requires all trees within 10 feet of roadway frontage to be pruned to at least six feet above grade. The enforcement official (county fire warden, fire chiefs of local protection districts, the CDRA director, or the chief building official) may require greater clearance based on weather, fuel type, topography, and other factors (§ 9.32.160(C)-(D)).