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

Routine pruning and trimming of trees on private land in unincorporated Mariposa County is not regulated by a dedicated county tree-trimming ordinance and generally requires no permit. The County's land-use code (Title 17) does not establish a private-property pruning permit, and the General Plan addresses trees through conservation policy rather than trimming controls. The main practical drivers of trimming are wildfire safety and roads. Under California Public Resources Code Section 4291, owners in the State Responsibility Area (the entire county) must maintain defensible space, which includes limbing up trees, removing dead branches, and keeping vegetation away from chimneys and structures. Separately, the Mariposa County Public Works Department maintains roughly 600 miles of public and Zone-of-Benefit roads and operates a Roadside Vegetation Control program, managing vegetation along road frontage and coordinating with CAL FIRE on tree-mortality hazard mitigation along county roadways; property owners can request an opt-out from chemical spraying by submitting a Roadside Vegetation Control Agreement. Trees overhanging public road rights-of-way may be trimmed by the County. For native trees and groves, General Plan Implementation Measure 11-4a(2) directs that site development and grading review minimize removal, but this applies to development projects, not everyday pruning.