Mountain View, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required for
- Cutting, trimming, pruning any street tree
- Permit term
- Expires after 30 days
- Hazard trimming authority
- Director may act without owner request
- Private-property notice
- Registered/certified mail before trimming
- Owner objection window
- 10 days to file, 3 to appeal
- Enforcing official
- Director of Parks and Recreation
Summary
Trimming, pruning or cutting back any street tree or shrub in Mountain View takes the prior written permission of the director of parks and recreation. City Code Sec. 32.6 bars cutting, trimming, pruning, spraying, removing or injuring a street tree without a permit, caps that permit at thirty (30) days, and lets the director require a replacement tree conforming to the master street tree plan as a condition of approval.
No person shall cut, trim, prune, plant, spray, remove, injure* or interfere with any street tree or shrub without the prior written permission of the director of parks and recreation. The director of parks and recreation may grant such permission in his discretion and, where necessary, condition such permit upon the requirement that the removed tree or shrub will be replaced by an approved tree or shrub in conformity with the master street tree plan and may impose such other reasonable conditions as he may deem in the public interest. No such permit shall be valid for a longer period than thirty (30) days after its date of issuance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 34 Update 4).
Full Breakdown
The permit requirement in Sec. 6 covers work on any tree or shrub standing in a street or public place, whether planted by the city or a private party, because Sec. 2 defines "street tree" to include any tree or shrub "by whomever owned or planted" in a street or public place. The director may also act without waiting for a request: Sec. 12 lets the director order trimming or removal of any tree, shrub or plant that is hazardous to the traveling public, impairs sightlines, or impedes pedestrian or vehicle progress on a street or public place.
That authority reaches onto private property too, but only with process. Sec. 13 requires written notice by registered or certified mail before the director trims or removes a tree on private property, plus posting a copy at the site, unless there is extreme urgency and imminent danger; an owner who files a written objection within ten (10) days is entitled to a hearing before the trimming proceeds, and can appeal an adverse order to the parks and recreation commission within three (3) days and, from there, to the city council.
Sec. 8 separately authorizes the director to enter private property at reasonable times to inspect any tree, shrub or plant for hazard conditions. None of this shifts liability onto the city: Sec. 14 states that nothing in Secs. 13 relieves a private owner of the duty to keep trees on their own property from becoming a hazard to travel or vision on a public way.
Violations & Fines
Interfering with the director of parks and recreation or with crews carrying out trimming, pruning or removal work is unlawful under Sec. 32.7. Damaging or mutilating a street tree, or cutting or trimming it, without the required permit violates Sec. 32.20, which also bars picking flowers or seeds from a street tree or disturbing grass areas and flower beds in public streets without permission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to trim a tree growing in the parkway strip in front of my house?
Can the city trim a tree on my private property without asking?
What if I disagree with the director's trimming order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mountain View
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How other cities in Santa Clara County handle tree trimming.