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

Lassen County has no arborist or routine tree-trimming permit for private property; a homeowner may prune their own trees. Two rules do shape trimming. First, the zoning code's general provisions (Title 18) address corner-lot visibility: on corner lots, fences, shrubs, hedges, screen plantings, or other obstructions may not exceed three feet in height within the sight-distance area, and trees located in that sight-distance area must be trimmed free of branches to a minimum height of eight feet above the adjacent sidewalk level (or as needed to allow adequate sight distance at driveway approaches and street intersections). Second, for structures in the State Responsibility Area, California Public Resources Code 4291 and CAL FIRE defensible-space guidance call for removing dead and overhanging branches near buildings, keeping branches at least ten feet from chimney and stovepipe outlets, and creating vertical and horizontal spacing between tree canopies within the 100-foot defensible-space zone. So routine ornamental pruning is unregulated, while corner-visibility trimming and fire-defensible-space limbing are mandatory in their specific situations. Trees that are part of an approved development project may also carry trimming or retention conditions through county planning review.