Sonoma, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

08's Article VI, Pruning and Trimming Regulations and Guidelines, governs routine tree work inside the City of Sonoma's limits. 060(A) generally encourages pruning and trimming of trees and shrubs citywide except where the chapter restricts it. 060(B) prohibits pruning on public property unless the public works director or another department head with maintenance responsibility authorizes it, or an exception elsewhere in the chapter applies. 060(C): an owner or occupant whose trees, hedges, or other plants abut or overhang a public street or sidewalk must keep them properly trimmed so they do not interfere with the street's or sidewalk's free use.

08, but the same subsection flags that an encroachment permit under separate city ordinances can still be required if the work itself takes place within the public right-of-way, such as using equipment or scaffolding in the street. 060(D) adds a seasonal caution rather than a hard ban: trimming and pruning of trees that provide nesting-bird habitat should be avoided from March through July to limit impacts on nesting birds. 120.