Tree Protection in Virginia (2026)

Alexandria protects landmark trees through its historic-tree designation in City Code § 6-2-37: the city manager may…

Charlottesville protects trees one at a time: City Council must individually designate a heritage, memorial, specimen…

Arlington County designates heritage, memorial, specimen, and street trees by County Board ordinance after a public…

Chesapeake's subdivision code directs developers to protect "irreplaceable and beneficial" natural features, giving…

Fairfax County's Urban Forester can recommend individual trees for official heritage, memorial, specimen or street tree…

A tree earns 'heritage' status in Hanover County only when the Board of Supervisors individually designates it by…

Virginia designates no statewide heritage trees, and Norfolk keeps no formal private heritage-tree registry. Notable…

Stafford County's board of supervisors may individually designate a tree of notable historic or cultural interest as a…

Suffolk's development ordinance defines heritage, specimen, and memorial trees as those the City Council designates by…

York County's subdivision ordinance requires heritage, memorial, significant, and specimen trees to be preserved and…

James City County's closest landmark-tree category is the 'outstanding specimen tree' under Zoning Ordinance § 24-93: a…

Alexandria's city manager can designate any tree of extraordinary value for its age, size, species, condition or…

Arlington County does not protect trees by species; it individually designates specific heritage, memorial, specimen…

Lynchburg makes it a class 2 misdemeanor to damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree on public property…

York County's zoning landscaping standards require at least 35% of all plant material installed on a development site…

Hanover County's tree preservation chapter protects only trees the Board of Supervisors has individually designated as…

In Newport News, the Department of Parks and Recreation plants and cares for the trees along city streets and…

Norfolk treats the parkway strip between curb and sidewalk as city property, so residents cannot plant or freely prune…

Any development subject to Albemarle County's site plan review under chapter 32 of the Zoning Ordinance must plant…

Alexandria requires a free permit from the director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities before anyone plants…

Arlington County Code § 67-4 puts all planting, pruning, and removal of trees and shrubs in street rights-of-way…

New and rebuilt Charlottesville streets must carry a greenscape zone planted with large shade trees roughly every 30…

In Chesapeake's residential cluster subdivisions, canopy street trees are treated as a required amenity rather than an…

New development along public and private streets must plant a ten-foot landscaping strip with at least one shade tree…

In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, residential developments that need a Master…

Hampton requires street trees placed in public rights-of-way within new subdivisions to follow the City of Hampton…

In Hanover County's RM Multi-Family Residential District outside Ashland, Hanover County Code § 26-77(c) requires…

In multi-family and apartment developments of two or more units, James City County's Zoning Ordinance § 24-102 requires…

Loudoun County's Zoning Ordinance requires street trees along road frontages in most residential and mixed-use zoning…

When a Lynchburg subdivision dedicates a new City street, the developer must plant shade trees every 40 feet of street…

In Montgomery County outside Blacksburg and Christiansburg, PUD-TND developments must plant canopy street trees on both…

Planting a tree or shrub on Portsmouth city property, including street rights-of-way and parkway strips, requires a…

Roanoke's subdivision ordinance requires street trees along every new or improved street in a major subdivision, spaced…

New residential subdivisions in Virginia Beach must plant street trees in the public right-of-way under an approved…

York County requires new subdivisions in nonindustrial zoning districts to plant street trees along every abutting…

Rockingham County does not set its own street-tree species or spacing list. Instead, street landscaping on any…