Gilroy, CA Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Gilroy designates a heritage tree under § 30.38.270(b)(2) as any species with a single trunk measuring ninety inches or more in circumference, or multiple trunks where two of them together measure seventy-two inches or more, both measured four and one-half feet above the ground. Because a heritage tree is listed separately in the permit requirement at § 30.38.270(c)(3), the same unlawful-removal prohibition and permit process that governs protected trees applies to heritage trees on private property, including the ISA-certified arborist report, posted and mailed notice, and community development director findings required under subsections (d) through (g) of the same section.

Where a heritage tree removal is approved, Table 1 in subsection (h) sets the replacement requirement specifically for heritage trees: two replacement trees in a minimum forty-eight inch box size for each heritage tree removed. The director of public works may instead accept an in-lieu payment equal to the value of the required replacement trees, including funds for their establishment-period care, and the replacement tree must generally match the species of the tree that was removed unless the community development director approves otherwise. A heritage tree removed as part of a certified environmental document's mitigation measure must instead meet whatever higher replacement requirement that document imposes, which supersedes Table 1. Anyone denied a heritage tree removal permit may appeal to the planning commission.