James City County, VA Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)
Key Facts
- Designated by
- Planning director, per § 24-93 form
- Outstanding specimen credit
- 5 planted trees (§ 24-95)
- Ordinary specimen credit
- 3 planted trees, 24in+ DBH
- Mature tree credit
- 2 planted trees, 8in+ DBH
- Must appear on
- Landscape/tree clearing plan (§ 24-87)
Summary
James City County's closest landmark-tree category is the 'outstanding specimen tree' under Zoning Ordinance § 24-93: a tree the planning director designates for exceptional size, form, shape, spread or quality using the county's own Outstanding Specimen Tree Designation guidelines and form. Preserving one earns a developer five planted-tree credits under § 24-95, the highest tier in the county's tree credit chart.
Type Character Minimum Size ... Outstanding Specimen Tree Free of disease and significant damage or which is notable by virtue of its outstanding size, form, shape, spread, and quality for its particular species as determined by the planning director or his designee per the Outstanding Specimen Tree Designation guidelines and form. Trees designated as outstanding specimens by the planning director or his designee. ... 1 viable outstanding specimen tree as approved by the planning director or his designee. 5 planted trees.
Full Breakdown
Unlike an ordinary 'specimen tree,' which § 24-93 defines purely by a 24-inch-or-greater diameter-at-breast-height threshold, an 'outstanding specimen tree' is a discretionary designation: the planning director or a designee decides which trees qualify, applying the county's dedicated Outstanding Specimen Tree Designation guidelines and form rather than a single numeric cutoff. Section 24-87(a) requires any development seeking landscape plan approval to show on that plan the location of any proposed outstanding specimen tree as defined in § 24-93, so the designation has to be identified before construction, not discovered afterward.
The financial incentive to preserve one is spelled out in the county's tree credit chart at § 24-95(c): a viable outstanding specimen tree preserved on site is worth five planted-tree credits, more than double the two credits for an ordinary mature tree (8 inches or greater DBH) and above the three credits for a standard 24-inch specimen tree. Those credits reduce the number of new trees a developer must otherwise plant elsewhere on the landscape plan, making the outstanding specimen designation the county's practical equivalent of a heritage or landmark tree program, built around individual planning-director review rather than a fixed public register.
Violations & Fines
The credit only holds if the tree stays protected to the county's standard. Section 24-95 denies any tree credit, including the five-credit rate for an outstanding specimen tree, if the tree is not preserved in full compliance with the tree protection fencing and dripline standards required by § 24-88(b). A developer who loses a designated outstanding specimen tree during construction, or fails to fence and protect it properly, must make up the difference with additional new plantings before the landscape plan is considered complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does James City County have a heritage or landmark tree program?
What's the benefit of getting a tree designated as an outstanding specimen?
Do outstanding specimen trees get extra legal protection during construction?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in James City County
Compare James City County to another location·View the Virginia tree protection overview
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