Contra Costa County, CA Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

The Heritage Tree Preservation District, created by Ordinance 88-83, applies to all land in unincorporated Contra Costa County under § 816-4.202. Section 816-4.402 defines a heritage tree as either a tree measuring seventy-two inches or more in circumference at four and one-half feet above natural grade, or any tree or grove the Board of Supervisors formally registers for historical, ecological, mutual-dependency, or outstanding-specimen value under § 816-4.404. Nominations run through the Department of Conservation and Development to the county or regional planning commission; a nomination costs $100 and an appeal costs $50 (§ 816-4.404(f)).

Once the Board registers a tree by resolution, § 816-4.602 bars destroying or removing it without a destruction permit, though routine trimming or pruning that does not change the tree's form is exempt. Removal applications go to the Department of Conservation and Development and must state the tree's location, species, size and reason for removal (§ 816-4.1002). The zoning administrator inspects the tree and property before granting, conditioning or denying the permit, weighing the tree's health and hazard risk, nuisance or utility conflicts, and whether protecting it would block all development (§ 816-4.1004).

A denial or condition can be appealed to the planning commission under the special-permit procedures of Chapter 26-2 (§ 816-4.1006). Emergency removal of a hazardous heritage tree is allowed with sign-off from the zoning administrator or a designated building inspector, without a formal application (§ 816-4.604). During construction, § 816-4.802 requires special protective measures for roots within the drip line or twelve feet of the trunk, and § 816-4.804 bans dumping oil, gas or chemicals, or storing heavy equipment, within that same radius.