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

The urban forest article opens with findings that uncontrolled removal of Mountain View's mature trees, growing between the Santa Cruz foothills and San Francisco Bay, would harm the city's health, safety and welfare, and sets a policy under Sec. 22 requiring preservation of all healthy heritage trees unless a reasonable, conforming use of the property justifies removal. Sec. 24 lets the city council designate, by resolution, any tree or grove on public or private land as a heritage tree beyond the code's size-based definitions, for special historical value or significant community benefit, but the owner of private property must get written notice at least ten (10) days before that decision.

Once a tree qualifies, Sec. 25(a) makes the owner responsible for maintaining and preserving it in good health, and treats a failure to do so as its own violation. Sec. 25(b) then bars anyone from willfully injuring, damaging, destroying, moving or removing a heritage tree except under a permit granted through the article. Construction and grading near a heritage tree are separately constrained: contractors must avoid excavation that could damage the root system within the drip line, and the ground surface within four (4) feet of a heritage tree's base cannot be cut, filled, compacted or paved except for existing sidewalks or other encroachments the community development director expressly approves after reviewing an arborist's report.

Oversight sits with the urban forestry board, made up of the parks and recreation commission's members, which decides nondevelopment removal appeals and advises the council on the article and on capital-project mitigation.