Santa Barbara County, CA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

County Code Section 28-60 requires replacement street trees to be planted by department of transportation personnel or a contracted agent during the proper planting season, be of the same variety and size where applicable, and bars anyone else from planting a tree in the right-of-way without the prior written approval of the director of transportation or an authorized agent; a variety change must be requested in writing. Section 28-59 separately bars placing stone, cement, or any other substance around a road tree that would block water or air from reaching its roots, and requires an open space of at least sixteen square feet of ground kept around the trunk of any tree planted along a county road or on other county property.

Section 28-61 bars removing, cutting down, mutilating, or otherwise injuring any tree in the right-of-way or on public property except with approval of the county road commissioner or director of parks, or as reasonably necessary for utility placement, while Section 28-63 allows the department of transportation to issue special written permits to remove or cut down hazardous, dead, dying, or diseased trees, which may include conditions requiring replacement planting, initial maintenance, and an inspection fee. The article applies to street trees, defined in Section 28-57 as any perennial woody plant growing within a county road right-of-way, and Section 28-58 lets the board of supervisors adopt additional planting and permit-fee regulations by resolution with the full force of law.