Santa Ana, CA Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Sec. 33-181 sets the article's purpose as protecting the benefits of the city's urban forest, and Sec. 33-182 defines 'street trees' as trees located in the public right-of-way and 'median trees' as those in a divided highway's planted strip, together forming the 'public trees' the city owns and regulates. Sec. 33-185 designates the official list of street tree species for Santa Ana, organized into three planting categories by mature form and use; a species outside the list may still be planted only with the consent of the environmental and transportation advisory committee.

Sec. 33-186 requires that street tree spacing follow the Public Works Agency Standard Plan Code Book. Sec. 33-188 ties planting to development: site plan review must require street trees to coincide with any development, redevelopment or renovation of a tract or parcel, with the transportation and development services division and street maintenance division evaluating and approving tree placement under Sections 33-47 through 33-53 and Section 34-81, and the approved site plan must show the location, size and species of existing trees to be kept or removed and trees required for project approval.

Sec. 33-189 requires the city to prune public trees on roughly a four-and-a-half-year cycle based on species and arborist recommendations, keeping branches clear of street lamps and intersections and maintaining fourteen feet of clearance above the street or sidewalk. Sec. 33-190 separately bans topping any public tree as a normal practice.