Gilroy, CA Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Gilroy's tree protection ordinance limits its coverage to a defined list of native species rather than every tree in the city. Section 30.38.270(b)(3) defines Indigenous Tree as a tree native to the Gilroy region, naming oaks of all types, California bay, big leaf maple, madrone, California sycamore, California buckeye and alder as examples. Subsection (b)(4) then defines Protected Tree as any indigenous tree with a single trunk of thirty-eight inches or more in circumference measured four and one-half feet above the ground, and it expressly carves out nonindigenous tree species and orchards, including individual fruit and nut trees, from that definition for the purpose of this section.

That means a mature ornamental palm, fruit tree, or any nonnative ornamental of any size falls entirely outside § 30.38.270's permit requirement, no matter how large it grows, while a single 38-inch oak or sycamore on the same lot is protected. The same section separately protects a Community of Protected Trees, an ecologically or aesthetically related grouping of protected, indigenous trees, and a Heritage Tree, which is any species regardless of nativity once it reaches a 90-inch single-trunk or 72-inch combined multi-trunk circumference. All three categories trigger the § 30.38.270(c) permit requirement before removal on private property in Gilroy.