Lynchburg, VA Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Sec. 38-4 of the city code protects every tree standing on public property in Lynchburg, whether a street tree, park tree or tree on other city-owned land, from intentional harm. The prohibited acts are specific: no one may damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove a public tree; attach rope, wire, nails or advertising posters to it; let a harmful gas, liquid or solid substance contact it; or set or allow a fire that would injure any part of it. The urban forester can authorize an exception, but absent that authorization a violation is a class 2 misdemeanor, and the violator is separately liable for the cost of repairing the tree or removing and replacing it if it cannot be saved.

The section extends liability to vehicle owners: if a vehicle accidentally strikes and damages a public tree, the owner is responsible for the repair cost or, if the tree must come out, for the cost of removal and a replacement tree. Sec. 38-5 backs this up during construction work: any tree on a street or other public property located near an excavation or building project must be guarded by a substantial fence, frame or box at least four feet high and eight feet square, or set back a distance equal to the trunk diameter in inches, whichever is larger, and building material, dirt or debris must be kept outside that barrier.

That section also bars excavating a ditch, tunnel or trench, or laying a driveway, within ten feet of a public tree without a written permit from the urban forester, and requires the public works department to notify the urban forester in advance of any curb, gutter, sidewalk or driveway application that could injure a street tree or its root system.