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

006 of the Pleasanton Municipal Code sets two size thresholds that determine which trees the city's protected-tree rules cover. For a list of 13 named native species, a single-trunked tree is protected once it reaches "a minimum trunk circumference of 37 inches measured four and one-half feet above ground level," and a multi-trunked tree of the same species is protected at the same 37-inch circumference measured below the trunk split. The named native list is: Big Leaf Maple, Box Elder, California Buckeye, California Sycamore, Canyon Oak, Coast Live Oak, Interior Live Oak, Blue Oak, California Black Oak, Valley Oak, California Bay Laurel, California Black Walnut, and Tan Oak.

5 feet above ground for single-trunked trees or below the split for multi-trunked trees. 080, regardless of whether the tree also carries a separate heritage-tree designation under the same section. The definitions section also defines "effectively remove" broadly to include extreme root or branch pruning inconsistent with standard arboriculture practices, girdling, soil compaction within the dripline, introducing harmful chemicals or foreign objects, introducing pests or disease, unauthorized relocation, and trenching or paving within the dripline, so a protected tree can be damaged into the permit requirement without being physically cut down.