Redwood City, CA Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Chapter 35, Tree Preservation, defines what counts as a "tree" for the whole chapter in Sec. 1. Rather than naming particular species, Redwood City sets a trunk-size threshold: any woody plant with a single trunk measuring 38 inches or more in circumference, taken anywhere between 6 and 36 inches above ground level, is a protected tree under the chapter. A second, separate path protects trees regardless of species or size: any woody plant with a single trunk that the Park and Recreation Commission finds has special significance to the community can be designated a "heritage tree" under Sec.

2, which triggers the same cutting and removal permit requirement as a size-qualifying tree. The Commission that makes heritage designations is itself defined in Sec. 1 as the Park and Recreation Commission. Because protection turns on trunk size or a Commission finding rather than species, a small ornamental tree of any kind is outside the chapter unless and until it is designated a heritage tree, while a large trunk of a common species, such as an oak or redwood over the circumference threshold, is automatically covered without any designation step.