Kings County, CA Tree Protection: Tree Removal Permits (2026)

Kings County does not issue tree-removal permits for private property in the unincorporated area, because the County Code contains no protected-tree, heritage-tree, or oak-preservation ordinance. This reflects the County's rural, agricultural character, where orchard and crop trees are managed as farming operations protected by the right-to-farm policy in Sec. 14-38. Removing a tree on your own land therefore generally requires no County tree permit. Three situations still bring trees under review. First, when a parcel goes through discretionary land-use approval, a grading permit, or a building permit, the Community Development Agency can attach landscaping, screening, or tree-retention/replacement conditions through the Development Code; trees planted to satisfy an approved landscape plan cannot simply be removed. Second, the public-nuisance ordinance (Sec. 14-36(6)) lets the County require removal of dead, diseased, or hazardous trees. Third, state and federal law independent of the County can restrict removal: the California Fish and Game Code and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act protect active bird nests, and the California Endangered Species Act and Native Plant Protection Act protect listed species and certain native plants. Incorporated cities within Kings County set their own tree rules separately.