Unincorporated Boulder County requires no general permit to remove trees on private, non-protected land. Removal for wildfire defensible space is supported; Open Space, right-of-way, and floodplain trees are county-protected.
Boulder County does not operate a homeowner tree-removal permit program for typical private-property trees in unincorporated areas, unlike some cities. Owners may remove dead, diseased, or hazardous trees and thin vegetation for wildfire mitigation without a county tree permit. Larger clearing linked to development, subdivision, or forestry uses is reviewed under the Boulder County Land Use Code, and trees on county Open Space, in the public road right-of-way, in floodplains, or in protected riparian areas may not be cut by residents. Building permits in wildfire zones require defensible-space vegetation work verified at inspection. Incorporated cities set their own tree-removal permits.
Cutting protected Open Space, right-of-way, or floodplain trees, or clearing without required Land Use Code approval, can trigger restoration requirements and code penalties.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County has no separate 'hoarding' ordinance, but Ordinance 2022-8 makes it unlawful to fail to provide any livestock or domestic animal with minimum ...
Boulder County, CO
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Boulder County, CO
Backyard composting is allowed and strongly encouraged in Boulder County. The county's Zero Waste program provides compost collection, but home compost piles...
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County sets no countywide ban on residential artificial turf. Colorado SB23-178 prevents HOAs from prohibiting nonvegetative turf grass, though droug...
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County encourages native and water-wise landscaping and imposes no lawn requirement on rural land. Colorado law (SB23-178) bars HOAs from banning xer...
Boulder County, CO
Under Colorado HB16-1005, Boulder County residents may collect rooftop rainwater in up to two rain barrels totaling no more than 110 gallons, for outdoor use...
See how Boulder County's tree removal permits rules stack up against other locations.
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