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

Alpine County's tree-permit regime is geographically limited to the Kirkwood area under Code Chapter 12.16 (Ord. 491, 1988). There, Section 12.16.020 prohibits destroying, removing, cutting, killing, damaging, trimming, pruning, or topping any tree - public or private - without a tree permit and authorization from the designated approving body (Kirkwood Meadows Association Planning Committee, Kirkwood Association Planning and Architectural Committee, or the Tri County Technical Advisory Committee). The application (12.16.040) requires the lot owner's submission, a scaled plot plan with each tree's species, DBH, height, and approximate age, a reasons statement, a $10 fee plus cost to notify owners within 500 feet, and a refundable cash deposit of $100-$500 with proof of liability insurance (12.16.060). The approving body evaluates disease, age, erosion and slope stability near streams, screening value, and area impacts (12.16.050); permits last 90 days (12.16.080). Hazard, diseased, or insect-infested trees can be declared a public nuisance and ordered removed, with five replacement seedlings per tree required (12.16.120). Outside Kirkwood, the county imposes no removal permit. Tree cutting there is governed by state law: clearing for defensible space under PRC 4291, and commercial harvest or land-clearing under CAL FIRE's Forest Practice rules, including the Less-Than-3-Acre Conversion Exemption for converting up to 2.99 acres of timberland to a non-timber use.