Merced, CA Tree Protection: Tree Removal Permits (2026)

Tree protection in Merced centers on the fact that street trees are City-owned and City-maintained. Rather than a homeowner pulling a tree-removal permit, the City handles removals directly: "Requests to remove a tree are handled by the Public Works Department. Not all requests to remove a tree will be honored. The City of Merced has established policies governing the removal of city trees. Trees are typically removed if they are dead, declining, or pose a hazard for public safety." So for any tree in the public right-of-way or a tree easement, which typically extends 8 to 10 feet behind the curb even where there is no sidewalk, a resident must contact Public Works at (209) 385-6800 and let the City evaluate and, if warranted, perform the removal. There is no resident self-removal of a City tree and no casual permit to take one down. The City confirms whether a tree is City-controlled through Development Services and right-of-way/easement boundaries. For trees located entirely on private property behind the right-of-way line, the City's street-tree policy does not require a removal permit, but a dead, decayed, diseased, or hazardous private tree is a nuisance under Municipal Code 8.40.070 and may have to be removed. Because the City does not publish a separate private heritage-tree permit ordinance in its public tree guidance, the strongest tree-protection effect comes from the City's control over street trees and from nuisance enforcement, plus any landscape conditions imposed through development/MWELO review.