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

Tree-removal permitting in Perris is governed by Chapter 19.71 (Urban Forestry Establishment and Care). PMC 19.71.080 (Permit Requirements) directs that the city tree-removal process is described in the city's excavations and encroachments provisions, and the chapter dates to early ordinances (Ord. No. 308, 1967, later amended). Several layers apply. First, PMC 19.71.090 makes it unlawful for any person to harm, destroy, or remove a tree on public land, or to remove any tree in the protected category (heritage, specimen, or special-status trees), and requires private landowners to file tree location/assessment plans and protection/replanting plans with development applications and land-disturbing activities. Second, during construction, site plans must plot all existing trees with a DBH of six inches or larger, and removal requests for trees that cannot be preserved are reviewed by planning staff with the city arborist, who may require an arborist report (PMC 19.71.050). Third, PMC 19.71.100 governs nuisance and hazardous tree removal: an application to remove a heritage or other protected tree must be approved by the public works director, whose decision may be appealed to the urban forestry board, and must be supported by a certified arborist's report showing the tree is dead or hazardous; mitigation is replanting, generally within 45 days except in summer. For residential street trees, no more than 30 percent of any one block may be removed within a one-year period. By contrast, a mature tree in a private backyard is exempt from regulation (PMC 19.71.050), so it needs no permit. California has no statewide tree-removal permit; protection here is entirely local.