Vacaville requires a Tree Removal Permit issued by the Director of Community Development to cut down, remove, or destroy any tree with a diameter at breast height of six inches or more on public OR private property. Applications take a minimum 21 days and are reviewed against tree health, hazard, project design, and replacement criteria. Native oaks and trees within Resource Protection areas receive heightened scrutiny.
Vacaville Municipal Code Section 14.09.250.060 is the operative Tree Removal Permit provision and sits inside Chapter 14.09.250 (Resource Protection) of the Land Use & Development Code. It prohibits any person from cutting down, removing, or destroying any tree on private property except in accordance with a Tree Removal Permit issued by the Director of Community Development - or for projects under discretionary review, the decision-making body (Planning Commission or City Council). The protected threshold is six inches DBH on public OR private property. Applications must be filed on a city form through the Community Development Department, take a minimum of 21 days to process, and are reviewed against statutory criteria: whether the project is designed to reduce development impacts to trees, the tree's general health, presence of disease or damage, danger to people or structures, proximity to utilities, and interference with utility services. Native oaks (valley oak, coast live oak, blue oak, interior live oak) within Resource Protection areas - including Lagoon Valley, the Vaca Hills, and significant ridgelines - receive heightened scrutiny, and removal is often conditioned on a higher replacement ratio. Emergency removal of imminent hazards is allowed with after-the-fact reporting to Community Development. Current Planning staff at (707) 449-5140 administers the program.
Removing a regulated tree (>=6 in DBH) without a permit violates VMC 14.09.250.060 and exposes the owner to: replacement-tree orders at increased ratios for unauthorized work, administrative citation, restoration plans, stop-work orders on associated construction, and potential misdemeanor prosecution for repeat or large-scale removals. Damage to trees the city has conditioned for preservation (e.g., during construction) is similarly enforceable.
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