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

There is no tree-removal permit program for private property in unincorporated Stanislaus County. The Planning & Community Development Department states the County does not have a tree ordinance and does not oversee trees on private property, and that street trees on private property are the owner's responsibility. Unlike many California coastal and foothill jurisdictions, the County maintains no heritage-tree, oak, or significant-tree permit, and a homeowner generally may remove a tree on their own land without a County tree permit. Permit-type obligations arise only in specific contexts. First, the Zoning Ordinance's landscape provisions require new residential subdivisions to submit a tree-planting plan and to plant the specified trees before final inspection (Section 21.102.040(H), Ord. CS 509); trees installed to satisfy such a plan or other conditions of approval must be retained or replaced, so removal can require an amendment to the approved plan rather than a stand-alone tree permit. Second, trees in the public right-of-way or on County roads are controlled by Public Works and may not be removed without authorization. Third, discretionary development projects can be conditioned to preserve specific trees, and state laws (such as protections for nesting birds, riparian habitat, and oak woodlands under CEQA) can independently constrain removal during project review. For an ordinary homeowner removing an unconditioned yard tree, no County permit is needed, though confirming with the Planning counter is prudent if the tree was part of an approved plan or is near the road.