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

A review of the Imperial County Title 9 Land Use Ordinance found no chapter establishing a tree-removal permit, a protected/heritage-tree designation, or a tree-protection program — the kind of ordinance common in oak-woodland and coastal counties is absent here. For most owners in this desert county, removing a tree on private property is not a county-permitted activity, and no permit fee or replacement-tree requirement was located in the code. Three indirect limits exist. First, trees and shrubs installed as required landscaping for industrial, commercial, institutional, multi-family, or subdivision development under Title 9 Division 3, Chapter 2 must be maintained to meet the intent of the chapter and state law (§90302.08), with minimum five-gallon planting sizes and specified spacing; removing them without replacement can violate the approved landscape plan and stall project approval (§90302.07). Second, homeowner-provided landscaping for single-family residences and duplexes is excluded from those design standards (§90302.09), so ordinary residential tree removal is unregulated by the county. Third, a tree that becomes a fire menace when dry, or otherwise noxious or dangerous, can be ordered removed through the Title 9 Division 18 weed-and-vegetation abatement process (§91801.00, §91802.01). Within incorporated cities (not the unincorporated county), separate city tree rules may apply. Because the prompt asks for accuracy, the honest conclusion is: no Imperial County tree-removal-permit ordinance was found.