Rialto, CA Tree Protection: Tree Replacement Requirements (2026)

Rialto Municipal Code Title 12 (Streets, Sidewalks and Public Places) authorizes the Public Works Department to require like-for-like or upgraded replacement of any street tree removed with city permission - typically a 24-inch or 36-inch box specimen of a species from the city's approved street-tree palette, planted in the same location or an adjacent approved location. For development sites, Title 18 Chapter 18.61 (Design Guidelines) and accompanying landscape standards require that any tree shown on an approved landscape plan that dies, is damaged, or is removed be replaced with a tree of comparable size and species, subject to Planning Division approval. New development must also meet the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) under CCR Title 23 §490 et seq., which Rialto implements through its landscape plan review - this dictates plant water-use, irrigation efficiency, and tree-canopy considerations even for replacement plantings. The state Civil Code §3346 doubles or trebles damages for unauthorized tree cutting on another's property, providing a private-action backstop to the city code.