Yuba City, CA Tree Protection: Tree Replacement Requirements (2026)

Yuba City Municipal Code Title 8, Chapter 5, Article 60 (Landscaping) requires that any tree installed as part of an approved landscape plan must be maintained in a healthy, vigorous condition and replaced if it dies, declines beyond restoration, or is removed. Per §8-5.6007 (Maintenance), replacement trees must match the original species size and quality specified on the approved plan unless a substitute is approved by the Planning Director. For commercial parking lots, Article 60 implements the California state requirement (Government Code §65857.5 implementing the parking lot shade ordinance) requiring 50% canopy shade coverage within 15 years; replacement trees must be selected from the city's Recommended Parking Lot Shade Trees list issued by the Parks Division. For new residential subdivisions, parkway and median street trees must be installed and bonded through the subdivision improvement agreement under Title 8 Chapter 2 (Subdivisions), and the developer is responsible for replacement during the maintenance/warranty period (typically one year after acceptance). The Parks Division's 2009 Recommended Street Trees list (parkways, medians, and soundwalls) specifies acceptable replacement species, with preference for large deciduous trees (e.g., Quercus lobata 'Valley Oak', Quercus rubra 'Red Oak', Acer rubrum 'Red Maple', Pistacia chinensis 'Chinese Pistache').