Tree rules in Dallas: permits, protected trees and fees

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It restates three City of Dallas sources as read on October 8, 2026: the Permitting and Inspections page on landscape and urban forest conservation, a Development Services staff presentation dated August 21, 2023 and Appendix E of the Landscape and Tree Manual dated April 26, 2019. The presentation notes the 2018 manual was under review in 2023, and the Permitting page lists the manual as under construction, so the City Arborist is the place to confirm current wording. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities.

What is protected and who is excepted

The presentation says Dallas trees are protected at 8 inches in diameter and greater, and are classified by species and location. A tree removal permit is required to remove protected trees under Sec. 51A-10.130 of Article X unless one of two exceptions applies. The first is a lot under two acres that contains a single-family or duplex use. Vacant lots, lots of two acres or more, and lots with a structure being demolished need a permit. The second is a lot in a planned development district whose landscaping and tree rules vary appreciably from Article X, as determined by the building official. The manual adds that once a demolition permit is applied for on a small residential lot, the lot is treated as vacant until the demolition permit closes with the structure intact or a certificate of completion is issued for a new home. The presentation states that most home sites in residential districts are excepted, that the code applies to properties over 2 acres and non-residential districts including mixed use, and that the parkway and alley are not excepted.

Applying and the public interest test

The presentation lists what an application needs: the Building Inspection application signed by applicant and owners, a tree survey with caliper, species and location, a mitigation plan, and a fee of US$100 minimum or 0.0095 times the cost of the tree removal. Applications can go to the city arborist office at any time, but a permit is not issued unless the removal is found to be in the public interest, and it is processed when evidence supports the removal. The manual quotes the rule that the building official must deny an application if the removal or serious injury is not in the public interest. Appeals go to the Board of Adjustment, whose only question is whether the building official erred, and its decisions can be taken to district court. The Permitting page lists the Chief Arborist, four district arborists and a Q-Team arborist with phone numbers.

Replacement by classification

Removed protected trees are mitigated by planting or alternative means, counted in classified diameter inches. The presentation gives these ratios: historic trees 3 to 1, significant trees 1.5 to 1, Class 1 at 1 to 1, Class 2 at 0.7 to 1 and Class 3 at 0.4 to 1, with reductions for overall population conditions and species. Its example is a 20 inch live oak in Class 2, giving 13.7 inches classified. Mitigation timing is 30 days, extended by a building permit or by a phased development plan. For land clearing where no evidence of the trees remains, section 10.137(b) estimates the canopy area from aerial images, divides it by 1,200 square feet per tree and multiplies by eight inches per tree. Arborist authorization is required before any clearing, and vegetation removal in floodplain and escarpment zones is prohibited without approval.

Right of way, construction and city property

Trees planted in the right of way are City property, removal needs the City's permission, and the adjacent homeowner is responsible for removal and maintenance. A permit is required for healthy protected trees there, with mitigation. Chapter 48 makes the owner, occupant or person in control of property remove dead, diseased or damaged trees from the abutting parkway at their own expense. Section 10.136(a) says trees on city property must be established and maintained to ANSI A300 and ISA Best Management Practices or the American Standard for Nursery Stock. For construction, 10.136(b) requires a tree protection plan to those standards, with chain link fence for signature trees, installed before land disturbance and inspected by the building official first. Where the official finds irreparable damage inside a protection zone, the responsible party must remove and replace the tree. Large trees may not be planted within 20 feet of an overhead electric line and medium trees within 15 feet. Suspected illegal removals are reported to 311.

Tree rules in Dallas: permits, protected trees and fees

What is protected and who is excepted

Applying and the public interest test

Replacement by classification

Right of way, construction and city property

Sources