Tree rules in Irvine: permits, protected trees and fees
What the Irvine Urban Forestry Ordinance says about significant trees, the ban on topping, the tree removal permit and its approval criteria, one-for-one replacement and the fine, plus what the City's urban forestry pages say about private trees.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes the Urban Forestry Ordinance, chapter 4 of division 7 of title 5 of the Irvine Municipal Code (sections 5-7-401 to 5-7-417), as published on the Municode site, and three pages of the City of Irvine website on private trees, tree maintenance and urban forestry, all read on October 9, 2026. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities. The City's private trees page says about 85 percent of the City's trees stand on private property, including homeowners association communities and commercial sites. Its tree maintenance page says the City cares for more than 60,000 City-maintained trees along streets, in parks and in public spaces.
Where the ordinance applies
Section 5-7-407 says the chapter applies to public trees in street rights of way, public trees in and around parks and other public facilities, trees in common areas at village edges and in landscape or parking lot setbacks along arterial streets, private trees on nonresidential properties to the extent Zoning Ordinance requirements apply, and significant trees. The same section says the Zoning Ordinance does not restrict tree removal but does imply replacement, to keep set ratios of trees to parking stalls and linear boundary. Section 5-7-404 defines a significant tree as any tree within the public or private landscapes listed in section 5-7-407, and any tree in a eucalyptus windbreak or a remnant of one. For the chapter, a tree is a woody plant species that normally has one trunk and a clear crown and is 15 feet or taller when mature.
Section 5-7-404 also defines topping, with the terms heading, dehorning, pollarding and hatracking, as a pruning cut that shortens a branch back to a stub, a bud, or a side branch too small to take over as the leader. A lateral is large enough when it is at least half the diameter of the branch removed. Section 5-7-409 prohibits topping unless a tree removal permit has been issued or an emergency poses an immediate threat to persons or property.
The tree removal permit
Section 5-7-410 requires a permit to remove any significant tree on public or private land the chapter covers, and says a permit that does not list the trees to be removed is assumed not to allow removal. It names the City Arborist, the Director of Public Works or an authorised representative, as the person who decides. The applicant pays a fee set by City Council resolution. The City's private trees page adds that the Community Development Department handles permits, and that an application can be filed online.
| Criterion in section 5-7-410(B) | What it says |
|---|---|
| Dead or declining | Dead, or in significant and irreversible decline, which the section defines as dead limbs making up more than one third of the crown |
| Structure and health | A potentially hazardous and incorrectable structure; stunted or malformed from crowding; an insect or disease infestation that is not treatable and could cause death |
| Damage to structures | Removal is granted if the repair cost exceeds the tree's appraised value under the International Society of Arboriculture method, if repair would compromise the tree's health and safety, or if the tree is incompatible with its growing space |
| Damage to utilities | Granted if the tree caused the damage. A trunk centre within 3 feet of a utility line is assumed to have caused it; beyond 3 feet the applicant shows cause |
| Incompatible with space | Needs a comprehensive management plan through the City's Community Forests Program or equivalent, covering phased removals and replacement, before approval |
| Use of the property | Trees that significantly inhibit use of the property where removal provides public benefit; the Planning Commission evaluates these |
Replacement, penalty and appeal
Section 5-7-410(C) says removed trees are replaced one for one, on site in a similar or different location or off site as the Urban Forestry Guideline Manual prescribes, on the City Arborist's determination. On nonresidential property the replacement follows the landscape plan the City last approved, at a ratio that does not exceed the tree density that plan specifies. Section 5-7-411 makes a property owner or agent who violates the topping ban or the permit rule guilty of a misdemeanour, subject to a fine of not less than the assessed value of the tree lost, as the City Arborist works it out by the International Society of Arboriculture appraisal method. Section 5-7-413 lets the applicant or any affected resident or property owner appeal an Arborist decision under the Zoning Code. Section 5-7-415 says the owner of private property, or the person responsible for public property, has a duty to keep trees safe and healthy, and that the chapter puts no duty of care or liability on the City.
What the City pages add
The tree maintenance page says City trees are pruned on a four-year cycle by zone, with ficus, eucalyptus windrows and palms on shorter cycles, and that the work follows City specifications and ANSI A300 under a team of certified arborists. The private trees page says the Urban Forestry Guideline Manual, which supports the ordinance, was marked as not yet available on the date read. The page links a map of the trees the City maintains, and says many trees in the public right of way are privately maintained under the zoning ordinance.
Sources
- City of Irvine, Municipal Code division 7 chapter 4 Urban Forestry, sections 5-7-401 to 5-7-417, on Municode, read October 9, 2026
- City of Irvine, Private Trees, Permits, and Regulations, read October 9, 2026
- City of Irvine, Tree Maintenance and Pruning, read October 9, 2026
- City of Irvine, About Urban Forestry, read October 9, 2026