Tree rules in Phoenix: 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 four parts of Phoenix law as published on the city's code site and read on October 10, 2026: City Code chapter 34, sections 23-32 and 31-10, and Zoning Ordinance section 703. It adds the Planning and Development landscape review page, its landscape FAQ sheet and the Parks and Recreation urban forest page, all read on October 10, 2026. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest US cities.

What the code does and does not contain

Phoenix has no single tree ordinance in the sections read. The rules sit in separate places, and they are listed here by section so that a missing rule is not mistaken for a general statement. The City Code chapters read have no tree removal permit for a private single-family lot, and no heritage or significant tree list was found in the chapter list. Chapter 24 (Parks) has no tree section, and chapter 39 (Neighborhood Preservation) mentions trees only in a cross reference. The Zoning Ordinance has a plant salvage permit, described below, which exempts a single-family lot with one home or a duplex.

Street, park and right-of-way trees

Section	What it says
34-15 cutting or removal	Anyone who cuts, trims, removes, injures or disturbs ornamental trees or shrubs in the City's parks, pleasure grounds, boulevards, alleys or streets acts unlawfully. A person who maintains overhead wires or conduit may apply to the City Forester for permission to have interfering trees cut, trimmed or pruned under the Forester's supervision, and the work is done by the City Forester at the applicant's cost
34-14 street varieties	The City Planning Commission designates the kind and variety of shrubbery, palms or trees planted on streets. Owners' petitions are advisory, and owners of at least thirty percent of the frontage may appeal to the City Council
34-1 to 34-13 frontage petitions	A 1962-code procedure under which owners of a majority of the frontage on a street may petition for the City to plant or care for trees between sidewalk and roadway, with the yearly cost assessed per lot as a lien

Chapter 34 also lists cross references for trees interfering with solid waste collection (27-42), visibility at intersections (31-13) and, under state law, authority to plant trees along streets (A.R.S. 9-499.01 and 9-276(A)(1)).

Trees on private land that reach the street

Section 23-32 makes it unlawful to let trees, shrubs or bushes on one's property encroach on and interfere with a traffic control device, the passage of people or vehicles, or drainage flow on a public right-of-way or easement. Beyond the general penalty in section 1-5, the City may act at the Director of Streets and Traffic's direction. After seven days' notice to the owner it may enter and do the work and charge twice the cost, which is a lien on the property. Where the interference affects the safe operation or passage of motor vehicles, the notice period is twenty-four hours. The lien runs with the land.

Section 31-10 puts on the owner, lessee or person in control of land beside a sidewalk, alley or street the duty to keep it free of hazards, among them the section's phrase "Overgrown vegetation, dead trees, brush, and weeds". Non-compliance brings a written notice ordering compliance within thirty days. Section 31-13 limits fences, hedges and landscaping over three feet high, and anything between three and ten feet above grade other than a post, column or tree not over one foot across, inside the sight triangle on residential corner lots. The table in the code gives 33 feet along each street for most street-type pairings.

Plant salvage on development sites

Zoning Ordinance section 703, subsection E.1, says trees, plants and cacti on a site and in the abutting rights-of-way must stay in place in healthy condition as shown in approved development documents. It adds that no trees, plants or cacti may be removed or destroyed on a property without first obtaining a plant salvage permit from the Planning and Development Department, with four exceptions: the Department has said in writing no salvage plan is needed, the plants are on a single-family lot with one home or a duplex, they were destroyed by a natural or accidental cause, or an owner or public utility removes them to maintain electric transmission or distribution facilities. Where plants die or are lost, the owner replaces them with like kinds and sizes or an equivalent the Department's landscape architect decides, and no final certificate of occupancy or completion issues before the replacements are installed unless the Director allows it.

Subsection E.2 lists the plans required: a plant inventory plan, a plant salvage and tree protection plan marking every tree, cactus and plant as remain in place, salvage or destroy, and a landscape plan sealed by an Arizona registered landscape architect.

The City's landscape FAQ sheet, revised 2/24 as printed, says existing native trees of 4 inch caliper or greater and cacti 3 feet tall or taller, and healthy non-native trees of 4 inch caliper or greater and cacti 6 feet tall or taller, should generally be salvaged and reused or protected in place. After the salvage plan is approved a Civil Environmentally Sensitive permit, also called the salvage permit, is created, and the sheet says the grading permit is released after the fence and nursery inspections under it. Protective fencing goes at the canopy edge or beyond. Palm trees need an inventory plan but generally not a salvage plan. The Planning and Development line printed on the page is 602-262-7811. The urban forest page of Parks and Recreation describes the Shade Phoenix Plan, a five-year plan with 36 actions, but states no permit rule.

Tree rules in Phoenix: permits, protected trees and fees

What the code does and does not contain

Street, park and right-of-way trees

Trees on private land that reach the street

Plant salvage on development sites

Sources