Tree rules in San Jose: permits, protected trees and fees
What Chapters 13.32 and 13.28 of the San Jose Municipal Code say about ordinance trees (38 inches in circumference), the tree removal permit, unsuitable and dead trees, replacement trees, safeguarding during construction, heritage trees and street tree permits.
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 Chapter 13.32, Tree Removal Controls, and Chapter 13.28, Street Trees, Hedges and Shrubs, of the San Jose, California, Municipal Code, plus section 20.100.140 of Title 20, as published on the Municode library and read on October 9, 2026. The code sends fines to a schedule of administrative fines set by the city council and does not state amounts in these chapters, so no fine or permit fee is given here. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in US cities.
Which trees are covered
Section 13.32.020 defines a tree for the chapter as any live or dead woody perennial plant with a main stem or trunk measuring 38 inches or more in circumference at 54 inches above the natural grade. For a multi-trunk tree the circumferences at that height are added together. The same section defines removal broadly: eliminating, uprooting or destroying a tree, and also any action that reasonably and foreseeably leads to its death or to permanent significant damage, with excessive pruning, cutting, girdling, poisoning or watering of a tree, and excessive digging or grading inside the dripline, and bruising or tearing roots, bark or branches given as examples. Topping is defined as cutting branches in a way that destroys the natural shape and leaves a stub appearance.
Section 13.32.030 makes it unlawful to remove a live tree from private land unless removal is required under Chapter 13.28, or a development permit, a development permit amendment or a tree removal permit allows it. Section 13.32.040 sets a separate route for a dead tree: a report from a certified arborist must be submitted to the Director on request, and a development permit adjustment or a tree removal permit must allow the removal. The code defines a certified arborist as someone certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists, and defines a dead tree as one in an advanced state of decline with too little live tissue to sustain life, as judged during a non-dormant stage.
Unsuitable trees
Section 13.32.020 also defines an unsuitable tree, on a lot used for a one-family, two-family or multi-family dwelling or any other use under Title 20, that is not a heritage tree, a heritage candidate or a palm in the Palm Haven Conservation Area. It must meet one of these criteria: the nearest part of the trunk is 5 feet or less from the nearest above-grade part of a dwelling, secondary unit or garage; the nearest part of the trunk is 5 feet or less from the centreline of a below-grade utility pipe or line; on a one- or two-family lot, the species is on a council list of species found less compatible because it is invasive, non-native or disease-prone; or the tree creates an imminently hazardous condition shown by a certified arborist report. Section 13.32.095 says the Director may approve a permit for an unsuitable tree at their sole discretion, with no hearing or notice, and that the decision is final.
The permit process for other trees
| Step | What the code says |
|---|---|
| Application (13.32.070) | Written application on the Director's form giving number, type, size and location of each tree and the reason for removal. A dead tree application adds the arborist report |
| Tentative decision (13.32.090) | The Director writes a tentative decision and mails it to the applicant and to owners and occupants of contiguous parcels and the parcels across the street. Hearing requests are due no sooner than 10 calendar days after mailing |
| Posting (13.32.090 and 13.32.047) | The applicant posts the tentative decision within 5 calendar days, at least 8.5 by 11 inches at each street frontage, and certifies it stayed up at least 5 calendar days. The issued permit is also posted and kept on site |
| Findings (13.32.100) | At least one: removal would not significantly frustrate the chapter's purposes; the tree unreasonably restricts economic development of the parcel; or disease, danger of falling, nearness to a structure or utility interference makes removal necessary for public health or safety |
| Appeal (13.32.120) | After a hearing, the applicant or neighbouring owners and occupants can appeal to the Planning Commission within 10 days of the mailed notice. The hearing is set 10 to 60 days after the appeal is accepted |
Section 13.32.080 lets the tree removal request ride inside a Title 20 development permit application. Section 13.32.090 also offers a special use permit as an alternative process. Section 20.100.140 lists tree removal permits among the actions that can be reviewed in a unified process with a development permit and ranks the tree removal permit decisions last in the hearing hierarchy.
Replacement, construction and heritage trees
Section 13.32.110 says the permit must require suitable replacement trees, provided, installed and maintained at no cost to the city, on site or else elsewhere in the city. The requirement is to be roughly proportionate to the burden of the removal, and a replacement tree that fails within three years after planting is to be promptly replaced. The Director may increase the number or size where the applicant removed a dead tree without a permit.
Section 13.32.130 lists conditions for trees kept during construction: an inventory of all site trees by size, species and location before any permit, immediate reporting of damage, no equipment or materials inside the dripline, no wires or signs on trees, cutting and filling at the base only as the city arborist authorises, no dumping of paint, plaster or wastewater between the dripline and trunk, and fencing at the dripline unless a certified arborist directs otherwise. Section 13.32.140 provides for heritage trees on private land that the council finds to have special significance and lists by resolution; vandalising, grievously mutilating, removing or destroying one carries an administrative citation and a civil penalty set by council resolution.
Street trees
Section 13.28.300 makes it unlawful to plant a street tree without a Director's permit or a city contract. Section 13.28.310 makes it unlawful to prune or remove a street tree, or do work that may affect its critical root zone, without a Director's permit. The Director issues a removal permit only if at least one criterion is met: a hazardous or imminently hazardous condition, a conflict with the community forest master plan or street tree guidelines, interference with high tension lines that topping cannot fix, extensive concrete damage with the concrete replaced more than once in ten years, extensive sewer damage that no reasonable means resolves, or a conflict with an approved development permit.
Section 13.28.340 lists cases with no permit needed, including emergency pruning of an imminently hazardous condition, which requires written notice to the Director within two business days. Section 13.28.400 puts the duty to maintain and replace street trees fronting a lot on the property owner, including watering, pruning, pest control, debris removal and protection of the critical root zone, and it states a duty to members of the public using the street. The city can do work and recover the cost as an assessment that becomes a lien (sections 13.28.540 to 13.28.610).
Sources
- City of San Jose, Municipal Code Chapter 13.32 Tree Removal Controls, on Municode, read October 9, 2026
- City of San Jose, Municipal Code Chapter 13.28 Street Trees, Hedges and Shrubs, on Municode, read October 9, 2026
- City of San Jose, Municipal Code Chapter 20.100 Administration and Permits, section 20.100.140, on Municode, read October 9, 2026