Journal ·
Do I Need a Permit to Remove an Oak in Glendale?
Yes, in almost every case, and the rule is wider than the word removal suggests. Glendale protects seven native species once a trunk reaches six inches in diameter, and the permit covers pruning, relocation and encroachment as well as cutting. Buyers meet this ordinance late, when a pool contractor asks who is pulling the tree permit, or a plan checker asks for an arborist report on a tree standing on the neighbour's side of the fence.
Which trees are protected in Glendale?
The rule sits in Chapter 12.44 of the Glendale Municipal Code, the Indigenous Tree Ordinance. The current text comes from Ordinance 5719, adopted December 7, 2010, and was amended in full by Ordinance 6022 on February 13, 2024.
Section 12.44.020 defines a protected indigenous tree as any tree of a listed species with a trunk six inches or more in diameter, measured at 54 inches above the lowest point where the trunk meets the soil. For a multi-trunk tree, the combined diameter of any two trunks reaching six inches is enough.
Seven species are named, plus any hybrid with one or more as a parent:
| Common name | Botanical name |
|---|---|
| California Live Oak | Quercus agrifolia |
| Scrub Oak | Quercus berberidifolia |
| San Gabriel Oak | Quercus durata var. gabrielensis |
| Valley Oak | Quercus lobata |
| Mesa Oak | Quercus engelmannii |
| California Bay | Umbellularia californica |
| California Sycamore | Platanus racemosa |
Two things follow. A mature liquidambar, jacaranda or deodar cedar is not covered by Chapter 12.44, however large it is. And six inches is a young tree, roughly what a homeowner would call a large shrub.
The city has run this program since 1982, according to its Indigenous Tree Program page. Public Works administers it, not Community Development.
What counts as the protected zone?
The permit does not stop at the trunk. Section 12.44.020 sets the protected zone as the larger of two measurements: the area within the dripline extended one foot beyond it, or the area extending from the outside edge of the trunk by one foot for every inch of trunk diameter.
A 30-inch oak therefore carries a protected zone of at least 30 feet from the trunk edge in every direction, whichever way the canopy leans. On a standard Glendale lot that circle can swallow the side yard, the driveway and the spot where the ADU was going.
What work needs a permit?
Section 12.44.070 lists four triggers: pruning, removal, relocation, and encroachment. The fourth catches renovation, because it explicitly includes development where site access or material storage passes through the protected zone.
Section 12.44.050 then sets out prohibitions that apply whether or not you have a project. Among them:
- Cutting or pruning a live branch over two inches in diameter without a permit.
- Topping, hat racking, lion's tailing or shearing, in any amount.
- Changing the natural grade by excavation or filling inside the protected zone.
- Storing building material, ornamental rock or paving inside the protected zone.
- Installing or maintaining irrigation within three feet of the base of a protected tree.
- Misstating the location, size, species, diameter or dripline of a protected tree on any plan submitted to the city.
Read item five twice. A drip line against the trunk is a code violation on its own, with no chainsaw involved. Item six matters to sellers: an inaccurate site plan is a separate offence from the tree work itself.
Routine pruning is exempt under Section 12.44.030, and the definition is narrow. Dead, dying or diseased branches, plus live interfering or weak branches not exceeding two inches in diameter, with foliage reduction capped at one quarter of the tree.
The neighbour's tree problem
This is the provision most buyers never hear about until plan check.
Section 12.44.060 exempts trees whose removal was approved as part of a development plan or other discretionary project, and it attaches a condition. Anyone applying for a grading permit, building permit, Title 30 land use permit or Title 16 subdivision map must submit a qualified tree expert's plan showing every protected tree on the property and every protected tree on adjoining properties whose trunks or branches sit within 20 feet of the subject property line.
So a neighbour's live oak, on the neighbour's land, can add an arborist report to your permit set and constrain where you dig. Section 12.44.070C carries the same reach, requiring species, diameter, height, canopy and dripline dimensions, health, condition and photographs for every tree on site or within 20 feet of it.
A qualified tree expert means an ISA certified arborist, an ASCA registered consulting arborist, a California registered professional forester, or a CaUFC certified urban forester, and the owner pays.
Replacement trees: the cap that surprises people
Most tree ordinances set a replacement floor. Glendale sets a ceiling.
Under Section 12.44.080, the director must require mitigation planting as a permit condition, and the combined diameter of the replacement trees cannot exceed the diameter of the tree removed. Container size must be at least a 24-inch box unless nursery supply of the required species is genuinely limited. The director picks the species, and planting a different species is itself a violation.
Where a replacement cannot go on site, the applicant may instead pay into the city's urban forestry fund: a replacement fee equal to the value of the tree, an installation and establishment fee covering three years of planting, watering and maintenance on public property, and an administrative enforcement fee. If the director orders relocation instead, the applicant posts a bond equal to 100 percent of the tree's appraised value for three years.
The three-day notice nobody expects
Section 12.44.080I, added in the 2024 rewrite, requires notice posted on the property at least three days before the scheduled work, at a prominent point adjacent to the public right of way, showing the full permit with all conditions, the tree by species, size and location, and the approved work. Failing to post counts as violating the permit conditions, which lets the director suspend or revoke it. Those are three calendar days to build into an escrow schedule.
When the work was never permitted
Section 12.44.130 makes a violation chargeable as an infraction or a misdemeanour. As a misdemeanour the penalty runs to a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both, plus restitution. A civil action can add up to $1,000 per violation. Each tree damaged or removed is a separate violation, and each day a violation continues is a separate offence.
Then there is Section 12.44.120C. Anyone who removes, destroys or damages a protected tree after being denied a permit, or knowing a permit was required, is liable to the city for three times the applicable fine.
Permit fees are set by council resolution rather than in the code, must not exceed the cost of administering the permit, and adjust annually. Confirm the current figure on the citywide fee schedule. Appeals go to the Building and Fire Board of Appeals, filed with the city clerk within 15 calendar days. Filing stays the decision, and the hearing must start within 60 calendar days.
What to check before you write an offer
- Identify species, not just size. Bay and sycamore are protected here alongside oak, and both are easy to misread.
- Measure trunk diameter at 54 inches above the lowest point where the trunk meets the soil. Note multi-trunk trees separately.
- Look over the fence. Any protected trunk or branch within 20 feet of the property line will appear in your permit set.
- Sketch the protected zone, then overlay the pool, addition, driveway or ADU you have in mind.
- Ask the seller in writing whether any indigenous tree has been pruned, removed or encroached upon, and whether a permit was issued.
Hillside parcels stack this on the slope rules in the Glendale hillside R1R zone guide, and older streets add a design review layer described in the Glendale historic district guide.
Q: Does Chapter 12.44 apply to a dead or dying oak?
Not automatically. Decline in health is one criterion the director weighs under Section 12.44.080B, documented by a qualified tree expert who inspected the tree. The emergency exemption in Section 12.44.060A covers hazardous conditions requiring immediate action, but the cutting must be reported within five working days.
Q: Can I prune my own protected tree without a permit?
Within the routine pruning definition only. Anything heavier, and any topping, needs a permit.
Q: Does the ordinance cover street trees?
City-owned street trees are handled separately, and the city states that permits are required for the same work on them. The parkway tree is not yours to trim.
Q: My tree straddles the property line. Who is responsible?
Section 12.44.020 defines the tree owner as the record owner of the land where the trunk is wholly located. Where a trunk crosses a line, both owners are tree owners in common.
Q: Is a deodar cedar protected in Glendale?
Not under Chapter 12.44. The list covers five oaks, California bay and California sycamore. Other Los Angeles County cities protect different species, so a rule from next door may not transfer.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Ordinances and fee schedules change, so confirm current requirements with Glendale Public Works before acting. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
Looking at homes in Glendale? Start with the Glendale area guide.