Tree Rules and Responsibility

A big tree growing into overhead wires is not a weekend pruning job. Utility rules, state clearance laws and electrical safety orders decide who does the work and how close anyone can get.

A street tree hanging over a sign or lifting the sidewalk raises a fair question about who handles it. Here is how the City of Sacramento splits the duties.

Once a tree is gone, only the paperwork can show that someone approved the work. Tree work permit records protect you when a buyer's inspector asks about a missing oak or when a neighbor questions a removal. They also help the next person who works on the yard...

Owners thinking about removing a large tree often ask the same thing first. Do I need permission? Inside City of Sacramento limits, a Sacramento tree removal permit applies to some trees and not others, and the difference turns on where the tree stands, what kind it...

Many homeowners treat the fence as the edge of their land. Fences get built where it is convenient, though, not always on the legal line. Tree property boundaries matter most when someone plans to grind a stump, cut roots or remove a tree that sits near that fence....

A neighbor's tree drops leaves in a pool, shades a vegetable bed or sends branches over the roof. The urge to grab a pruning saw is understandable. Neighbor tree trimming rules, along with plain courtesy, call for a few checks before anyone cuts. The sections below...

Some trees on private land in Sacramento need a City permit before regulated work. Native oaks, sycamores and buckeyes qualify at smaller sizes, and large trees of any kind can qualify too.

Sacramento uses trunk diameter at standard height to decide which private trees are protected. A string, a tape measure and simple math give a number to compare with the City thresholds.