Tree Removal Permits in South Bay: 11 Jurisdictions Compared
One sentence per city, generated from the verified dataset. Click through for the full rule, the process and the fire-safety route.
Dataset version 2026-10-21 · 11 cities · by Michael Schuck, ISA Certified Arborist WE-15750A, ISA Certified Urban Forest Professional WE-15750AF
11 jurisdictions in South Bay, each with its own ordinance. 3 always require an arborist report with a removal application. Permit fees run from $0 (Campbell) to $2,587 (San Jose). Each city page has the code section, the fee schedule, the process and the fire-safety rule.
| City | The rule in one sentence | Permit fee | Arborist report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Campbell requires a permit to remove oak, redwood, cedar or ash on a developed single-family lot at 12″; any species on non-single-family or undeveloped land at 12″; heritage tree at any size. Measured as trunk diameter (DBH) at 48″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $0. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $0 | Sometimes |
| Cupertino | Cupertino requires a permit to remove specimen species at 12″; heritage, development-approval or R-1 privacy tree at any size. Measured as trunk diameter (DBH) at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $483,. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $483, | Sometimes |
| Los Altos | Los Altos requires a permit to remove native species at 10″; any species at 12″; heritage tree (Historical Commission) at any size. Measured as trunk diameter (DBH) at 48″ above grade. Arborist report required with the application. Permit fee from $314.57. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $314.57 | Required |
| Los Gatos | Los Gatos requires a permit to remove any species, developed residential lot at 12″; any species, developed hillside residential lot at 8″; blue oak, black oak, CA buckeye, Pacific madrone at 8″; 1 more protected class. Measured as trunk diameter (DBH) at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $256. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $256 | Sometimes |
| Milpitas | Milpitas requires a permit to remove any species, developed residential lot at 56″; any species on commercial and others at 37″; heritage tree or street tree at any size. Measured as trunk circumference at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required with the application. Permit fee from $263. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $263 | Required |
| Monte Sereno | Monte Sereno requires a permit to remove oak or redwood at 20″; any other species at 25″. Measured as trunk circumference at 48″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $100. Verified October 12, 2026. | from $100 | Sometimes |
| Mountain View | Mountain View requires a permit to remove oak, redwood or cedar at 12″; any other species at 48″. Measured as trunk circumference at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $178. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $178 | Sometimes |
| San Jose | San Jose requires a permit to remove any species at 38″. Measured as trunk circumference at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $2,587. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $2,587 | Sometimes |
| Santa Clara | Santa Clara requires a permit to remove specimen species at 12″; any other private tree at 38″; heritage, development-approval or street tree at any size. Measured as trunk diameter (DBH) at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required with the application. Permit fee from $904. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $904 | Required |
| Saratoga | Saratoga requires a permit to remove native species at 6″; any other species at 10″; street, heritage or approval-condition tree at any size. Measured as trunk diameter (DBH) at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $151. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $151 | Sometimes |
| Sunnyvale | Sunnyvale requires a permit to remove any species at 38″. Measured as trunk circumference at 54″ above grade. Arborist report required in some cases. Permit fee from $406. Verified July 31, 2026. | from $406 | Sometimes |
Every cell comes from the verified 56-city dataset (CSV and JSON available there). Each city page links the code section and source.
Need a report a South Bay city will accept?
Written to the city's own checklist by an ISA Certified Arborist who does not sell tree work.