City of Los Angeles Protected Tree and Shrub Relocation and Replacement Ordinance

Note: the following text is England|Ecology’s standard legal text used for biological reports. The primary purpose of this text’s existence on this website is to provide a landing page for hyperlinks in footnotes in smaller documents, where there may not be adequate space for explanations of the laws and policies that underpin the report.

The Protected Tree and Shrub Relocation and Replacement Ordinance took effect in February 2021. As defined in Section 46.01 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, “protected tree or shrub" means any of the following Southern California indigenous tree species, which measures four inches or more in cumulative diameter, four and one-half feet above the ground level at the base of the tree, or any of the following Southern California indigenous shrub species, which measures four inches or more in cumulative diameter, four and one-half feet above the ground level at the base of the shrub:

Protected Trees:

• Oak tree including Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) and California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), or any other tree of the oak genus indigenous to California but excluding the Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia).

• Southern California Black Walnut (Juglans californica).

• Western Sycamore (Platanus racemosa).

• California Bay (Umbellularia californica).

Protected Shrubs:

• Mexican Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana).

• Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia).

Sections 46.02 to 46.06 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code describe mitigation measures for tree impacts and penalties for violating the ordinance.

Coast Live Oaks (Quercus agrifolia), such as these, are protected by the City of Los Angeles. Photo by Marcus C. England of England|Ecology.