Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Fernley has no tree ordinance at all. The word "tree" appears in its code mainly in the solid waste chapter and the development code, and the only place a tree removal permit exists is for the public right-of-way. The development code's landscaping section spells out its own exemption: it "does not apply to... Single-family dwelling units or duplexes on separate lots, except common areas in planned developments." For a Fernley homeowner that is the whole answer.
Size threshold
None. Fernley's code contains no diameter, caliper or DBH threshold for tree removal anywhere. The only tree measurements in the code are minimum planting sizes and spacing for new development.
What's protected in Fernley
- Trees, shrubs, plants and flowers in the city right-of-way. Fernley Code 24.02.03(a) authorizes the director to issue written permits "(3) To plant, remove, cut down, injure or destroy any tree, shrub, plant or flower growing upon any city right-of-way." Doing any of those things in the right-of-way without that permit is what the chapter prohibits.
- Vegetation in a drainage easement. Fernley Code 32.09.040 provides that within the easement "no tree or bush removal, gravel excavating, filling or side casting of materials" is allowed. Note that this one cuts both ways - it restricts REMOVAL, not just planting.
- Trees in city parks and recreation facilities. Fernley Code 20.01.08 makes it a prohibited act to "Dig up, pick, remove, mutilate, injure, cut, or destroy any turf, tree, plant, shrub, bloom, flower or portion thereof."
How to apply in Fernley
- 1
These steps are only for a tree in the city right-of-way. On your own lot Fernley requires nothing.
- 2
Fernley Code 24.02.03(b)(1) and (2): apply to the department in writing on the forms it provides.
- 3
Subsection (b)(3): "Each applicant shall have a licensed contractor perform any work described in the application and shall provide the contractors name, license classification and address thereon, unless the requirements of this section are waived by the director." Line up a licensed contractor before you apply.
- 4
If the work is an encroachment, subsection (b)(4) also requires the abutting owner names, the legal description, and a legible drawing showing property lines, the edge of the travelled way including shoulders, and the location, size, height and type of construction proposed.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No fee is stated in Fernley Code 24.02.03 for the right-of-way permit. No fee exists for private-property tree removal because no permit exists.
- Ordinance
- City of Fernley Code Title 24 (Streets and Sidewalks), Chapter 2 (Excavations and Encroachments), section 24.02.03, which the codifier notes derives from Prior Code section 9.01.03. The landscaping standards are Fernley Code Title 32 (Development Code), Chapter 32.09 (Development Standards), section 32.09.090. Fernley incorporated in 2001 and its code is comparatively young; there is no chapter titled Trees, no urban forestry program in the code and no tree board. Code current through Ordinance No. 2026-008, enacted February 18, 2026 (Supp. No. 10).
Worth knowing
- The single-family exemption is explicit and worth quoting to anyone who tells you otherwise. Fernley Code 32.09.090(a)(4): "Exceptions. This section does not apply to: a. Single-family dwelling units or duplexes on separate lots, except common areas in planned developments."
- The landscaping section also exempts projects where existing planting already does the job: 32.09.090(a)(4)(c) excludes "Development projects where the existing vegetation to be retained meets or exceeds the requirements of this section." That is an incentive to keep trees, not a permit to remove them.
- Artificial turf is allowed in Fernley, but only out of sight of the street. Fernley Code 32.09.090(c)(9): "Artificial turf is permitted as a landscape cover in side and rear yards that are not adjacent to streets."
- Graded ground has to be replanted. Fernley Code 32.09.090(d)(1): "Areas disturbed by grading activity that do not include permanent structures, pavement, parking areas or landscaping, shall be revegetated with indigenous or natural appearing plants."
- Tree trimmers are named in the waste chapter, not the licensing chapter. Fernley Code 14.02.12 exempts "permitted septic tank or grease trap pumpers, lawn maintenance services and tree trimmers" from the exclusive solid-waste franchise for material they generate, which means your tree service may legally haul away your own branches.
- A grading restriction can bite before a tree rule does. Fernley Code 32.09.070 provides that the city "may restrict improvements consisting of the clearing of brush and trees or the moving of earth by mechanical equipment." If you are clearing a lot rather than taking out one tree, ask Development Services first.
What we could not confirm
We would rather tell you what we don't know than guess. Call the office below to confirm these before you cut.
- — Whether Fernley licenses tree services. Title 10 (Business and License Regulations) was searched for tree entries and none appeared, but it was not read chapter by chapter.
- — Whether the Nevada State Contractors Board requires a licence for tree removal, and at what dollar threshold. Fernley Code 24.02.03(b)(3) requires a "licensed contractor" for right-of-way work without saying which classification.
- — The application form, processing time and any fee for a Title 24 Chapter 2 permit.
- — The direct phone numbers for Fernley Public Works, Development Services and Parks. Only the main city line is published on the city home page.
- — Whether the Truckee Canal, the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District or any irrigation-ditch easement across a Fernley lot restricts tree removal. Fernley Code 32.09.040 restricts tree removal inside a drainage easement, and irrigation easements are common in Fernley, but the district's own rules were not examined.
- — Whether Fernley has a nuisance provision reaching dead or hazardous private trees. Title 16 (Nuisances) exists but was not read.