Tree Removal Permits in Hillsboro, OR

Verified against Hillsboro city sources · last checked 2026-08-06

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

You do not need a city permit to remove a tree on your own private property in Hillsboro. There is no diameter threshold, no heritage tree registry, and no general private-lot tree ordinance. Both of the city's tree codes scope themselves away from the ordinary yard tree: the Municipal Code chapter covers public trees only, and the Community Development Code's tree preservation section applies only to development applications. Two exceptions exist and both turn on location, not size — a tree whose trunk is in the public right-of-way needs a free Tree Care Permit plus replacement, and a lot inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay needs a Significant Natural Resource Permit that costs $2,100.

Size threshold

There is no size threshold for private property. The figures in Hillsboro's code are development-review and overlay thresholds only. CDC 12.50.230(C), which applies to Type II and Type III development applications: "These standards apply to deciduous trees 8 inches or greater in diameter measured 4.5 feet above native grade, or coniferous trees 30 feet or taller in height" — note the split convention, deciduous by diameter and conifers by HEIGHT. Inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay, CDC 12.27.235.A.1.b provides that "Within the temporary development area, no trees 24 inches dbh or larger shall be removed."

What's protected in Hillsboro

Public trees, meaning "any tree located on public land or in the public right-of-way" (HMC 9.18.020). The city's test is simple: "A private tree is a tree whose trunk is entirely on private property."
Any lot inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay — mapped streams, wetlands and resource areas — where vegetation removal counts as "development" and needs a Significant Natural Resource Permit.
Mature trees and Specimen Trees on a site with a Type II or Type III development application pending (CDC 12.50.230). Table 12.50.230-1 sets Specimen Tree sizes measured at 4.5 feet above native grade: single Douglas Fir greater than 24 inches; single Grand Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Western Hemlock or Western Red Cedar greater than 12 inches; any other single conifer greater than 20 inches; single Red Alder, Big Leaf Maple or Oregon White Oak greater than 12 inches; any other single deciduous tree greater than 20 inches.
Mature trees in the public right-of-way within the Station Community Residential-Orenco Townsite Conservation District, which HMC 9.18.070(B) singles out for additional Community Development Code standards.

How to apply in Hillsboro

1
Work out whether the trunk is entirely on your property. The city's test: "A private tree is a tree whose trunk is entirely on private property." If it is, and you are not in the Significant Natural Resources Overlay, nothing further is required.
2
Check your address on the city's Hillsboro Maps GIS tool to see whether the lot is inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay. If it is, vegetation removal is treated as development and needs a Significant Natural Resource Permit at $2,100.00 — call Community Development at 503-681-6153.
3
If the trunk is in the public right-of-way, apply for a Tree Care Permit through the city's Accela portal at aca-prod.accela.com/HILLSBORO/Default.aspx. It is free, and you must replace the tree.
4
HMC 9.18.090(A): "Any person, other than authorized employees, agents or contractors of the City, must obtain a permit approved by the City Manager's office or designee prior to planting, removing or major pruning any tree located in the public right-of-way. The permit application shall be made before the intended activity."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: The Tree Care Permit for a right-of-way tree is free — the city's fee schedule lists right-of-way permits at no charge through Public Works. A Significant Natural Resource Permit is $2,100.00. There is no line item anywhere in the Citywide Fees and Charges Schedule for a private-property tree permit, because none exists.
Penalties: Hillsboro Municipal Code 1.08.010(B): "Except when a different penalty may be specifically provided, violation of any provision, enactment, order or decision in HMC 1.08.010 is subject to a penalty of $500.00." HMC 1.08.030 adds that "A person commits a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of this Code is committed, continued or permitted by that person and may be punished separately."
Ordinance: Street and public trees: Hillsboro Municipal Code Chapter 9, Subchapter 9.18 — Tree Planting, Maintenance and Removal, adopted by Ord. 6282, § 1, 2018. The Municipal Code is codified through Ordinance No. 6511, adopted January 6, 2026 (Supp. No. 1). Tree preservation on development sites: Hillsboro Community Development Code 12.50.230, most recently amended by Ord. No. 6508, § 1 (Exh. A), November 4, 2025, with earlier history Ord. No. 6488 (12-3-2024), Ord. 6401 (2022) and Ord. 6322 (2019). The Community Development Code is codified through Ordinance No. 6508, adopted November 4, 2025. Note that Hillsboro's zoning ordinance IS the Community Development Code, published as a separate code volume from the Municipal Code.

Worth knowing

Clear-zone trimming is mandatory even though removal is not regulated, and it reaches private trees. HMC 6.16.020(B): "Vegetation must be trimmed so that the minimum clearance of an overhanging portion is 8 feet above the sidewalk and 15 feet above the roadway."
HMC 9.18.060 flatly prohibits topping any public tree, attaching ropes, wires or chains, and damaging a public tree — including by girdling, excavating or causing compaction in the critical root zone, applying toxic chemicals, or "removing more than 25% of the crown or root area." It also bars beginning excavation, demolition or construction within 15 feet of a public tree without protection measures.
Abutting owners carry the maintenance duty for the right-of-way tree they cannot remove without a permit. HMC 9.18.080(B) requires maintaining the tree in good health per ANSI A300, pruning to the 8-foot and 15-foot clearances, obtaining "a permit prior to planting, major pruning or removing a tree," and replacing any removed tree per the Design and Construction Standards.
Major pruning is defined at HMC 9.18.020 as "pruning in a manner that causes the removal of branches 2 inches in diameter or greater; removal of roots 2 inches in diameter or greater; or removal of branches constituting more than 20% of the crown."
A "tree" for public-tree purposes is small: "a woody perennial plant typically having a single stem (trunk) which at full growth will attain either a height of at least 6 feet or a trunk diameter of at least 2 inches at 4 1/2 feet above natural grade."
Hillsboro has no heritage tree program. Its Tree City USA status since 2018 is recognition, not regulation.
There is a wildfire defensible-space exemption inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay. CDC 12.27.220(A)(8) allows removal "within 10 feet of habitable buildings" and "within 10 feet of overhead powerlines."
Where a mature tree comes out under a development approval, CDC 12.50.230(C)(5) requires mitigation by one of three routes: replacement on site "at least 2 1/2 inches in caliper"; a fee in lieu "approximately equal to the market value of the replacement trees"; or replacement trees planted off site in a public open space or park.
Development applications on sites "with stands of 5 or more overlapping mature tree canopies" must include a tree preservation plan prepared by a Certified Arborist, identifying potential wind throw and recommending measures to prevent it.
Utility companies operating in the city do not need a permit for right-of-way tree work done in compliance with their franchise agreement or right-of-way licence.
A Hillsboro mailing address does not mean you are inside city limits. Addresses outside the city are governed by Washington County's separate code.

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 a dead or dangerous tree inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay needs a permit. The code points both ways and we are not choosing. CDC 12.01.500 excludes "removal of individual diseased or dead plants, shrubs or trees" from the definition of Vegetation Removal, while CDC Table 12.27.220-1 item 5 requires a Significant Natural Resource Permit I for "Removal of dangerous trees not associated with other site improvements." Call Community Development at 503-681-6153 before cutting a hazard tree in the overlay.
— Ordinance No. 6473, which established the Significant Natural Resources Overlay, carries four conflicting adoption dates inside the code itself: 6-18-2024, June 28 2025, June 18 2025 and June 18 2024.
— Department email addresses. Neither Public Works nor Community Development publishes one; both use web contact forms.
— Whether the Tree Care Permit is a distinct Accela record type or the General Right-of-Way Permit under another name. The city's own page conflates the two. It is free either way.
— Permit turnaround time, which the city does not publish.
— The Hillsboro Design and Construction Standards, which HMC 9.18.070 makes binding for all planting, maintenance and removal of right-of-way trees and which set the replacement spread dimensions.
— Whether Clean Water Services vegetated corridor rules and Service Provider Letters apply to standalone tree removal in Hillsboro, as distinct from construction. Hillsboro sits in Washington County where CWS regulates vegetated corridors along streams.

Sources

Who to contact in Hillsboro

Public Works Department, City of Hillsboro (right-of-way and public trees). Community Development, for overlay and land use questions.

503-681-6509 (Public Works). Community Development: 503-681-6153. Main city line: 503-681-6100. Official page

4415 NE 30th Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124

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Size threshold

What's protected in Hillsboro

Public trees, meaning "any tree located on public land or in the public right-of-way" (HMC 9.18.020). The city's test is simple: "A private tree is a tree whose trunk is entirely on private property."

Any lot inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay — mapped streams, wetlands and resource areas — where vegetation removal counts as "development" and needs a Significant Natural Resource Permit.

Mature trees and Specimen Trees on a site with a Type II or Type III development application pending (CDC 12.50.230). Table 12.50.230-1 sets Specimen Tree sizes measured at 4.5 feet above native grade: single Douglas Fir greater than 24 inches; single Grand Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Western Hemlock or Western Red Cedar greater than 12 inches; any other single conifer greater than 20 inches; single Red Alder, Big Leaf Maple or Oregon White Oak greater than 12 inches; any other single deciduous tree greater than 20 inches.

Mature trees in the public right-of-way within the Station Community Residential-Orenco Townsite Conservation District, which HMC 9.18.070(B) singles out for additional Community Development Code standards.

How to apply in Hillsboro

1
Work out whether the trunk is entirely on your property. The city's test: "A private tree is a tree whose trunk is entirely on private property." If it is, and you are not in the Significant Natural Resources Overlay, nothing further is required.
2
Check your address on the city's Hillsboro Maps GIS tool to see whether the lot is inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay. If it is, vegetation removal is treated as development and needs a Significant Natural Resource Permit at $2,100.00 — call Community Development at 503-681-6153.
3
If the trunk is in the public right-of-way, apply for a Tree Care Permit through the city's Accela portal at aca-prod.accela.com/HILLSBORO/Default.aspx. It is free, and you must replace the tree.
4
HMC 9.18.090(A): "Any person, other than authorized employees, agents or contractors of the City, must obtain a permit approved by the City Manager's office or designee prior to planting, removing or major pruning any tree located in the public right-of-way. The permit application shall be made before the intended activity."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

The Tree Care Permit for a right-of-way tree is free — the city's fee schedule lists right-of-way permits at no charge through Public Works. A Significant Natural Resource Permit is $2,100.00. There is no line item anywhere in the Citywide Fees and Charges Schedule for a private-property tree permit, because none exists.

Penalties

Hillsboro Municipal Code 1.08.010(B): "Except when a different penalty may be specifically provided, violation of any provision, enactment, order or decision in HMC 1.08.010 is subject to a penalty of $500.00." HMC 1.08.030 adds that "A person commits a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of this Code is committed, continued or permitted by that person and may be punished separately."

Ordinance

Street and public trees: Hillsboro Municipal Code Chapter 9, Subchapter 9.18 — Tree Planting, Maintenance and Removal, adopted by Ord. 6282, § 1, 2018. The Municipal Code is codified through Ordinance No. 6511, adopted January 6, 2026 (Supp. No. 1). Tree preservation on development sites: Hillsboro Community Development Code 12.50.230, most recently amended by Ord. No. 6508, § 1 (Exh. A), November 4, 2025, with earlier history Ord. No. 6488 (12-3-2024), Ord. 6401 (2022) and Ord. 6322 (2019). The Community Development Code is codified through Ordinance No. 6508, adopted November 4, 2025. Note that Hillsboro's zoning ordinance IS the Community Development Code, published as a separate code volume from the Municipal Code.

Worth knowing

Clear-zone trimming is mandatory even though removal is not regulated, and it reaches private trees. HMC 6.16.020(B): "Vegetation must be trimmed so that the minimum clearance of an overhanging portion is 8 feet above the sidewalk and 15 feet above the roadway."
HMC 9.18.060 flatly prohibits topping any public tree, attaching ropes, wires or chains, and damaging a public tree — including by girdling, excavating or causing compaction in the critical root zone, applying toxic chemicals, or "removing more than 25% of the crown or root area." It also bars beginning excavation, demolition or construction within 15 feet of a public tree without protection measures.
Abutting owners carry the maintenance duty for the right-of-way tree they cannot remove without a permit. HMC 9.18.080(B) requires maintaining the tree in good health per ANSI A300, pruning to the 8-foot and 15-foot clearances, obtaining "a permit prior to planting, major pruning or removing a tree," and replacing any removed tree per the Design and Construction Standards.
Major pruning is defined at HMC 9.18.020 as "pruning in a manner that causes the removal of branches 2 inches in diameter or greater; removal of roots 2 inches in diameter or greater; or removal of branches constituting more than 20% of the crown."
A "tree" for public-tree purposes is small: "a woody perennial plant typically having a single stem (trunk) which at full growth will attain either a height of at least 6 feet or a trunk diameter of at least 2 inches at 4 1/2 feet above natural grade."
Hillsboro has no heritage tree program. Its Tree City USA status since 2018 is recognition, not regulation.
There is a wildfire defensible-space exemption inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay. CDC 12.27.220(A)(8) allows removal "within 10 feet of habitable buildings" and "within 10 feet of overhead powerlines."
Where a mature tree comes out under a development approval, CDC 12.50.230(C)(5) requires mitigation by one of three routes: replacement on site "at least 2 1/2 inches in caliper"; a fee in lieu "approximately equal to the market value of the replacement trees"; or replacement trees planted off site in a public open space or park.
Development applications on sites "with stands of 5 or more overlapping mature tree canopies" must include a tree preservation plan prepared by a Certified Arborist, identifying potential wind throw and recommending measures to prevent it.
Utility companies operating in the city do not need a permit for right-of-way tree work done in compliance with their franchise agreement or right-of-way licence.
A Hillsboro mailing address does not mean you are inside city limits. Addresses outside the city are governed by Washington County's separate code.

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 a dead or dangerous tree inside the Significant Natural Resources Overlay needs a permit. The code points both ways and we are not choosing. CDC 12.01.500 excludes "removal of individual diseased or dead plants, shrubs or trees" from the definition of Vegetation Removal, while CDC Table 12.27.220-1 item 5 requires a Significant Natural Resource Permit I for "Removal of dangerous trees not associated with other site improvements." Call Community Development at 503-681-6153 before cutting a hazard tree in the overlay.
— Ordinance No. 6473, which established the Significant Natural Resources Overlay, carries four conflicting adoption dates inside the code itself: 6-18-2024, June 28 2025, June 18 2025 and June 18 2024.
— Department email addresses. Neither Public Works nor Community Development publishes one; both use web contact forms.
— Whether the Tree Care Permit is a distinct Accela record type or the General Right-of-Way Permit under another name. The city's own page conflates the two. It is free either way.
— Permit turnaround time, which the city does not publish.
— The Hillsboro Design and Construction Standards, which HMC 9.18.070 makes binding for all planting, maintenance and removal of right-of-way trees and which set the replacement spread dimensions.
— Whether Clean Water Services vegetated corridor rules and Service Provider Letters apply to standalone tree removal in Hillsboro, as distinct from construction. Hillsboro sits in Washington County where CWS regulates vegetated corridors along streams.