Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
In Newport News it turns on whether your yard sits in a Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area — the 100-foot buffer landward of tidal wetlands, tidal shores, connected nontidal wetlands, and along both sides of any perennial waterway. Inside the RPA, city staff approval is required before vegetation comes out, and replacement plantings are required in most cases. Outside it, the city's homeowner guidance does not address tree removal at all.
What's protected in Newport News
- Vegetation inside a Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area — tidal wetlands, connected nontidal wetlands, tidal shores, and the 100-foot buffer landward of them
How to apply in Newport News
- 1
Check whether an RPA covers your lot: open the city map viewer at gis2.nngov.com/gis, find your property, and highlight "Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas" under the Environmental category.
- 2
For development or redevelopment in the RPA, start with a Building Permit Application through Codes Compliance — staff review it against the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance.
- 3
For projects involving only minor vegetation removal, administrative approval can be obtained without additional permits.
- 4
Contact the 311 Contact Center at 757-933-2311 or 311@nnva.gov to obtain permits or approval.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Ordinance
- Newport News Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance
Worth knowing
- The city's wording for the RPA: "Following approval by City staff, vegetation can be removed if it is considered dead, diseased or noxious. Trees may be pruned or removed to provide for reasonable sight lines and vistas... Replacement plantings will be required in most cases."
- Any project or land disturbance over 2,500 square feet requires a Land Disturbance Permit from Engineering.
- The 100-foot buffer "should remain vegetated and undisturbed."
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 permit is required to remove a tree on private property outside a Resource Protection Area.
- — Permit fees, any diameter or species threshold, and penalties for removing RPA vegetation without approval.