Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
It comes down to whether your lot is in a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area. Richmond has no general private-tree ordinance at all: the only tree article in the city code is Chapter 8, Article XII, and it is titled "Maintenance and Removal of Trees on City-Owned Property" — its operative sections are Reserved, and the single surviving section just creates the Urban Forestry Commission. But if your property falls inside a Resource Protection Area, the 100-foot buffer rules apply, and there existing vegetation may be removed only for a short list of purposes and only with the City's approval.
Size threshold
Richmond sets no diameter threshold for private tree removal. Inside a Resource Protection Area the trigger is location, not size: City Code Sec. 14-264(3) makes "the 100-foot-wide buffer area ... the landward component of the resource protection area," and Sec. 14-264(5) governs everything inside it regardless of trunk size.
What's protected in Richmond
- Trees and other vegetation inside the 100-foot-wide Resource Protection Area buffer of a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area (Sec. 14-264(5))
- Trees on city-owned property, which Chapter 8, Article XII reserves to the city
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Richmond states permits for maintenance or removal of city trees "are issued by the Urban Forestry Division in certain cases free of charge." Citizens may also apply to have city trees removed at their own expense. We did not find a published fee for Chesapeake Bay buffer approvals.
- Penalties
- For a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area violation, Sec. 14-295(b) provides that a violator "shall, upon such a finding thereof by the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000.00 for each day of violation." Sec. 14-295(c) separately lets the Director issue an order for a one-time civil charge "not to exceed $10,000.00 for each violation," in lieu of the daily penalty and in addition to the cost of any restoration required.
- Ordinance
- Richmond City Code Chapter 14, Article IV — Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas (Ord. No. 2014-116-89, adopted May 27, 2014; amended by Ord. No. 2018-025, February 26, 2018 and Ord. No. 2024-176, July 22, 2024). Chapter 8, Article XII — Maintenance and Removal of Trees on City-Owned Property (Sec. 8-544, Urban Forestry Commission; Ord. No. 2023-331, December 11, 2023). Code of the City of Richmond, 2026, codified through Ordinance No. 2025-207, adopted October 14, 2025.
Worth knowing
- The buffer rule reads: "In order to maintain the functional value of the buffer area, existing vegetation may be removed, subject to approval by the City, only to provide for reasonable sight lines, access paths, general woodlot management, and best management practices, including those that prevent upland erosion and concentrated flows of stormwater" (Sec. 14-264(5)).
- Removal for a view is allowed but comes with a replanting duty: "Trees may be pruned or removed as necessary to provide for sight lines and vistas, provided that, where removed, they shall be replaced with other vegetation that is equally effective in retarding runoff, preventing erosion, and filtering nonpoint source pollution from runoff" (Sec. 14-264(5)a).
- Hazard and nuisance trees are easier: "Dead, diseased, or dying trees or shrubbery and noxious weeds (such as Johnson grass, kudzu, and multiflora rose) may be removed and thinning of trees may be allowed, pursuant to sound horticultural practices" (Sec. 14-264(5)c).
- Richmond requires a Chesapeake Bay Site Plan for any land disturbance, development or redevelopment inside a designated Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area before it will issue a building or land disturbing permit (Sec. 14-263).
- Chapter 8, Article XII is nearly empty by design. Secs. 8-526 through 8-543 and Secs. 8-545 through 8-554 are all marked Reserved; Sec. 8-544 creates the Urban Forestry Commission, whose job is to advise the Director of Public Works on the Municipal Tree Policy and to help develop "a more comprehensive Municipal Tree Policy."
- City-initiated removals happen only when the tree is dead; dying or diseased to the point its health and safety are compromised; or has structural defects posing a public safety concern — and only after a Certified Arborist inspects it.
- Request a tree inspection through RVA311. Crews generally try to inspect within ten working days.
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 your specific lot is inside a Resource Protection Area. Richmond maps these; call Planning and Development Review at 804-646-6304 to check before you cut.
- — The application form, processing time and any fee for a Chesapeake Bay buffer vegetation approval.
- — Whether Richmond separately requires a permit for a street tree in the right-of-way abutting your property.