Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Scottsdale is the strict one in Arizona, and what matters is species, not project size. If the tree is on the city's protected native plant list and is 4 inches or greater in caliper, or it is a listed cactus 3 feet or taller, you need a Native Plant Permit before it comes down — in a landscaped back yard, on a finished lot, anywhere in the city. If it is an ordinary non-native landscape tree and it is not inside a Natural Area Open Space easement, Scottsdale requires nothing. There is no general tree ordinance, no diameter-based tree permit and no arborist requirement.
Size threshold
Scottsdale Revised Code section 46-105: "Protected native plant means cacti which are three (3) feet or greater in height and trees which are four (4) inches or greater in caliper of the following species."
What's protected in Scottsdale
- Protected native trees at 4 inches caliper or greater: whitethorn acacia (Acacia constricta), catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii), red barberry (Berberis haematocarpa), crucifixion thorn (Canotia holocantha), desert hackberry (Celtis pallida), blue palo verde (Cercidium floridum), foothill palo verde (Cercidium microphylum), desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), juniper (Juniperous species), ironwood (Olneya tesota), cottonwood (Populus fremontii), mesquite (Prosopis species), scrub oak (Quercus species), sugar sumac (Rhus ovata), Arizona rosewood (Vauquelinea Californica).
- Protected cacti at 3 feet or taller: saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), barrel (Ferocactus species), ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), desert night-blooming cereus (Peniocereus Greggii), soaptree yucca (Yucca elata).
- Natural Area Open Space (NAOS) easements, regardless of species. Zoning section 6.1100.B: NAOS "shall be permanently preserved in its natural condition"; "Clearing, pruning, raking, and landscaping within NAOS areas is prohibited"; "Dead or dying native plants within NAOS shall be left in place to provide wildlife habitat."
How to apply in Scottsdale
- 1
Call the One Stop Shop at 480-312-2500 with your address first. Because of the conflict described below, a homeowner with no construction project cannot assume there is a clean self-service route.
- 2
Single-family: the city states that "Single family projects are required to submit a native plant inventory report and site plan at the time of submittal for building plan reviews." The standalone application form says in bold that it is "not for Native Plant permits associated with Single-Family Residential building permits."
- 3
Tag the plants before submitting, per section 46-116: white plastic tape means remain in place, red means relocate, blue means destroy. Tags stay on until the work is done and inspected.
- 4
Expect roughly 21 days of review, then a waiting period before anything is destroyed. Section 46-117 runs the clock from the date of application: 1 to 5 plants is 15 days, 6 to 15 plants is 30 days, 16 or more is 60 days. "In no instance shall destruction of protected native plants occur prior to issuance of a native plant permit."
- 5
Salvage is the default. Plants that must be moved have to be salvaged and replanted on site unless shown to be unsalvageable, and salvage must be done by a contractor on the city's approved-methodology list.
- 6
Permits expire if work is not commenced within 90 days, or if suspended or abandoned for 90 days. One 90-day extension is available on written request (section 46-113).
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Native Plant Permit: $37 plus $1 for each plant affected plus a $237 base fee, on the FY 2026-27 schedule effective July 1, 2026. Native Plant Relocation Methodology $63. Native plant plan review bills at $121 per hour. Code basis is section 46-114; section 46-115 exempts city, county, state and federal agencies from fees only.
- Penalties
- Section 46-120(a): class 1 misdemeanor, fine up to $2,500 and/or up to six months imprisonment at the magistrate's discretion, and each day the violation continues is a separate offense. Section 46-120(b) blocks any further native plant permit until a restoration program is approved and the property is replanted with protected native plants of equivalent type, size, density, distribution and condition. Zoning section 7.505.B values the loss at $300 per caliper inch for protected native trees (measured one foot above ground level) and $200 per foot for protected native cacti, capped at $10,000 per plant, plus 15 percent retained by the city, plus a three-year replacement and maintenance agreement before any construction permits issue on that property.
- Ordinance
- Scottsdale Revised Code Chapter 46, Article V — Protection of Native Plants, sections 46-105 through 46-120. Adopted by Ord. No. 2261, section 1, August 15, 1989; amended by Ord. No. 3302, March 21, 2000 and Ord. No. 3378, June 4, 2001. The parallel Zoning Ordinance provisions are Article VII sections 7.500 through 7.506, adopted by Ord. No. 2262, August 15, 1989 and last amended by Ord. No. 4143, May 6, 2014. Code codified through Ordinance No. 4681, adopted July 1, 2025 (Supplement No. 80).
Worth knowing
- Scottsdale's own homeowner-facing Home Improvement page lists work that does not need a building permit and then adds: "Planting new trees, shrubs, or ground cover. Removing and relocating native plants will require a permit."
- The city states the Native Plant Ordinance "applies city-wide. Protecting native plants also applies to both natural desert and landscaped areas."
- The Environmentally Sensitive Lands Overlay covers 134 square miles north and east of the CAP canal. Zoning Administrator Interpretation No. 2002-3 (August 1, 2002) allows limited pruning inside NAOS to protect walls or allow safe access for repairs, but not destruction, and says an owner who needs to remove native plants in NAOS "must first contact the City for specific approval."
- Zoning section 10.101 exempts "Single-family residences and their accessories" from the landscaping article. That is why an ordinary non-native back yard tree is unregulated. It does not touch Chapter 46 Article V, which is where the native plant rule lives.
- Right-of-way: SRC section 47-47 puts routine maintenance of the adjacent right-of-way on the abutting owner, "including mowing and trimming plants and trees" and "replacing dead plants," and adds that hand-tool maintenance needs no city authorization but "Property maintenance using trucks and large mechanical equipment in the right-of-way requires written city authorization."
- Many north-Scottsdale HOAs impose their own vegetation restrictions. The city says CC&Rs are a civil contract it does not enforce or monitor.
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.
- — The operational answer for a homeowner with no construction project. Section 46-106 forbids removing a protected native plant without a permit, but section 46-111 says "No native plant permit shall be issued unless an application is submitted in conjunction with an existing or proposed development which requires development review board approval, city council approval, board of adjustment approval, or approval of a plat." The code is internally inconsistent on paper and no written city interpretation resolving it could be found. Call 480-312-2500 rather than trusting either half.
- — Where the 4-inch caliper is measured for the protected-plant threshold. It is not defined in Chapter 46 Article V or in Zoning section 3.100. The only measurement point anywhere in the code, "one (1) foot above ground level," appears in the penalty valuation at section 7.505.B.1.
- — Whether removing an existing mature non-native tree from the public right-of-way requires written city authorization. Sections 47-46 and 47-47 address encroachment, interference and equipment use, not removal as such.
- — Total out-the-door cost for a homeowner-scale removal. The permit fee is knowable; the plan review hours at $121 per hour are not.
- — The city's Guide to Native Plant Ordinance brochure says Scottsdale adopted the ordinance "in 1981." The codified ordinance history shows Ord. No. 2262 adopted August 15, 1989, replacing an earlier section traced to Ord. No. 455 of June 17, 1969. The brochure date is not supported by the code.
Sources
- City of Scottsdale — Native Plant Ordinance Information
- City of Scottsdale — Home Improvement (removing native plants requires a permit)
- Scottsdale Revised Code section 46-105 — definitions and protected species list
- Scottsdale Revised Code section 46-106 — native plant permit required
- Scottsdale Revised Code section 46-111 — permit approval timing
- Scottsdale Revised Code section 46-120 — penalties
- City of Scottsdale — One Stop Shop contact and hours
- City of Scottsdale — Environmentally Sensitive Lands Ordinance