Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Virginia Beach requires city approval before trees come out inside a Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area, taken through a "Preliminary Project Request Tree Removal Only" submittal at the Development Services Center. For an ordinary tree on private property outside an RPA the city does not publish a yes-or-no answer, and tree removal is not among the permit types the Permits & Inspections Division advertises — so call the Development Services Center before you cut.
What's protected in Virginia Beach
- Trees within a Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area (RPA)
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Ordinance
- Virginia Beach City Code Appendix E — Tree Planting, Preservation, and Replacement; Appendix F — Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Ordinance
Worth knowing
- For RPA tree removal the city uses a "Preliminary Project Request Tree Removal Only" form, filed with the Development Services Center through the city's online permitting platform.
- Tree removal does not appear on the published permit list for the Permits & Inspections Division.
- General city questions route through VB311 at (757) 385-3111.
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 Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area.
- — Any diameter or species threshold, permit fees, replacement requirements and penalties. Appendix E is published only through a code viewer that blocks automated reading, so we did not quote its text.