Austin has rules about cutting trees on your property

   There has been a lot of press about the trees being cut down for various condo developments in central Austin. The City of Austin has taken a very proactive stance about protecting our trees. They developed a Tree and Natural Preservation Code. I think this happened shortly after "Treaty Oak" was poisoned. 

The actual code may be viewed at www.ci.austin.tx.us/trees/preserve_code.htm.

    The code basically states that all developments must obtain permission from the city of Austin before removing any living trees. If a tree is dead, you can do whatever you wish to remove it. The city would like to preserve any living trees that are eight inches or larger. If your tree is larger than nineteen inches in diameter then it is designated as "Protected" and they don't want you to cut these trees down. If you have a tree that has a diameter in excess of sixty inches, then you MUST apply for a permit from the city to cut this tree down. They may or may not allow you to cut it down. Each and every case is unique and different, so they must examine the details of the site and specific about the removal request.

The city has broken the types of trees into "classes", as some trees are more desirable than others. For example all Oak and Pecan trees are class One, very desirable. Whereas the messy Cottonwood and Hackberry trees are class Four.

The bottom line is know what you have and know who to ask before you cut down a tree on your property.

Betina Foreman, Realtor
Keller Williams Real Estate
1801 South MOPAC, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78746
512-771-6318
BetinaForemanRealtor@yahoo.com, 
www.BetinaForeman.com