The short answer
Georgetown's tree rules live in Chapter 8 of the Unified Development Code, "Tree Preservation, Landscaping and Fencing," which the City Council rewrote with Ordinance 2025-54 on September 9, 2025. For a homeowner, the whole chapter boils down to one question: is the tree a Heritage Tree? If it is, you need a Tree Removal Permit no matter where in the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction the tree stands. If it isn't, and you're on a single-family lot, in our experience you don't. Everything else is detail — but the details are where people get $10,000 mitigation bills.
What a Heritage Tree is
A Heritage Tree is one of 13 species that measures 26 inches or more in diameter at 4½ feet above the ground (DBH). The 13 are: live oak, post oak, Shumard oak, bur oak, chinquapin oak, Monterey oak, bald cypress, American elm, cedar elm, pecan, walnut, Texas ash and southern magnolia. That covers the big tree over most Georgetown roofs. A 26-inch trunk is about 82 inches around — a tape measure at chest height tells you in thirty seconds, and we measure every candidate on the estimate visit.
Under Section 8.02.030.A, removing a Heritage Tree requires a permit on any property in the city or ETJ, residential included. Pruning more than 30 percent of a Heritage Tree's crown counts as a removal. And the Critical Root Zone — one foot of radius for every inch of DBH, so a 26-inch tree has a 26-foot circle around it — is protected from cutting, fill and compaction during construction.
What a Protected Tree is
A Protected Tree is any tree 12 inches DBH or larger that isn't on the exclusion list — hackberry, chinaberry, Ashe juniper (mountain cedar, blueberry juniper, post cedar), Chinese tallow and mesquite are excluded at any size. Protected Trees need a permit only on non-residential and multifamily property. On your own single-family lot, a 20-inch cedar elm or an 18-inch hackberry is yours to remove without asking.
The exemptions
Section 8.02.030.D lists the situations where the tree rules don't apply, and three of them come up constantly:
Lots platted before February 13, 2007
Residential lots platted before that date are exempt from Section 8.02 entirely — Heritage Trees included. That covers Old Town, the streets around the square and Southwestern University, most of the neighborhoods off Williams Drive and Austin Avenue, the older parts of Sun City, Serenada, Berry Creek's first phases and a lot more. We check the plat date on the county appraisal record before we quote.
Dead or fatally diseased trees
A tree that's dead, or diseased beyond saving — confirmed by a certified arborist — owes no mitigation. This is what makes an oak wilt diagnosis or a drought-killed post oak a paperwork question rather than a $10,000 one. Our ISA Certified Arborist writes the letter.
Hazardous trees after a declared disaster
After an event like the 2023 ice storm, the Planning Director can waive the requirements for trees that have become hazardous. Sight triangles at intersections, agricultural land, city capital projects and utility work are also exempt.
Mitigation
When a permit is required and the tree isn't dead or hazardous, the city requires replacement inches or a fee in lieu. The ratios are 1:1 for Protected Trees under 26 inches, 2:1 for trees 26 inches and up that aren't Heritage species, and 3:1 for Heritage Trees. Remove a healthy 30-inch live oak on a post-2007 lot and you owe 90 inches of new trees or the equivalent payment into the city's tree fund. That's the number that surprises people, and it's why "can we prune it instead" is often the right question.
How the permit works
Tree Removal Permits are filed through the city's online permitting portal (MyGovernmentOnline) and reviewed by the Planning Department's urban forestry staff. A residential application needs a site sketch, photos, the DBH and species of the tree, and the reason for removal — with an arborist's letter if you're claiming the dead-or-diseased exemption. We prepare and file the package for the jobs we do; the city's fee is separate.
Utilities and 811
Trees within ten feet of Georgetown Utility Systems' primary lines are the utility's to clear — GUS runs a three-year trimming cycle and will send its own contractor; call (512) 930-3640. GUS won't prune your service drop, but it will disconnect or relocate it so we can work safely. And stump grinding is excavation, so we call Texas 811 before a grinder starts. It's free, it takes two business days, and we do it on every job.
Round Rock, Leander, Cedar Park and the county
Each city has its own ordinance and they don't match. Round Rock, Leander and Cedar Park each have their own size thresholds and their own Heritage lists, and none of them matches Georgetown's; Liberty Hill, Hutto and Jarrell are lighter-touch. Unincorporated Williamson County — outside every city's ETJ — has no tree-removal permit for private property that we've ever been asked for. We know which rulebook applies at your address before we quote.
HOAs
None of this is the HOA. Sun City, Wolf Ranch, Teravista, Berry Creek, Rancho Sienna, Santa Rita Ranch, Parkside on the River and most of the newer communities have architectural rules about removing and replacing trees, and the fines are real. We know what most of them want and we'll tell you before we cut.
Common questions
How do I know if my tree is 26 inches?
Wrap a tape measure around the trunk at 4½ feet above the ground. If it reads 82 inches or more around, the tree is 26 inches in diameter. Multi-trunk trees have their own measuring rule; we handle it on the estimate visit.
My lot was platted in 1998. Can I remove my 30-inch live oak?
Under the plat-date exemption, yes — a residential lot platted before February 13, 2007 is exempt from Section 8.02. We still verify the plat date on the county record before we cut, because the exemption is worth thousands of dollars.
What's the penalty for cutting a Heritage Tree without a permit?
Violations of the UDC are subject to the city's general penalty provisions, and the city can require mitigation at the full ratio after the fact. Not worth it — the permit is a form and, for a dead tree, a free letter.
Do I need a permit to trim my own tree?
No, unless you're taking more than 30 percent of a Heritage Tree's crown, which the code treats as a removal. Normal pruning, deadwooding and clearance are yours to do or hire out.
Do you handle the permit?
Yes — we measure, check the plat date, write the arborist letter when the tree is dead or diseased, and file the application. The city's fee and any mitigation are separate and we tell you what they'll be before you decide.
Related: Tree removal · Live oak & post oak care · Commercial & HOA tree service · Cost guide