| |
Out of the hundreds of thousands of trees in San Jose, there are some that are very special. These are the trees that are designated by the City Council as Heritage Trees. The list of Heritage Trees are updated from time to time as needed to add new trees to the list or remove those trees that have died or had to be removed due to serious safety concerns. The process for determining which trees are added to the Heritage Tree is under the jurisdiction of the City Arborist’s Office. The list is reserved for those trees that have special significance to the community.
Nomination
If you have a tree that you would like to consider being designated as a Heritage Tree contact the City Arborist at 277-2762 or arborist@sanjoseca.gov. You must be the owner of the property where the tree is growing, or if you are nominating someone else’s tree, you must have their written permission to nominate the tree. Per the language of the San Jose Municipal Code, a Heritage Tree is defined as “any tree which, because of factors including but not limited to its history, girth, height, species, or unique quality.”
Protection of Heritage Trees
Once Heritage Trees have been designated by the City Council, they have greatly increased protection from harmful illegal pruning or removal. Violation can result in a citation and fine of up to $10,000, which can increase for repeated violations up to $30,000. Therefore any pruning on Heritage Trees needs to be done in consultation with the City Arborist to insure that the work done on or around the tree will not endanger its health, structure or life. |
