Santa Clarita Revises Law Protecting Oaks
The Santa Clarita City Council has approved an ordinance, more than a year in the making, to preserve oak trees, long regarded as the symbol of the Santa Clarita Valley.
The measure refines an emergency oak ordinance passed the day the city incorporated Dec. 15, 1987. The new ordinance, approved Tuesday night, spells out how and when residents may trim or remove the trees.
City officials said the new ordinance is more flexible than the emergency measure, which required residents to obtain $125 permits to trim or remove trees. Under the new ordinance, a permit will not be needed for routine maintenance or to remove deadwood under six inches in circumference.
Under the new ordinance, trimming permits will cost $25. Permits to remove oaks will remain $125. Oak trees may only be removed with city approval.
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