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Serving Palo Alto & the Mid-Peninsula
Palo Alto Tree Service & Landscaping
Certified arborist-led tree care and professional landscaping for Palo Alto homeowners — where some of California's most protected urban trees, historic canopy neighborhoods, and one of the state's most rigorous tree ordinances demand genuine expertise.
Who We Are
The Arborist Expertise Palo Alto's Trees Require — and Its Ordinance Demands
Palo Alto takes its urban forest more seriously than almost any other city in California. The canopy of native oaks, redwoods, and mature ornamental trees that defines neighborhoods like Old Palo Alto, Professorville, and Crescent Park is a protected community asset — and the city's tree ordinance reflects that with requirements that are among the most comprehensive in the state. Working within that framework isn't a burden for a properly credentialed arborist. It's exactly the kind of environment where that expertise earns its value.
We are a team of tree and landscape professionals serving the mid-Peninsula and South Bay, with extensive experience navigating Palo Alto's tree protection requirements. Our work is led by certified arborists at every stage — from the initial walkthrough through the final recommendation — because in a city where the stakes of getting tree decisions wrong are this high, there's no substitute for that professional grounding.
Palo Alto homeowners come to us because they want a team that can answer their questions with precision, work within the city's regulatory framework efficiently, and be trusted with trees that took a century to grow. That's the standard we hold ourselves to.
Call The Experts
Why Palo Alto Homeowners Choose Us
Credentials That Hold Up to Palo Alto's Standard of Scrutiny
Palo Alto homeowners ask detailed questions and expect detailed answers. They verify credentials, compare options, and hold their service providers to a high standard. Here's how we measure up.
Certified Arborist Oversight
Every assessment, report, and recommendation is made under certified arborist oversight. In Palo Alto's regulatory environment, that credential isn't optional — it's the baseline requirement for credible tree work.
Palo Alto Tree Ordinance Expertise
Palo Alto's tree ordinance is one of the most detailed in California. We navigate its requirements regularly — understanding protected species thresholds, permit processes, arborist report standards, and tree protection plan requirements for construction projects.
Arborist Report Preparation
Palo Alto frequently requires formal arborist reports for permits, construction projects near protected trees, and heritage tree evaluations. We prepare these documents to the city's specifications and can communicate directly with planning staff during review.
Dual-Licensed, Fully Insured
Active CSLB License #985639 covers both Tree Service (C-61/D-49) and Landscaping (C-27). On a Palo Alto property where tree and landscape work often intersect, a single fully licensed team eliminates credential gaps.
150+ Five-Star Reviews
A track record built across some of the Bay Area's most discerning homeowners. We're the team that holds up under scrutiny — because that's the only kind of reputation worth building.
Family-Owned Since 1965
Decades of mid-Peninsula and South Bay experience. We've worked with trees that were already mature when we started — and that long view shapes how we approach the irreplaceable specimens in Palo Alto's historic neighborhoods.
Arborist-Led Care · One Company · Every Service
Tree & Landscaping Services for Palo Alto, CA
From permit-compliant tree work and formal arborist reports to precision landscape design and year-round maintenance, Palo Alto homeowners have access to our full range of services through one certified, accountable team.
🌲 Tree Services
Understanding Palo Alto's Tree Environment
One of California's Most Protected Urban Forests — and What That Means for Homeowners
Palo Alto's tree ordinance is widely regarded as one of the most protective in California. It covers a broad range of species, applies to trees meeting relatively modest size thresholds, and includes specific provisions for heritage trees, construction impact mitigation, and canopy replacement requirements. The city maintains an active urban forestry program and takes enforcement seriously — homeowners who remove or significantly alter protected trees without prior approval face substantial fines and mandatory replanting at multiples of the removed tree's caliper.
The implications for any work near a significant tree are real and worth understanding before a project begins. This includes not just direct pruning or removal, but construction activity, trenching for utilities, grading near the root zone, and even parking or staging equipment under the canopy. A tree protection plan is required for many permitted projects near protected trees, and the plan must be prepared by a qualified arborist and approved before work commences.
Palo Alto's historic neighborhoods — Old Palo Alto, Professorville, Crescent Park, and the Stanford-adjacent blocks of University Avenue — carry urban forest specimens that have been growing for a century or longer. Coast live oaks, valley oaks, incense cedars, and mature ornamental street trees throughout these neighborhoods represent a living legacy that the community actively works to preserve. That context shapes how an arborist approaches work in Palo Alto differently than in a newer suburban city with younger trees and lighter regulatory oversight.
The city is also served by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for part of its water supply, alongside Valley Water, creating a layered water management framework that we account for in irrigation design and recommendations.
Serving Palo Alto and the surrounding mid-Peninsula communities.
More Than a Contractor
A Long-Term Stewardship Partner for Your Palo Alto Property
This is about more than your landscape. It's about community, trust, and an ongoing relationship with a team that understands Palo Alto's trees, its regulations, and its standards — and brings that understanding to bear on every project they take on here.
Palo Alto homeowners tend to think carefully before making decisions — about their homes, their investments, and the professionals they trust to work on them. That's a disposition we respect and share. We don't rush assessments, we don't make recommendations we can't fully justify, and we don't treat any tree on a Palo Alto property as a routine job. These are often irreplaceable specimens in one of the most carefully maintained urban forests in the state. We treat them accordingly.
With certified arborist consultations and formally prepared preservation reports, heritage tree stewardship, construction impact planning, precision landscape design, and year-round maintenance programs calibrated to Palo Alto's unique environment, San Jose Tree Service & Landscaping is the long-term partner Palo Alto properties deserve.
Work With UsWe handle the full permit process for Palo Alto tree work — assessment, formal arborist report, application documentation, and coordination with city staff through review and approval.
Palo Alto's century-old specimens require a different level of care and biological understanding than younger landscape trees. We bring that expertise to every heritage tree we assess and manage.
Tree protection plans for permitted projects, pre-construction root zone assessments, and contractor guidance that keeps your trees safe through renovation and construction activity.
Palo Alto homeowners ask hard questions. We welcome them — because an informed client makes better decisions, and better decisions lead to healthier trees and landscapes over the long run.
Common Questions
What Palo Alto Homeowners Ask Us
Palo Alto's tree ordinance is one of the most comprehensive in California. It protects trees meeting certain size thresholds — generally 12 inches or greater in diameter at breast height — as well as all heritage trees regardless of size, and specific protected species at smaller measurements. The ordinance covers not just removal but also significant pruning, root zone disturbance, and any work that could materially affect a protected tree's health or structure. Before undertaking any substantial work involving a protected tree, the city requires a permit application supported by a qualified arborist's written assessment. We navigate this process regularly and can assess your trees, prepare the required documentation, and guide you through city review efficiently.
Palo Alto designates certain trees as heritage trees based on their historical significance, exceptional size, species rarity, or cultural importance to the community. Heritage tree designation confers the highest level of protection under the city's ordinance — removal is subject to a more rigorous review process, and the replacement requirements are substantial. Heritage designation can be initiated by the city or by a property owner, and it applies to both public and private trees. If you have a tree you believe may qualify — or want to know whether a tree on your property already carries a designation — a certified arborist assessment is the right starting point. We can research the city's records and evaluate the tree's characteristics against the designation criteria.
This is one of the most important questions a Palo Alto homeowner can ask before a construction project begins — and the earlier in the design process it's addressed, the better the outcome. Palo Alto requires a tree protection plan prepared by a qualified arborist for any permitted project that involves work within the protected zone of a significant tree. The protected zone is generally defined as the area within the drip line, but for large specimens it can extend considerably further. The plan must be submitted with the building permit application, approved before work commences, and physically implemented on-site before any ground disturbance. Engaging an arborist before your architect finalizes the design gives you the most flexibility to adjust the project scope in ways that protect your trees — rather than discovering conflicts after plans are drawn and permitted.
With significant deliberateness and a multi-factor assessment before any recommendation is made. Large, old oaks in Palo Alto's historic neighborhoods are typically coast live oaks or valley oaks that have been growing in their current location for 80 to 150 years or more. Their root systems are extensive, their structural dynamics have developed over decades, and their sensitivity to disturbance — particularly soil compaction, irrigation changes, and grade modifications — is considerably higher than younger trees. Our approach to these specimens involves a thorough visual assessment of crown structure, bark health, root collar condition, and any signs of internal decay; careful evaluation of the tree's risk profile relative to targets; and where warranted, tools like resistograph testing to assess internal wood density. Recommendations for century-old oaks are never casual, and the bar for removal is very high.
Yes — and this is one of our strengths. The most successful landscape designs in Palo Alto don't work around protected trees as obstacles; they work with them as organizing principles. A large oak's canopy determines shade patterns, root zone constraints determine where hardscape can and can't go, and the tree's long-term health depends on not being surrounded by drought-irrigated planting that saturates the root zone in summer. We start every Palo Alto landscape design with a full inventory and assessment of the existing trees, using their conditions and constraints to shape the design from the ground up. The result is a landscape that enhances the property's character, complies with the city's requirements, and keeps your protected trees healthy for the decades ahead.