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Owning your home Arborist, gardener or landscaper — which do I need in Palo Alto?

A gardener keeps what you have: mowing, weeding, shrub trimming. In California, routine garden maintenance generally needs no contractor’s license. A landscape contractor builds or changes things, like irrigation, paths, walls and new planting, and needs a C-27 license once a job reaches $1,000. An ISA-certified arborist is the person for a tree’s health, pruning plan or removal, and in Palo Alto a protected tree can’t be removed without a city permit backed by a certified arborist’s report.

Homeowners ask me this more than you’d think. Usually it’s right after a big branch comes down in a storm. The three trades overlap at the edges, but each one answers a different question.

The gardener: keeping what you have

A gardener comes on a schedule and looks after the garden you already have: mowing, weeding, shrubs, leaves, tidy beds. The state contractors board says gardeners paid regularly for that kind of upkeep generally don’t need a license.

The line moves once the work becomes construction. Any project of $1,000 or more, labor and materials together, needs a licensed contractor. So do tree removal and pruning above 15 feet.

The landscape contractor: changing it

Call a landscape contractor when you want something built or rebuilt: new irrigation, a path, a retaining wall, a new planting plan. In California that means a C-27 license once the job reaches $1,000. I always look the license number up on the CSLB website before anyone starts. It takes about a minute.

The arborist: the trees

An arborist looks at trees. Is it healthy? How should it be pruned? Is it safe that close to the house, and does it really need to come out? ISA certification, from the International Society of Arboriculture, is the credential to ask for. Not every tree company has one on staff, so I ask who will actually assess the tree.

Palo Alto’s tree rules, in brief

Palo Alto’s current rules took effect on May 1, 2024, and they protect more trees than many owners expect:

  • Native species measuring 11.5 inches or more in diameter at breast height: coast live oak, valley oak, blue oak, California black oak, big leaf maple and California incense cedar. Coast redwoods are protected from 18 inches.
  • Any mature tree of 15 inches or more, except invasive and high water-use species.
  • Street trees. The City prunes every public street tree at least once every seven years, and homeowners and private tree companies aren’t allowed to prune one without a permit.

Removing a protected tree takes a permit from the City’s Urban Forestry Section. The application needs a report from an ISA-certified arborist.

Pruning has rules too. You post a public notice on the property at least seven days before pruning a protected tree. Removing more than 25% of a tree’s leaf, stem or root area in 24 months counts as excessive. For oaks, the root limit is tighter.

If you’re unsure whether a tree is protected, Urban Forestry will tell you: (650) 496-5953.

Who to call first

  • A tree looks sick, leans, or dropped a large limb: an arborist.
  • The garden is overgrown and you’d like it kept up: a gardener.
  • You want new irrigation, a patio or a new planting plan: a C-27 landscape contractor, and an arborist too if the work comes near a large tree’s roots.
  • You’re planning an addition and there’s a big tree nearby: an arborist, before the design is settled. A tree’s protection zone can shape what you’re allowed to build.

If you’d like a name for any of these, I’m happy to share people I’ve worked with or who have been highly recommended to me. Is there a tree on your lot you’ve been wondering about?

Sources

Maggie is a licensed California real estate agent (DRE #02117367), not an architect, contractor, engineer, arborist or tax adviser. These answers give a real-estate perspective and a plain-English reading of published rules, current as of the date on the page. Confirm tree and permit questions with the City of Palo Alto before work begins.

Maggie Ma Keller Williams Palo Alto · DRE #02117367 Updated

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