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Permits and Law

City of Westlake Hills Tree Ordinance Information

By Keith BrownPublished Updated

On February 10, 2010 the City of Westlake Hills adopted a new tree ordinance. You can read the document in its entirety here. But, I’d like to offer you these important items in the ordinance.

  • You must have a permit for any tree pruning if you hire a service. If you do the pruning yourself, there are some allowance, but you should contact Christy to keep yourself out of trouble.

  • Trees up to 6” diameter can be removed without permit.

  • Trees 6” and larger can be removed with permit only and will require mitigation unless the tree is dead or dangerous.

  • City of Austin tree protection requirements for construction sites are adopted by Westlake Hills. *very good policy in my personal, professional opinion.

You can schedule an appointment with Christy Shull (inspector) by calling 327-3628. Use this tool to see if you are inside Westlake Hills jurisdiction.

google.maps.event.addDomListener(window, ‘load’, initialize); var geocoder; var map; function initialize() { geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder(); var latlng = new google.maps.LatLng(30.247, -97.673); var myOptions = { zoom: 15, center: latlng, mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, navigationControl: true, navigationControlOptions: {position: google.maps.ControlPosition.RIGHT} }; map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById(“map_canvas”), myOptions); var etjLayer = new google.maps.KmlLayer(‘http://www.westlakehills.org/WLHetjBoundaries.kml’); var boundariesLayer = new google.maps.KmlLayer(‘http://www.westlakehills.org/WLHboundaryMap_coordinates.kml’); etjLayer.setMap(map); boundariesLayer.setMap(map); } function codeAddress() { var address = document.getElementById(“address”).value; geocoder.geocode({‘address’: address}, function(results, status) { if (status == google.maps.GeocoderStatus.OK) { map.setCenter(results[0].geometry.location); var marker = new google.maps.Marker({map: map, position: results[0].geometry.location}); var contentString = results[0].formatted_address; var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow({content: contentString}); google.maps.event.addListener(marker, ‘mouseover’, function() { infowindow.open(map,marker)}); google.maps.event.addListener(marker, ‘mouseout’, function() { infowindow.close(map,marker)}); } else { alert (“Geocode was not successful for the following reason: ” + status); } }); }

Common questions

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In 2010, did Westlake Hills require a permit to prune a tree?

If you hired somebody, yes. Writing in 2010, on the ordinance adopted February 10 of that year: you must have a permit for any tree pruning if you hire a service. If you do the pruning yourself, there are some allowances, but you should contact the city to keep yourself out of trouble.

In 2010, what size tree could be removed in Westlake Hills without a permit?

Writing in 2010: trees up to 6” diameter can be removed without permit. Trees 6” and larger can be removed with permit only and will require mitigation unless the tree is dead or dangerous. Those are Westlake Hills figures, not City of Austin ones.

In 2010, did Westlake Hills use the City of Austin's construction tree protection rules?

Yes, for construction sites. Writing in 2010: City of Austin tree protection requirements for construction sites are adopted by Westlake Hills (very good policy in my personal, professional opinion).

When did the Westlake Hills tree ordinance in this post take effect?

On February 10, 2010 the City of Westlake Hills adopted a new tree ordinance, and everything described in this post is that ordinance as it read at the time. Ordinances in this region are amended, and a stale number about a permit is worse than no number at all, so check the current figures with the city before you rely on one.

How do I know whether my property is inside Westlake Hills?

That is exactly what the boundary map on this post was for: whether you are inside Westlake Hills jurisdiction. The inline map was retired in the migration, and the link standing in its place points at our tree ordinance finder.