Sebastopol sits right where the county's dry inland valleys give way to the damp, foggy west county. That shows in the trees. Coast redwoods and Douglas fir reach great heights around town, oaks and bays mix along the creeks, and plenty of yards still hold apple trees left from the Gravenstein orchards that once covered the area. All that moisture keeps things green, but it also helps sudden oak death spread from bay laurel to the oaks around it. Redwoods planted close to houses decades ago now drop heavy branches on roofs every winter. And old apple trees left unpruned for a decade or more split under their own weight.
We do a lot of careful pruning and selective removal in Sebastopol, often on tight lots where every piece has to come down on a rope. A tree health care visit is a good first step if your oaks look off. If a redwood or fir has to come down, our tree removal page explains how we do it safely. West county lots are often steep, wooded and reached by narrow lanes, so we plan access and where the wood will land before the climber goes up. Call for a free estimate.
The City's 20-Inch Rule
Sebastopol's tree ordinance draws its line by trunk size. On a single-family or duplex lot, you need a permit before removing a tree once its trunk reaches 20 inches across at chest height. For a tree with several trunks, one trunk at 20 inches is enough. The city arborist reviews these applications for houses. Apartment and commercial properties have a lower bar, with native trees like oaks, bay, madrone and redwood protected from 10 inches. A tree that's dead, badly diseased or an immediate danger to people or property is exempt, but the city wants that backed by an analysis from the city arborist or staff first. So it's worth getting the paperwork right even when the tree is clearly failing. We take care of the measurement and the application details as part of the job. Down the road in Santa Rosa, oaks count at much smaller sizes, so what's allowed in Sebastopol isn't a guide to the city next door.
Old Apple Trees and West County Redwoods
Many Sebastopol yards have one or two old Gravenstein or other apple trees, often 50 years old or more. They're worth saving when the trunk is sound. The usual fix is a few seasons of careful winter pruning: removing dead wood and water sprouts first, then thinning crowded limbs so light gets into the middle. Cutting an old tree back hard all at once usually backfires with a mass of new shoots. Redwoods are a different story. They're tough and fast-growing, but planted too close to a house they fill gutters, crowd the roof and drop limbs in winter storms. Thinning and raising the lower limbs often solves it without taking the tree down. And with bay laurel so common here, a pruning visit is a good time to clear bays crowding your oaks, which lowers the sudden oak death risk. In the flatter yards toward Cotati, we see the same redwood problems on smaller lots, where room to work is even tighter.
Common Questions
On a single-family or duplex lot, the line is a trunk 20 inches thick or more, measured 4.5 feet up. Smaller trees on house lots generally don't need one. A tree that's dead, badly diseased or an immediate danger is exempt, but the city wants that confirmed by its arborist or staff. Apartment and commercial lots have tighter rules for native trees.
Often, yes. If the trunk is solid and the tree still leafs out and fruits, a few years of gradual winter pruning can bring it back into shape. Take out dead wood and the straight upright shoots first, then thin the crowded limbs a little each year. Trees with a hollow or split trunk, or heavy decay at the base, are harder to save and may be safer replaced with a young tree.