The Department of Public Works (DPW) diligently maintains and preserves Santa Clara's urban forest with the goal of educating the public, preserving existing trees, and planting new trees. Over the years, the City has been recognized by Tree City USA with the following awards:

	2024 Tree City USA Growth Award (25th time receiving this award)
	2024 Tree City USA Recognition Award (38th consecutive year)

 The City has implemented various efforts to help improve the tree program, such as: 

• Hosting an annual Arbor Day/Earth Day event where school children are educated on the importance of protecting our environment and the important part trees play in that effort. 
• Participating in the Santa Clara Valley Urban Forestry Alliance to support collaborative urban forestry. 
• In November 2021, the City updated its Tree Ordinance with help from several departments and the public. This update helps to protect private trees, plant new trees, establish tree replacement ratios, and requires plans to protect trees during construction projects.
• Planting hundreds of new trees over the last several years. 

The Department of Public Works maintains approximately 15,000 City trees that are generally located in residential areas and within the public right of way.

The City has begun installing round silver tags on all City trees. The tags display "CITY OF SANTA CLARA" and a unique identifying number for that tree. The tree number is used to track the history for that tree in our Tree Inventory Database. The project is expected to take multiple years to complete. Since the start of the program, in 2022, our crews have tagged and inventoried nearly 5,000 City trees! 

Pruning of City Trees

In 2022, the Department of Public Works shifted to programmed pruning by zone to ensure care for all City trees planted throughout the city. During programmed pruning, all City trees in a particular zone are pruned and inspected. The City has been separated into 53 zones. You can view the City Tree Zone Map (PDF) to see the location of each zone. 

From July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026, program pruning will be taking place in zones 2E, 2D, and 7A.  Although every effort is made to complete these zones each year, weather, contractor availability and other factors can contribute to more or less zones being completed in this time frame. The City will also be pruning trees outside the zones on as as-needed basis as determined by the City Arborist.

All tree planting on City easements must be approved and performed by the City. After planting, the property owner is responsible for watering and fertilizing the tree. If you wish to have a City tree planted on your property, fill out an online service request form or call 408-615-3080.

• City Arborist Notes (PDF)
• Approved Street Tree List (PDF)

Residents and contractors are prohibited from pruning and removing City trees. Having a City tree pruned or removed by anyone other than City personnel is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, plus the cost of replacing the tree and any associated administrative costs.

For all pruning and removal requests, fill out an online service request form or call 408-615-3080.

• For fallen branches/trees on Santa Clara streets or in the public right-of-way: contact the Street Corporation Yard at 408-615-3080 (office hours: 7:30 am - 4:30 pm).  

• For tree-related emergencies after hours, on weekends, or holidays, call 408-615-5640.

• For fallen branches/trees on Expressways (San Tomas, Lawrence, Montague, and Central): contact the County of Santa Clara Roads and Airports Department at 408-366-3100.

• For all tree branches in power lines or obscuring streetlights: call Silicon Valley Power at 408-615-5600.