Dripping Springs, Texas · Hays County
Tree removal in Dripping Springs
The one town where a written arborist assessment can be the difference between a legal removal and a mitigation bill.
Dripping Springs regulates removals from the ground up — assume you need to ask before anything comes down.
About 30 minutes from me in Kyle. Whatever the answer turns out to be, it is a form and a measurement rather than a refusal — these get approved all the time. Call me and I’ll tell you where you stand.
What Dripping Springs actually regulates
Dripping Springs is Edwards Plateau — thin, rocky, alkaline soil over limestone. Trees root wide and shallow here because there's nowhere else to go, which is why a big live oak can look bulletproof and still go over in a straight-line wind. It's also cedar country, and clearing ashe juniper off a crowded oak is some of the most useful work I do out here.
Under the threshold
Dripping Springs sets the numbers case by case — but the hazard exception is the one to know.
The city requires mitigation for Heritage trees removed to accommodate development, and the development review committee decides the diameter inches owed. I haven't verified a fixed size threshold and won't invent one.
The ordinance, in its own words
Protected Healthy Trees that are Heritage trees requiring removal to accommodate development shall be replaced as directed. Mitigation for all removed Heritage trees not covered by an exception is required, with the diameter inches (DBH) required for mitigation determined by the development review committee. Trees identified as dead, diseased, or posing an imminent threat or hazard to people or property by a Certified Arborist are not included in tree preservation requirements evaluation.
Source: City of Dripping Springs — Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance. This is a reading of the code, not legal advice and not the city’s own determination. Ordinances change.
Everything else the Dripping Springs code attaches
- What the ordinance covers
- The mitigation requirement is triggered by removal to accommodate development. A straight removal unrelated to building may sit outside it — confirm that, because I haven't verified it.
- Replanting / mitigation owed
- Mitigation is required for all removed Heritage trees not covered by an exception, with the DBH inches owed set by the development review committee rather than a fixed table.
- Dead, diseased or hazardous trees
- This is the big one here: a tree that a Certified Arborist documents as dead, diseased, or an imminent threat or hazard is excluded from the preservation evaluation entirely. Get that in writing before you file.
- Who to call
- Dripping Springs Development Services
Check your own tree against Dripping Springs’s rule
Permit checker
Measure it, then check it
Pick Dripping Springs, put the trunk measurement in, and it will show you exactly which band you are in and what the code says about it.
How a removal actually goes in Dripping Springs
Mostly acreage with room to work, which helps the price. The catch is distance between the gate and the tree — a long carry on a big lot can cost more than a tight lot in town. Tell me roughly how far the tree is from where a truck can park and I can quote more accurately.
Everything gets hauled away and the ground raked off behind us. Want the logs kept for firewood? Say so before we start and my crew will cut them to length and stack them rather than running them through the chipper.
The trees I get called about here
Live oak, ashe juniper, Texas red oak and Spanish oak on thin rocky ground. Oak wilt is a live concern in this part of Hays County, which is why the February-through-June pruning ban matters more here than as general advice. Red oaks are the species that spreads it fastest, and they're common out here.
Before you decide to remove it
A mature live oak took fifty years to reach that size and I can take it down in a morning. Neither of us can put it back. So the first thing I want to know is whether it actually needs to go — a tree that looks finished is quite often a tree that needs the deadwood out of it and nothing more. Here’s how to tell the difference, and here’s the risk check if you want to work it through yourself.
If it does need to come out, the permit side is the easy part. The rules for every town I’ve read are here, and here’s everything else I do in Dripping Springs.
Questions I get asked
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Dripping Springs?
It depends on the trunk size. Protected Healthy Trees that are Heritage trees requiring removal to accommodate development shall be replaced as directed. Mitigation for all removed Heritage trees not covered by an exception is required, with the diameter inches (DBH) re… That is City of Dripping Springs — Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance, and it is quoted in full further down this page.
How do I measure my tree for Dripping Springs's rules?
Put a tape around the trunk 4.5 feet above the ground to get the circumference, then divide by 3.14 for the diameter. Dripping Springs writes its rule in inches in diameter. If the trunk splits into several stems below 4.5 feet, measure below the split — that usually puts you in a higher bracket than you expected.
What if the tree is dead or dangerous?
This is the big one here: a tree that a Certified Arborist documents as dead, diseased, or an imminent threat or hazard is excluded from the preservation evaluation entirely. Get that in writing before you file.
How much does tree removal cost in Dripping Springs?
Access is the biggest driver, ahead of size — whether there is a drop zone or whether every piece has to be roped out over a roof is the difference between a morning and a full day. Then trunk diameter, then lean and deadwood. Send me a photo and the circumference and I can usually price it from that.
Got a tree in Dripping Springs you’re not sure about?
Text me a photo and the measurement round the trunk. I’ll tell you which side of the line it’s on and what it takes to get it done.
Same-day callback on estimates
Call or text before 5pm on a weekday and you'll hear back from me the same day. Not an answering service — me.