Manchaca, Texas · Travis County
Tree removal in Manchaca
Close enough to Kyle that I'm often there and back before lunch.
Manchaca regulates removals from the ground up — assume you need to ask before anything comes down.
About 18 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 Manchaca actually regulates
Old south-Travis country — big live oaks over smaller older houses, and a lot of them have utility lines run straight through the canopy. Clearance work around a service drop is its own skill, and it's worth having somebody do it who isn't guessing about what's energized.
Under the threshold
Not regulated
No permit needed — Manchaca has no city government to require one.
Manchaca is unincorporated, in Travis County, not a city. No municipal tree ordinance exists because there's no municipality. Deed restrictions, a plat note or an HOA can still say otherwise on your specific lot, so it's worth a quick check of your paperwork before you assume you're clear.
The ordinance, in its own words
Manchaca is a census-designated place in Travis County, Texas — it has no incorporated city government and therefore no municipal tree ordinance.
Source: Texas Almanac (Texas State Historical Association) — Manchaca place record. This is a reading of the code, not legal advice and not the city’s own determination. Ordinances change.
Everything else the Manchaca code attaches
- If it's not construction-related
- Nothing to file with the county for a straight removal. If your lot is in an HOA or has deed restrictions, those are private rules, not government ones, and worth reading before you cut.
- How it's measured
- Not applicable — there's no ordinance to measure against.
- Who to call
- No city — unincorporated Travis County
Check your own tree against Manchaca’s rule
Permit checker
Measure it, then check it
Pick Manchaca, 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 Manchaca
Older south Travis lots, moderate size, generally workable. Eighteen minutes from Kyle, so it's often a there-and-back-before-lunch job. Older lots with mature canopy and narrow side yards, so limbs generally come down on ropes rather than getting dropped. Eighteen minutes from me, which makes it one of the easiest Travis County trips I make.
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
Big old live oaks over houses that are smaller and older than the trees are now. Cedar elm and hackberry fill the gaps. The defining Manchaca problem isn't the species, it's that utility service drops run straight through a lot of these canopies. Big older live oaks over smaller mid-century houses, and a lot of them have the power service drop running straight through the canopy. That's the recurring Manchaca job. Clearance around a service drop is genuinely different work — what's energized, what the utility owns versus what you own, and where the cut has to stop.
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 Manchaca.
Questions I get asked
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Manchaca?
It depends on the trunk size. Manchaca is a census-designated place in Travis County, Texas — it has no incorporated city government and therefore no municipal tree ordinance. That is Texas Almanac (Texas State Historical Association) — Manchaca place record, and it is quoted in full further down this page.
How do I measure my tree for Manchaca'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. Manchaca 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?
Most ordinances around here treat a dead, diseased or genuinely hazardous tree differently from a healthy one somebody would simply rather not have, and a written assessment from a Certified Arborist is usually what the city wants to see. There is one on my crew. Get the condition documented before you file anything, not after.
How much does tree removal cost in Manchaca?
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 Manchaca 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.