Woodcreek, Texas · Hays County
Tree removal in Woodcreek
A small city inside Wimberley's orbit, built into the cedar and oak on the plateau above Cypress Creek.
Woodcreek wants a permit first — it's a short form, and they approve them.
About 32 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 Woodcreek actually regulates
Woodcreek lots tend to be wooded and tight, with houses tucked among trees left standing when the place was developed. That's lovely, and it also means limbs over roofs. Most of what I do here is clearance pruning — getting weight off structures without gutting the canopy that made you buy the lot.
Under the threshold
Check the exemption first
Woodcreek wants a permit first — it's a short form, and they approve them.
Woodcreek is a small city built into its own tree canopy, so it asks for a permit before any removal, whatever the size or species. That sounds heavier than it is: it's a one-page application with the address, the trees, a couple of photos and the arborist's ISA number, and it's a routine approval rather than a fight. The one part that trips people up is that the city requires a Certified Arborist for work on its protected and heritage oaks — a lot of outfits can't produce one. We can. We'll measure the trunk, tell you which tier you're in and file the permit with you before anything comes down.
The ordinance, in its own words
A permit is required for all tree trimming and removals year-round. ... The trimming or removal of all protected oak trees requires the use of a certified arborist.
Source: City of Woodcreek, TX — Resident Tree Care, and the city's own Tree Trimming Permit application citing Chapter 91, Section 91.06. This is a reading of the code, not legal advice and not the city’s own determination. Ordinances change.
Everything else the Woodcreek code attaches
- What the ordinance covers
- All tree trimming and removals inside the city, year-round. Woodcreek runs a separate Tree Trimming Permit and Tree Removal Permit.
- Who approves it
- The city requires a Certified Arborist to do the work on protected oaks — the application asks for the arborist's ISA number by name. Our crew has an ISA Certified Arborist on it, so this is paperwork we can complete rather than an obstacle.
- Species rules
- Trimming of all species of oak is closed February 1st through June 30th — that's the oak wilt window, and it applies to trimming. Where an oak is already compromised and there's imminent danger, the city says to contact City Hall for guidance or special approval rather than leaving it. Call us and we'll make that call with you.
- How it's measured
- By trunk diameter. A protected tree is 19 to 23 inches; a heritage tree is 24 inches or above. Below 19 inches still needs the permit, it just isn't in a protected tier.
- If you skip the permit
- There's a fine for trimming without the permit, and a further one for trimming oaks inside the closed window. Both are avoided by filing the form, which takes a few minutes.
- Where it's written
- City of Woodcreek Tree Ordinance, Chapter 91, Section 91.06.
- Who to call
- City of Woodcreek City Hall, (512) 847-9390 — but call us first and we'll handle the measurement and the application.
- What I couldn't verify
- The city doesn't publish a permit fee amount online, so we don't quote one. We'll confirm it with City Hall as part of the quote.
Check your own tree against Woodcreek’s rule
Permit checker
Measure it, then check it
Pick Woodcreek, 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 Woodcreek
Tight wooded lots, houses tucked between trunks, and limbs directly over roofs. Most Woodcreek work is clearance pruning done on rope, and there's rarely a clean drop zone. Thirty-two minutes out, on wooded lots where the houses were tucked in among trees that were left standing. Tight approaches and canopy over structures, so expect rigging rather than dropping.
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
Ashe juniper and live oak left standing when the place was platted, with some Texas red oak mixed in. Trees that grew up inside a dense stand have small, one-sided canopies and tall bare trunks, and they're poorly adapted to suddenly standing alone — which is what happens when a neighbor clears. Nearly everything here is what an arborist would call crown cleaning and crown raising rather than thinning — deadwood and broken limbs out, and the lower canopy lifted off roofs, drives and walkways. Those two get you most of what people want without removing live foliage the tree is using.
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 Woodcreek.
Questions I get asked
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Woodcreek?
It depends on the trunk size. A permit is required for all tree trimming and removals year-round. ... The trimming or removal of all protected oak trees requires the use of a certified arborist. That is City of Woodcreek, TX — Resident Tree Care, and the city's own Tree Trimming Permit application citing Chapter 91, Section 91.06, and it is quoted in full further down this page.
How do I measure my tree for Woodcreek'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. Woodcreek 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 Woodcreek?
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 Woodcreek 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.