Tree Service in Santa Barbara, CA
In Santa Barbara, a front-yard tree can need a public vote before it comes out, and the city has about 35,000 street trees. When you need tree service in Santa Barbara, we say up front if a permit applies, then prune or remove.
Tree care in Santa Barbara
A city that votes on its trees
In Santa Barbara, a front-yard tree can need a public vote before it comes out. A tree with half its trunk in the front setback is protected, and a committee and a commission weigh in on its removal. The city sits between steep mountains and the sea, on a coast that faces south. In the fall, Sundowner winds can push the heat into the high 90s and drop humidity to single digits. The 1990 Painted Cave Fire burned over 500 homes in hours, and the 2009 Jesusita Fire destroyed 160 homes above San Roque. Trees here need both care and paperwork.
Here the question is not just 'can this tree come down?' but 'who has to vote on it?'
The list
Santa Barbara pruning, palm clearing and protected-tree removals
Supreme Tree Experts thins crowns, trims palms and removes trees in Santa Barbara, where setback trees are protected. Before fall Sundowners dry out the fronds over a hillside roof, owners book Supreme Tree Experts.
Tree Removal
We remove trees in Santa Barbara after sorting out how the city classes each one. Trees with half their trunk in the front setback are protected, and a commission rules on removal. We say up front if that path applies.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Our crews thin and open 'windows' in crowns rather than topping them. Protected trees can lose no more than one-quarter of their height or spread in any 12 months. We plan each cut to stay inside that limit.
Stump Grinding & Stump Removal
Our grinder takes stumps below grade so a replacement tree can go in near the old spot. City guidelines call for replacing a removed tree 4 inches or wider, one for one, where space allows. We can plant the new tree once the ground is ready.
Palm Tree Trimming & Skinning
We strip brown fronds and spent flower stalks before fall, then skin the trunk clean of old bases. Fall Sundowner winds can push heat into the high 90s and drop humidity to single digits. Dry fronds become fuel then, so timing matters.
Emergency Tree Service
We take urgent calls around the clock, from split limbs to trees leaning over a roof. For a dead or hazardous protected tree, written notice must reach the city 48 hours before removal. We tell you when that step applies and when it does not.
Tree Maintenance
We set yard trees on a regular pruning cycle and check them each year for weak limbs. The city prunes its roughly 35,000 street trees every 5 to 8 years, and owners water the ones out front. We keep an eye on that tree too.
Tree Height Reduction
We bring tall trees down with reduction cuts that follow the tree's own form. City rules bar changing a protected tree's natural character, so a flat top is out. We lower the crown in stages across more than one season.
Estate Tree Care
Large hillside lots, where big old trees stand close to homes, get a care plan from us. The 2009 Jesusita Fire destroyed 160 homes in the hills above the city. Our plans keep dead wood out and crowns spaced, season by season.
Tree Shaping & Shrub Shearing
We shear hedges and shape shrubs to crisp lines that suit the Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival homes here. A steady cycle keeps those lines sharp without cutting into old wood. Clippings are bagged and hauled the same day.
Landscaping
We plan planting on steep lots with the slope and water use in mind. On lots averaging a 20% slope, clearing over 1,000 square feet of natives a year needs a permit. We keep clearing under that line.
Hardscape
Our crews build patios and paths that leave the roots of trees you keep intact. Most tree roots sit in the top 18 inches of soil, the city notes. So we keep digging shallow near trunks and route paving around them.
How we work in Santa Barbara, before anything is cut
- 01.
Find the trunk
An arborist checks if the tree is a street tree, a setback tree, a specimen tree, or a native oak or sycamore. Each one has a different path.
- Tree type named
- Permit path explained
- 02.
Owner applies, city decides
If a permit is needed, the owner applies. The city votes within 60 days of taking the application, and there is a 10-day appeal window before work.
- 60-day decision
- 10-day appeal wait
- 03.
Cut, chip and haul
The crew works to the permit terms, chips the wood and hauls it off. If the city asks for a replacement tree, we can plant it.
- Permit terms followed
- Replacement tree on request
Why Santa Barbara hillside owners trust our arborist, license and trucks
Tree work goes wrong when it is rushed or under-equipped. We run our own 75-foot boom trucks, lift trucks, chippers and stump grinders, and every crew works under an ISA Certified Arborist — so the job gets done right the first time.
We hold California license #1002853 for both landscaping and tree and palm work, we are bonded, we carry general liability and every employee is on workers’ compensation.
ISA Certified Arborist
An arborist first checks where the trunk stands — street, front setback or back yard. That decides if Santa Barbara's permit rules apply.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
The city's own tree brochure tells owners to ask for a state license and proof of insurance. Ours: CSLB #1002853 (C-27, C-61/D-49), bonded, with every worker insured.
Southern California Since 1985
We have been a family company since 1985. Fires like Tea in 2008 and Jesusita in 2009 show why foothill trees need planning, not guesswork.
Our Own Equipment
On narrow hillside roads such as Alameda Padre Serra, reach matters. Our own 75-foot boom trucks work from the street, and our chippers clear as we go.
Reviews to read before you book in Santa Barbara
Every word below was written by a customer on Google, not by us. Long reviews are shortened to fit the card — never reworded. None of them was left in Santa Barbara: they come from customers across Southern California. Read them for how a crew behaves on a job, then decide whether that is who you want in Santa Barbara.
“Great pricing & service. Highly competent with tricky jobs. We have used them for more than 10 years.”
Melanie Butler
Local Guide
“We got bids from five contractors. After I talked to them all and checked out their licenses and work, we decided to go with Supreme. … The job took a day and a half, and when they were done, they left the place immaculate.”
Hank Shaeffer
“Great tree trimmers! I’ve used Supreme Tree Experts twice to trim the palm trees in my yard. … The guys who come out are quick thorough, and clean. And very careful not to damage property.”
Emilie Pacheco
“These guys have worked on my property 3 times now. They are always on time and do a fantastic job. I highly recommend them!”
Ray Thompson
“After soliciting several quotes on some difficult yard work, we chose Supreme because of their licensed Arborist Temis … The crew was extremely hard working and we couldn’t believe their continuous work ethic on one of the hottest days of the year.”
Gary Brown
Local Guide
Before you book in Santa Barbara
6 questions worth having answered before you book tree work in Santa Barbara. If yours is not here, call 877-787-7363 and ask.
Only with a permit, if it is a setback tree. Any tree with 50% or more of its trunk in the front setback counts. The owner applies to Parks and Recreation; the Street Tree Advisory Committee reviews it, and the Parks and Recreation Commission decides. In a Historic or Landmark District, the Historic Landmarks Commission decides. Removing a protected tree without a permit can bring a fine of up to $1,000, $3,000 or $5,000, by trunk size.
You water it and clean up after it; the city does the rest. Only city staff may plant, prune or remove parkway trees, and the city prunes them on a 5 to 8 year cycle. Removing a street tree takes an application, which can take up to 60 days. Questions go to Urban Forestry at (805) 564-5433.
No more than one-quarter of the crown's height or spread in any 12 months. It is also against the rules to change the tree's natural character. This covers street, setback, specimen and historic trees. Good pruning thins the crown or opens 'windows' in it, instead of topping, which the city warns against.
City staff can approve it, but tell the city first. For a dead, diseased or hazardous protected tree, written notice must reach the Parks and Recreation Director at least 48 hours before removal. If the Fire Department orders a tree removed, no tree permit is needed. For a city tree down after hours, call (805) 564-5413.
Yes — $600 for tree services, wherever the job is. Hillside lots, narrow streets and the permit terms on protected trees shape most prices here.
Yes, 24/7. Fall Sundowner winds come down the foothills in the afternoon and evening, when most offices are closed. Call 877-787-7363.
Santa Barbara and its surroundings
Santa Barbara runs from the Mesa and the waterfront through downtown to the Riviera and the foothills.
- ZIP codes
- 931039310593109