Can I remove a dead or leaning tree in The Woodlands without applying?

Yes. Trees confirmed as hazardous or invasive are on the Standards' pre-approval list, and the Township's guidance is that trees leaning on a lot or considered hazardous to residents can be removed without an application. Photograph the tree before it comes down in case proof is requested. Removing dead trees and branches counts as routine home maintenance.

Do I have to replant if I remove a tree in The Woodlands?

Maybe. The Standards say any living tree removed may require replacement. A removed tree of 6 to 19 inches calls for one 30-gallon native tree if the lot lacks canopy and none if it has enough healthy cover. A tree of 19 inches or more calls for one 45-gallon tree, or one 30-gallon or two 15-gallon trees where canopy is sufficient.

A tree fell from the greenbelt onto my lot. Who removes it?

The Township says it is not responsible for trees that fall from its reserves onto private property, though it may clear them as a courtesy. Report it through the 311 portal or 281-210-3800 before you act, because if you remove the tree first the Township will not cover the cost. Residents may trim only three feet into a reserve and may not remove reserve trees.

Is the tree rule in The Woodlands a city ordinance or an HOA rule?

Neither exactly. The Woodlands is a township, not a city, and the rule lives in the deed covenants recorded on most lots. Since 2010 the Township has administered those covenants through its Covenant Administration department and the village Residential Design Review Committees. Approval is covenant-based, and it is separate from any county permit.

What are the legal restrictions on removing trees in Texas?

Texas has no statewide tree-removal permit. Cities, townships, and deed restrictions regulate it locally, and the rules change at every boundary. The state's neighbor law puts ownership with whoever owns the ground under the trunk and lets you trim branches back to the property line at your own risk. Check the jurisdiction before the saw starts.

Do you need approval to remove a tree in The Woodlands?

Q: Do I need a permit to remove a tree in The Woodlands?

Not a permit, but written approval. The Township's Residential Development Standards say no living tree greater than six inches in diameter, measured two feet above natural grade, may be removed without prior written approval from the Plan Review Committee. The application goes through Covenant Administration. Smaller trees do not need approval.

Yes, for any living tree more than six inches in diameter measured two feet above the ground. The Woodlands Township’s Residential Development Standards require prior written approval before that tree comes down, and the request runs through Covenant Administration to the Plan Review Committee. Dead, hazardous, and invasive trees can be removed without applying. Replanting may be required afterward. The rule is a deed covenant, not a city permit, which is why it works differently from Houston, Conroe, or Spring.

What the six-inch rule actually says

The 2024 Residential Development Standards, recorded in December 2024, state it in one sentence: “No living tree greater than six inches in diameter as measured at a point two feet above natural grade may be removed without prior written approval.” Trees to be removed must be flagged on site before review.

Two details trip people up. Multi-trunk trees are measured as the largest trunk plus half the diameter of each additional trunk over one inch, so a clump of three six-inch trunks is a twelve-inch tree. And “removal” is defined broadly: uprooting, severing the trunk, damaging the root system, or excessive pruning, including topping, all count. Topping is prohibited outright.

The same six-inch measure blocks tree removal for other projects. The Standards do not allow trees over that size to come out for a fence, a compost bin, a basketball goal, a play structure, a sport court, or artificial turf, and no vegetation may be removed if it would leave more than 60 percent of the front yard in grass.

Who approves it: the Township, an HOA, or the county?

The Township, acting under the covenants. The Woodlands is a special-purpose district, not a city, and the tree rules sit in deed covenants recorded against most lots in the community. When the community associations merged into the Township in 2010, covenant administration came with them. Today the Covenant Administration department takes applications and supports nine village Residential Design Review Committees, one per village including Creekside Park, plus the Development Standards Committee, which is the only body that can grant a variance.

The county is a separate layer. Most of The Woodlands is Montgomery County; the Village of Creekside Park is Harris County. Anything in a street right of way falls under county jurisdiction, and the Standards say Township approval does not stand in for county approval. Montgomery County also requires a development permit for grading, clearing, and fill in its unincorporated areas, with county engineering sign-off once a project disturbs more than 15,000 square feet or moves 500 cubic yards of dirt. The county’s own permitting FAQ treats The Woodlands as a Township for jurisdiction purposes, so on a lot-clearing job both approvals get checked.

When a living tree can be approved for removal

The Standards list the grounds. A tree may be considered for removal when it:

stands within five feet of the house or another permanent structure;
stands within two feet of an existing driveway;
stands within five feet of the area proposed for construction;
can be shown to pose a safety hazard to people or property;
is on the Township’s adopted list of invasive and hazardous species; or
has been determined to be damaged or diseased.

For hazard and disease claims, the committee may ask for a written statement from a third-party certified arborist or someone with a forestry degree. Where the hazard is not obvious, a risk assessment from an ISA Certified Arborist with the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification is required, not optional.

Dead, leaning, and storm-damaged trees

This is the exception most homeowners need. Removal of any tree confirmed as invasive or hazardous is on the Standards’ pre-approval list, meaning no application. The Township’s own guidance goes further: if a tree is leaning on a lot or considered hazardous to residents, the owner may remove it without applying, and should document it in case proof is requested. Removing dead trees, dead branches, and stumps that stand more than about eight inches above grade is listed as routine home maintenance.

After Hurricane Beryl in July 2024, the Township told residents in writing that trees fallen onto private property are the owner’s responsibility to remove, and its Parks Director later reported about 860 trees lost on Township land that year. Trees that fall from a Township reserve onto a lot are a gray area the Township addresses directly: it is not responsible for them, it may clear them as a courtesy, and an owner who removes one first will not be reimbursed. Report it through 311 before acting. Our guide to storm-damaged tree removal covers the insurance and debris side.

Replanting after removal

Approval often comes with a replant condition. The Standards say any living tree removed from the lot may require replacement, sized by what came out and how much canopy remains:

Tree removed	Lot lacks canopy	Lot has enough healthy canopy
6 to 19 inches	One 30-gallon tree	None
19 inches and up	One 45-gallon tree	One 30-gallon or two 15-gallon trees

Replacements must be native species, watered, fed, staked, and trimmed as needed. An appeal of a replant condition is only heard with a written statement from a certified arborist or forestry professional showing the lot cannot support the planting and the remaining trees are healthy, desirable species.

What happens if you skip the approval

There is no fine schedule in the Standards, and that is not the same as no consequence. The Township or any covenant-bound owner can sue for an injunction. After notice, the Township can enter the property, fix or remove the violation, and collect the cost from the owner or the owner’s compliance deposit. A notice of non-compliance can be recorded in the county real property records, which can hold up a sale until the property complies. Deposits and fees can be forfeited, and the committee will not hear appeals or variances while a violation stands.

Clearing a lot for a new house or a teardown

New construction runs the same rule at lot scale. At the concept stage the applicant submits a property survey identifying every tree six inches and larger measured two feet above grade, with species and size, marked for removal or retention. The final submittal adds a sealed landscape plan, a sealed drainage plan, and a construction timeline of no more than a year, and the committee reviews landscaping during and after construction to decide whether more planting is needed for screening and reforestation.

For a demolition or major remodel, tree-protection fencing has to go up around at least 75 percent of the drip line of every tree that stays, perimeter construction fencing is required, and any tree that needs to come out needs approval first. The pressure is real: more than 4,000 variance requests came through in 2025, most from Alden Bridge, Creekside Park, and Sterling Ridge, and about 19,000 of the community’s 42,000-plus homes are over 25 years old.

Timing: oak wilt and nesting season

Approval does not fix the calendar. Texas A&M Forest Service asks that oaks not be pruned or wounded from February through June, when the sap beetles that carry oak wilt are most active, and that every oak wound be painted immediately. Texas Parks and Wildlife recommends scheduling vegetation removal outside the March 15 to September 15 nesting season where possible. On a wooded lot with live oaks and red oaks, a winter clearing date avoids both.

How we work in The Woodlands

We do tree removal and lot clearing on the mechanical end: big pines and hardwoods down and out, stumps ground or grubbed where the slab goes, the rest mulched in place. On a Woodlands lot we measure and flag trees at two feet above grade so the application matches what comes out, protect the trees that stay, and time oak work outside the February-to-June window. The approval is the owner’s to obtain; the survey, the flags, and a clean finish are ours.

For a lot in The Woodlands, Creekside Park, or the rest of Montgomery County, call (281) 432-7360 or send the survey through our contact page. Estimates are free, and we will tell you which approvals your job needs before the first tree moves.