Santa Barbara County Municipal Code § 35-903 Exemptions

(a) The regulations contained in this article shall be known as and referred to as "The County Deciduous Oak Tree Protection and Regeneration Ordinance" adopted by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors as Ordinance No. 4490 on April 15, 2003.

(b) The purpose of this article is to implement those goals and policies of the Santa Barbara County comprehensive plan that promote the protection of deciduous oak trees, which are important to the people's well-being and the ecological integrity of Santa Barbara County, and the continuation and intensification and expansion of agriculture, the leading production industry and a land use that is considered beneficial to the county. These regulations address deciduous oak tree removal in the inland rural areas of the county (as defined below) if such removal is not associated with development that requires a permit under articles III or IV of chapter 35 of the County Code or Ordinance 661.

(Ord. No. 4490, § 1)

(a) The regulations contained in this article apply to all property in the unincorporated area located outside the coastal zone and urban boundary lines as depicted on the county's land use maps, in the Agriculture I (AG-I), Agriculture II (AG-II), Resource Management (RES), and Mountainous Goleta (MT-GOL) zone districts of article III of chapter 35 of the Santa Barbara County Code; Agriculture I (AG-I), and Resource Management (RES) zone districts of article IV of chapter 35 of the Santa Barbara County Code; and the Unlimited Agriculture (U), Exclusive Agriculture (A-1-X), Watershed Agriculture (WA), General Agriculture (AG), Intensive General Agriculture (AGI) and Limited Agriculture (AL) zone districts of article V of Santa Barbara County Zoning Ordinance 661.

(b) These regulations do not apply within the environmentally sensitive habitat overlay areas for Goleta (ESH-Gol) and Toro Canyon (EHS-TCP).

(c) The regulations contained in this article apply to protected deciduous oak trees as defined in section 35-906, definitions.

(d) The regulations contained in this article apply only where no development permit (e.g. development plan, land use permit, conditional use permit) required under articles III or IV of chapter 35 of the County Code or under Ordinance 661, applies. However, depending on the method and/or circumstances of the deciduous oak tree removal operation, other permits, such as a grading permit, may also be required.

(e) Deciduous oak tree protection is governed by this article and by the Grading Ordinance (chapter 14) in appendix A, guidelines for native oak tree removal. The Agricultural Commissioner is the administering authority for chapter 14 appendix A, and planning and development administers this article. The agricultural commissioner is also responsible for making certain determinations under this article.

(Ord. No. 4490, § 1)

The provisions of this article do not apply to removal of deciduous oak trees: by the federal government on leased or federally-owned property; by the County of Santa Barbara or any district of which the board of supervisors is the governing body; by the State of California or an agency of the state acting in its sovereign (governmental) capacity; on any state university or college; or, on certain facilities of local agencies as defined in Government Code Sec. 53090 et. seq.

(Ord. No. 4490, § 1)

The county board of supervisors shall establish by resolution a schedule of fees for processing the applications required by this article. All required fees shall be paid at the time of filing the applications with planning and development and no processing shall commence until the fee is paid.

(Ord. No. 4490, § 1)

If any provision of this article conflicts with any provision of any regulation contained in any previously adopted ordinance of the county, the provisions of this article shall be controlling.

(Ord. No. 4490, § 1)

For the purpose of this article, certain terms and words are defined as follows:

Words used in the present tense shall include the future tenses; words in the singular number include the plural and words in the plural number include the singular except where the natural construction of the writing indicates otherwise. The word "shall" is mandatory and not discretionary and the word "may" is permissive.

Acorn. The fruit and viable seed of an oak tree.

Agriculture. For the purposes of this ordinance, agriculture includes the production of food and fiber, the growing of plants and the raising and keeping of animals along with their associated normal and usual agricultural practices as set out in section 14-8.a of the County Grading Ordinance.

Blue Oak Tree (Quercus douglasii). A very slow growing deciduous oak tree that inhabits the inland mountains and higher elevations of Santa Barbara County.

Canopy. The foliar cover of a tree or trees (including twigs, branches, and leaves). Where more than one tree's branches touch or overlap, they form one continuous cover or canopy.

Deciduous Oak Tree. An oak tree with leaves that fall seasonally. For the purposes of this ordinance deciduous oaks include valley oaks (Quercus lobata) and blue oaks (Quercus douglasii).

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH). The total cross-sectional diameter between the outside bark of an oak tree measured in inches at a height four and one-half feet above the ground on the uphill side of the tree. In the case of trees with multiple stems (trunks), the diameter of all stems at breast height shall be combined to calculate the diameter at breast height of the tree.

Dripline. A vertical line extending from the outermost edge of the oak tree's natural canopy to the ground.

Forest. A community of oak trees characterized by a more or less dense, contiguous and extensive canopy cover.

Lot. For the purposes of this ordinance; a single lot, or where applicable, contiguous lots under single ownership, as determined by the agricultural commissioner, the boundaries of which are delineated in the latest recorded parcel map, subdivision map, or certificate of compliance recorded in the county recorder's office or deed provided that such recorded deed does not create or attempt to create a lot in violation of the provisions of any applicable California law or county ordinance.

Native. Indigenous; of a species occurring naturally in an area.

Non-Agricultural Removal. For the purposes of this ordinance in relation to oak tree removal, any removal of protected oak trees for a purpose other than for agriculture.

Nursery Stock. Plants grown in a nursery.

Nurture. To promote the growth of a tree through means such as watering, weeding, protecting and fertilizing.

Oak Tree Removal. Causing a deciduous oak tree to die, be uprooted or removed from the ground by any means, including, but not limited to, cutting, uprooting, poisoning, or burning (unrelated to controlled burns). Excessive pruning or topping, or severing an oak tree's roots enough to lead to the death of the tree, would also be considered oak tree removal. Death by natural causes (e.g. sudden oak death syndrome) or removals required due to disease or regulatory requirements shall not be considered a removal.

Oak Tree Removal Permit. A discretionary permit required as prescribed by this ordinance prior to removal of a specified number of protected deciduous oak trees within the inland rural areas of the county.

Oak Tree Removal Thresholds. An amount of deciduous oak tree removal that requires a permit.

Protected Oak Tree. A deciduous oak tree four inches or greater in diameter at breast height.

Removal Tracking Period. A period of time in which removal, both exempt and non-exempt, of protected deciduous oak trees is tracked cumulatively. The first removal tracking period begins on the effective date of this article. For the purposes of this article, the removal tracking period is thirty years.

Savanna. Grasslands usually on flat to rolling terrain with sporadic oak trees found singly or in very small clusters.

Uprooted. Where a tree is no longer supported in an upright position by its roots anchored in the soil; its trunk or main limbs are now resting on the ground and the roots are partially or wholly out of the soil.

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata). A species of deciduous oak tree that inhabits inland valleys and hills at lower elevations in central California. In Santa Barbara County, valley oaks are found north of the Santa Ynez Mountain Range. Quercus lobata is the largest oak tree found in California.

Watershed. A region or land area drained by a single stream, river or drainage network.

Woodland. A community of oak trees with an open canopy and with the intervening area occupied by lower vegetation, commonly grass.

(Ord. No. 4490, § 1)