Tree service in Buda

Tree service in Buda, in short

Send the form and a local tree pro calls you back. In Buda, removing most trees 8 inches or wider needs a city permit, in city limits and the ETJ, whether or not you're building (City: Permits). The code also bars trimming oaks from February 1 to July 1 unless an arborist does the work.

Buda's tree permit

Buda is in northeastern Hays County (City of Buda). Its Unified Development Code covers "Any proposed removal of a Protected, Signature, or Heritage Tree... within the City limits or its ETJ." For a tree that isn't part of a development, the permit is requested in writing to the Development Services Director (UDC 4.04.01).

• Protected, 8 to 20 inches: approved by the Development Services Director.
• Signature, 20 to 30 inches: approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
• Heritage, 30 inches or more: approved by City Council "following a public hearing," and only if it finds "no other alternatives for viable site development are possible."
• How it's measured: at 4 ft above finished grade, not the usual 4½ ft. On a multi-trunk tree, the main trunk plus half of each other trunk (UDC 5.02.01).
• No permit needed for hackberry, eastern red cedar, Ashe juniper, chinaberry, mesquite, ligustrum, Chinese tallow or Bradford pear.
• Dead or dangerous trees are exempt if a certified arborist finds the tree dead or diseased beyond recovery, or an arborist with the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) finds it a threat. In the hazard case, the arborist "shall submit a letter to the city within ten (10) days of the removal."

Source: Buda UDC 4.04.01 (eCode360, laws through September 15, 2026).

Fees, replanting and penalties

• Residential permit fee: $150 for a protected tree, $350 for a signature or heritage tree, plus mitigation (fee schedule).
• Mitigation: replant by the caliper inch, 1 to 1 for protected, 3 to 1 for signature, 4 to 1 for heritage, or pay a fee in lieu. Ask Development Services what applies to your tree.
• Without a permit: a fine "equivalent to three (3) times the cost of replacement trees," mitigation, and "Indefinite conservation of the area in which the tree was located" (UDC 4.04.01(G)).

Development Services: 512-312-5745, [email protected], Buda City Hall, 405 E Loop St, Bldg 100. Applications go through the MGO Connect portal (City: Permits), and the city says within 10 days whether an application is complete. The rules may change: Buda has started "an 18-month effort to update its Unified Development Code" (City).

Oaks and oak wilt in Buda

The code: "trimming of oak trees is not permitted between February 1 through July 1 unless performed by an Arborist. Any outbreaks of Oak Wilt should be reported to the Director" (UDC 4.04.01(I)).

The disease itself, from the Texas A&M Forest Service: oak wilt is killing oaks in Central Texas "at epidemic proportions" (TFS), and treatment "will not cure oak wilt" (Oak Wilt Management). Its advice:

• Paint pruning cuts, fresh stumps and damaged surface roots on oaks right away, all year. Any paint will do.
• Cut down a red oak that died of oak wilt in late summer, fall or early winter soon after you find it, and burn, bury or chip it.
• Spread on tools is "rather remote," but cleaning them between trees is still a good habit.

For help, the Texas A&M Forest Service Austin Region covers Hays County (TFS contacts). Buda has been a Tree City USA since 2019 (City). Our oak wilt guide.

Trees near power lines

PEC has customers in Buda: its 400,000th meter went in at Buda Fire Department Station 1, 209 FM 2770, in 2023 (PEC). On the edge of town, check your electric bill to see which co-op serves you. "All PEC contractors carry required identification and will only trim vegetation within the utility easement or where it presents a safety or reliability threat." For a sparking line, PEC's number is 888-554-4732; if anyone's life is at risk, call 911 (PEC).

Brush pickup and burning

• Once a quarter: "Residents receive one free bulky or large brush pickup per quarter." Up to 3 cubic yards, bundles no longer than 4 ft and no more than 35 lbs. Book with TDS at 800-375-8375.
• Every week: green waste is "limited to 10 paper lawn bags and/or bundles of brush." From October 1, 2026, you can ask for a 96-gallon TDS green waste cart for $4.31 a month (Utility Department, 512-295-8845).
• Free landfill drop: up to 5 cubic yards a month. Cover the load and show a City of Buda utility bill at the gate.

Source: City of Buda: Solid Waste Information. We found no city rule on tree company debris, so ask whether the quote includes haul-off.

Burning: "NO OPEN BURNING WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS AT ANY TIME PER CITY OF BUDA FIRE CODE" (Buda Fire Department). Outside the city, Hays County needs no permit for burning your own brush on your own property, but "ALL BURNING IS PROHIBITED DURING COUNTY-WIDE BURN BANS" (Hays County Fire Marshal). Check the county's burn ban status first.

What owners must keep up

• Hazard trees: a diseased, dead or dying tree, or one that blocks traffic signs or is a threat, "is declared a nuisance." "Private property owners have the duty, at their own expense, to remove or treat nuisance trees on their property," and the city can do it and bill the owner.
• Parkway trees: owners handle "the reasonable and routine maintenance of trees" in the parkway next to their lot.
• City trees: removing or damaging a tree on public property needs written permission from the Director.
• Corners: keep sight triangles clear between 2 and 8 ft above the curb: 25 ft legs at street corners, 15 ft at alleys and driveways (UDC 4.01.02).

Source: Buda UDC 4.04.01(I)–(J).

What tree work costs

Ballpark figures only: we have no Buda average, so these are LawnStarter's averages for San Marcos, the nearest city we have its figures for: $399 for a small tree, $848 for a medium one, $1,938 for a large one, and $260 to grind a stump (October 2026). What moves the price.

Questions people ask

Nearby

We also connect homeowners in Kyle, San Marcos and Dripping Springs with local tree pros. See the Hill Country overview.