Two Preston Hollow lots on the same street, with the same oaks, can face very different tree obligations once the old houses come down. Dallas's tree ordinance turns on two measurements that rarely show up in a listing summary: whether the lot is one acre or less, and how deep its front yard setback runs. Together they decide which trees can come out with no replacement and which ones carry a cost measured in caliper inches.
That cost lands on a specific part of the property. On most Preston Hollow teardowns, it falls on the trees nearest the street.
The Ordinance Starts Counting at the Demolition Application
Most homeowners on smaller residential lots in Dallas never deal with the city's urban forest conservation rules. Section 51A-10.131 of the Dallas Development Code exempts lots smaller than two acres that contain single-family or duplex uses in residential districts. City's code text
The same section sets out when that exemption lapses. A residential lot of two acres or less "is considered to be vacant when an application is made for a demolition permit to demolish a single family or duplex structure." It stays vacant in the code's eyes until the building inspector closes the demolition permit or a certificate of completion is issued for the new house.
So the rebuild period, from demolition application to completion, is exactly when the tree rules apply. The current codified version is labeled 7/2026 Code (S-33). City's Article X history page records City Council approval of Article X amendments on June 27, 2018. In general, a protected tree is one at least eight inches in diameter that is not on the unprotected list.
The Exception That Stops at One Acre
Once a rebuild triggers the rules, a single sentence in Section 51A-10.134 does most of the work for a typical residential teardown:
Trees removed with a building permit for construction of a single family or duplex dwelling on a lot one acre or less in a residential district are not required to be replaced if the tree was located in the unrestricted zone on the tree removal property. Trees not in the unrestricted zone are subject to replacement.
The code defines the unrestricted zone by what it leaves out. Along the front and rear, it excludes the required setback or the first 15 feet from the property line, whichever is greater. Along the sides, it excludes the required setback or five feet, whichever is greater.
The exception covers lots of one acre or less, and nothing in that sentence extends it to larger lots. A lot of 1.1 acres gets no unrestricted-zone relief, so protected trees removed anywhere on it start from the replacement rules, subject to the code's other reductions. On a lot that is exactly one acre, trees in the middle of the buildable area can come out without replacement. Buyers comparing an estate lot just over the line with one just under it are looking at two different tree regimes.
The Front Yard Is Where the Obligation Sits
Zoning setbacks are what bring this home in Preston Hollow. They are deep at the front and shallow at the sides, and that pattern decides where the restricted bands fall.
| Dallas district | Minimum lot area | Front yard | Side and rear yard | Front band outside unrestricted zone | Side band outside unrestricted zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1ac(A) | One acre | 40 ft | 10 ft | 40 ft | 10 ft |
| R-1/2ac(A) | One-half acre | 40 ft | 10 ft | 40 ft | 10 ft |
| R-16(A) | 16,000 sq ft | 35 ft | 10 ft | 35 ft | 10 ft |
In each of these districts, the required setback is larger than the code's 15-foot and five-foot minimums. So the setback is what defines the restricted band. A Preston Hollow lot in R-1/2ac(A) has a 40-foot strip across the front where protected trees removed during the rebuild fall outside the exception and go into the replacement calculation, even though the lot qualifies, unless another provision such as the waiver described below applies. The side bands are 10 feet wide.
These are district baselines. The City of Dallas notes that platted building lines and other code exceptions can change setbacks on a given parcel, so the deed and plat for a specific lot decide its real lines. Zoning also differs across the area. One local commentator, writing at One Man's Dallas in October 2026, describes R-16 as used "overwhelmingly" in Preston Hollow and R-1ac mostly in Old Preston Hollow. The city's GIS is the official zoning map for any parcel.
The front setback is the deep lawn between the house and the street, and that is where large, established trees often stand on older lots. Under the ordinance, those trees go into the replacement calculation if they are removed for the rebuild. Trees standing where the new footprint will go can come out without replacement on a qualifying lot.
How Inches Become Dollars
Replacement is measured in diameter inches, adjusted by the tree's classification:
- Historic trees: 3:1
- Significant trees: 1.5:1
- Class 1: 1:1
- Class 2: 0.7:1
- Class 3: 0.4:1
Every replacement tree must be at least two inches in caliper and must be planted on the same lot unless Section 51A-10.135 allows another option, such as payment into the Reforestation Fund. Same-lot plantings must avoid visibility triangles and overhead lines.
Paying into the city's Reforestation Fund is one way to meet the obligation. In a July 15, 2025 case, the city's own analysis for the Dallas Board of Adjustment describes the reforestation value as "$193 per diameter inch," adjusted by classification. The city's Tree Mitigation Standards sheet lists the per-inch values as $579 for historic, $290 for significant, $193 for Class 1, $135 for Class 2 and $77 for Class 3 trees. That sheet is dated July 2, 2018, so Dallas Permitting & Inspections should confirm the current rates for any specific project.
Here is a hypothetical at the posted rates. A single 30-inch Class 1 tree removed from the front setback carries 30 replacement inches. That is fifteen two-inch trees, or $5,790 paid into the fund. If the same tree is classed as significant, the obligation becomes 45 inches. The 2025 Board of Adjustment case shows the same arithmetic at scale: after proposed plantings, the remaining mitigation came to 5,496 inches, with a reforestation value of $1,060,805.20.
The Tools That Shrink the Number
The code gives a rebuild two ways to reduce its obligation, and both depend on planning done before the permit.
Transplanting. If the building official approves it in advance, a healthy protected tree moved within the city does not count as removed. Larger trees also earn more credit: two inches of credit per inch for trees 7 to 12 inches in diameter, three for 12 to 24 inches, and five for trees 24 inches or larger.
The development impact area waiver. For trees removed under a building permit for a main structure, the owner can apply to waive replacement for trees in the footprint, driveway, grading and staging areas. The application has to show a good-faith design effort "to preserve the most, the biggest, and the best trees." That means a tree survey, a protection plan and proof of consultation with a consulting arborist or landscape architect before the building permit is submitted. Significant trees do not qualify, the waiver is capped at 70 percent of the property, and it is not final until the final inspection and permanent certificate of occupancy.
Both options depend on a tree survey, and Article X expects one anyway. A removal application filed with a demolition or grading permit has to include a survey, or an approved forest stand delineation, that records each tree's location, diameter and species. If the survey is ordered before the house is designed, the site plan can work around the costly trees. If it is ordered after, it records the cost of a design already fixed.
When the Trees Become a Neighborhood Conversation
Tree loss on rebuild sites gets public attention in Dallas. In March 2025, the Preston Hollow Advocate reported neighbors' concerns about mature trees at Melshire Park, a former church site being developed into homes. The builder said most mature trees would be kept and new trees planted on each lot.
On a Preston Hollow teardown, the trees people see from the street are mostly the front-setback trees the ordinance already counts.
Questions Worth Settling Before Closing on a Teardown Lot
- Is the lot one acre or less, measured from the survey rather than the listing?
- What are the front, side and rear setbacks on the plat, and do any platted building lines go deeper than the district baseline?
- Which protected trees stand inside those bands, and what are their diameters and classes?
- Could any of them qualify as significant, which rules out the waiver?
- Could the house be placed so the largest street-side trees stay?
Lot buyers often overlook one regulatory question. DCA 212-008 is a separate city proposal on impervious coverage. Its July 9, 2024 staff report describes adding more than 2,000 square feet of impervious coverage, or mechanical soil compaction, as a trigger for Article X. The city's project page says the city is considering the amendment and lists expected Plan Commission and Council dates in summer and fall 2025, but it does not confirm that either vote happened or that the change took effect. It should be treated as pending until the city says otherwise.
FAQ
Does Article X apply if I'm only remodeling a Preston Hollow house? On residential lots under two acres with a single-family use, the division generally does not apply. The demolition-permit application is what makes the lot vacant under the code.
Can a tree on my lot be designated historic? Yes. Historic trees on smaller residential lots can be recognized, but only with the owner's agreement. After designation, City Council authorization is required to remove the tree.
Is the Park Cities covered by this? No. Highland Park and University Park are separate towns with their own codes. This ordinance applies to property inside the City of Dallas.
At S&R Development, we order the tree survey before the first floor plan, so the oaks along the front setback are part of the design from the start rather than a fee found after permitting. If you're weighing a Preston Hollow teardown lot, we're happy to walk it with you and work out what its trees mean for the house you have in mind. Contact Us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.