Tree removal in Tecoma
Tecoma is small and nearly all township, so one rule covers most of it: a permit for any tree more than 50 cm around the trunk.
We connect you with a local arborist who works in the hills.
Ask for a quoteOlinda Forest. Photo: Nick Carson, CC BY 3.0
The rule in Tecoma
Tecoma is almost all township. We sampled the planning maps at 25 points around its centre: 20 were zoned Low Density Residential and 22 sat under Yarra Ranges' Significant Landscape Overlay, Schedule 22 (SLO22). Under SLO22 a council permit is needed to remove indigenous vegetation of any size, and any tree bigger than this:
- 50 cm
- around the trunk, 1.3 m above the ground. That is a trunk about 16 cm across. Most trees old enough to worry about are bigger.
- 2 m
- Vegetation within 2 m of a building is exempt. So are branches over a house, garage or shed, cut back until they are 2 m clear of it.
- 10 m
- The state's 10/30 rule. All 25 points were in a Bushfire Prone Area. A house built or approved before 10 September 2009 can have any vegetation cleared within 10 m, trees included, and anything but trees within 30 m, whatever SLO22 says. The conditions in full.
Dead vegetation, pruning that helps a plant regrow and species on Yarra Ranges' environmental weeds list are outside SLO22 too.
Get a free property report from VicPlan to see which overlays cover your block.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 22 to Clause 42.03 (SLO22) and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
Steeper ground: the erosion overlay
Ten of the 25 points fell under an Erosion Management Overlay, the plain EMO or EMO3. Both mark ground prone to landslip, and both need a permit to remove vegetation. A tree 50 cm or less around is exempt, as is anything within 2 m of a building, dead vegetation where the ground is made good afterwards, and lopping that improves a tree's health or stability.
On these blocks the stump is part of the question. A stump left in the ground keeps its roots in the slope; grinding it out, or pulling it, disturbs the soil. Ask about it before the job is quoted.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule to Clause 44.01 (EMO) and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 3 to Clause 44.01 (EMO3).
The forest edge
Tecoma runs up to Sherbrooke Forest on its northern side, which is part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park: wet forest, dominated by mountain ash. A tree on the forest side of the boundary is on public land, so taking it down is not your call. Trees on your own block near the forest are under the same SLO22 rule as the rest of the town.
The town took its name from a shrub that grew here when a railway station was wanted for the timber mill, on the site where Tecoma Primary School now stands. Until 1925 the area had no name of its own and was called Lower Belgrave.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Tecoma, Victoria and Wikipedia: Sherbrooke Forest.
The canopy-tree rule
Two of the 25 points were in the Neighbourhood Residential Zone. There, the state's canopy-tree rule also applies: on a lot with a house, a tree at least 5 m tall with a canopy 4 m across needs a permit if its trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary. It does not apply in the Low Density Residential Zone, which covers most of Tecoma.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.37 (canopy trees).
The rule next door
- Belgrave and Upwey
- The same township overlay, SLO22: 50 cm around, and 2 m from a building.
- Sherbrooke, Ferny Creek and Belgrave Heights
- Mostly the ranges overlay, SLO1: trees over 1.1 m around, native vegetation of any size, and 4 m from a building.
Every overlay in the hills, council by council, is in the permit guide.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 22 to Clause 42.03 (SLO22) and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.03 (SLO1).
Ask for a quote
Tell us where you are and what needs doing. We pass it to a local arborist who works in the hills. They ring you back to talk about the job.