Tree Service in Alvin, TX

Does Alvin's tree preservation article reach an existing home?

Its own scope section says it's aimed at new building. Sec. 15-107 reads: "The provisions herein shall apply to all new residential subdivisions and commercial lots requiring a building permit or site plan. These regulations are enacted on the effective date of this article for property within the corporate limits of the city." The code defines a residential subdivision as "an area to be divided into three (3) or more lots for building residential homes" (Ord. No. 17-D, 2017; checked Nov 14, 2026).

The permit section, though, is worded citywide. Sec. 15-109(a) says: "It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, or to intentionally or with criminal negligence, damage any tree or trees listed on the tree list within the city without having first obtained from the city a tree destruction permit, unless otherwise exempted under this chapter."

Read together, the article is built around new subdivisions and commercial lots, and it lists exceptions for trees that are a safety risk. If you're not sure your lot is covered, call the City of Alvin before removing an oak, pecan, elm, pine or other listed tree. The code online is Supplement No. 47, which includes ordinances through Ord. No. 26-F of May 7, 2026.

Which trees does Alvin's code protect?

Alvin's tree list is short and specific: baldcypress, Chinese pistache, elm, hickory, magnolia, maple, Mexican plum, oak, pecan, pine, river birch, redbud, Savannah holly, sycamore and Texas persimmon. To count as a tree, a woody plant needs "one well-defined stem or trunk and a defined crown," and it must have grown to at least a third of its projected mature height or have "a circumference of nineteen (19) inches or more," measured three feet above the ground (Sec. 15-108; checked Nov 14, 2026).

A tree larger than 72 inches around won't get a destruction permit unless it's an unreasonable impediment to using the site or is "severely damaged, diseased, or dead" (Sec. 15-110(d)).

Safety exceptions and dead trees under the article

Sec. 15-109(b) lists four exceptions. The two that matter most at a house (checked Nov 14, 2026):

• (1) "The removal of the tree is necessary for safety reasons, including but not limited to branches overhanging a structure, severely leaning trees or trees with a seriously damaged root system which pose a reasonable threat of falling."
• (3) "Any person may remove all or a portion of a tree that has disrupted a public utility service due to tornado storm, flood or other act of God, but only that portion of the tree which is necessary to safely restore normal utility service."

The others cover utility pruning in easements and nursery or agricultural trees. Sec. 15-109(c) adds that "It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this chapter that immediate action to remove, damage or kill the tree in question was necessary to prevent harm to persons or property."

For dead trees, Sec. 15-110(b) is direct: "A tree destruction permit shall be issued without cost or conditions if the tree in question is diseased, severely damaged, or dead." Where the article does apply and no exception fits, replacement fees are "two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per tree," capped at $2,500 per acre, and the tree fund can be spent "toward the removal of dead or diseased trees" (Sec. 15-115, amended 2023 and 2025). Each tree removed in violation is a separate offense (Sec. 15-116).

Sec. 12-11: when can Alvin order a dead tree removed?

This is the rule an Alvin homeowner is most likely to run into. It was added by Ord. No. 25-E on March 6, 2025, and it applies to private property anywhere in the city (checked Nov 14, 2026).

Subsection (a) lets the City have a dead or diseased tree on private property removed when a third-party arborist finds it's a potential threat to the public electric infrastructure. In the code's words, "A tree may be considered a potential threat if it is leaning, structurally unsound, or otherwise likely to fall onto the public power lines."

(b) "The City shall notify the property owner in writing of such trees, and the owner shall remove the dead or diseased tree(s) at their own expense within sixty (60) days after the date of service of the notice."

In plain terms:

• The clock: 60 days from the date the written notice is served.
• If the owner doesn't act: the city may remove the tree, "charge the expenses to the owner of the property," assess the costs against the property with an administrative charge set in Chapter 28, and file a lien under Sec. 12-7.
• Emergencies: "In the event a tree poses an immediate and imminent danger to the public electrical infrastructure, the City may take emergency action to remove the tree without prior notice to the owner."
• Not a crime: failing to remove the tree doesn't make the owner criminally liable under Sec. 12-9.
• Not for neighbor disputes: the section doesn't apply to private disagreements between neighbors about trees that don't threaten the public electrical infrastructure.

If a notice arrives, keep it, note the service date and send a request with a photo of the tree and the line.

Trees near TNMP lines in Alvin

TNMP lists Alvin among the Gulf Coast communities it serves. Its tree page says it "proactively prunes, and when appropriate, removes trees for electrical clearance," but that "The customer is responsible for maintaining trees." It asks customers to keep trees at least 10 feet from lines, and to call 888-866-7456 if trees are already closer, to have them assessed or the service drop disconnected (checked Nov 14, 2026). CenterPoint's service-center list also names Alvin, so check your bill to see which company owns your lines.

Two more points: TNMP leaves storm-cut vegetation on site and doesn't haul it away, and Texas law (Health and Safety Code §752.004) requires a six-foot clearance between workers, tools and high-voltage lines unless the line is made safe, with 48 hours' notice to the line's operator for planned work nearby.

Alvin's storm record: Claudette, Alicia, Beryl and Harvey

• Tropical Storm Claudette, July 1979. NOAA's Weather Prediction Center credits Alvin with 42 inches of rain within 24 hours, a U.S. 24-hour record. The Houston/Galveston weather office lists a record-setting 27.75 inches at Alvin in one day, and says an unofficial but reliable gauge just north of Alvin caught 43 inches in 24 hours, which it calls the continental U.S. record. It puts Claudette's flood damage at "3/4 billion dollars" (checked Nov 14, 2026).
• Hurricane Alicia, August 1983. The weather service says the lowest barometric pressure recorded on land during Alicia, 28.55 inches, was at the Alvin weather service office.
• Hurricane Beryl, July 8, 2024. At 7 a.m., the weather service logged a Drive Texas report of "water over the roadways on State Highway 35 near Alvin."
• Hurricane Harvey, 2017. NWS storm data for August 2017 records flooding in areas around Alvin. Harvey's FEMA declaration, DR-4332, includes Brazoria County.

Rain like that matters for trees as well as streets. University of Florida hurricane research says trees in shallow soils are more likely to blow over than trees rooted more deeply, and good soil depth, a deep water table and uncompacted soil help a tree stand up to wind, and it ranked pecan and water oak among the least wind-resistant trees (Florida data; checked Nov 14, 2026). The hurricane page covers what to do after a storm.

Alvin by the numbers

Alvin is larger than Angleton: the Census Bureau put it at 28,633 people on July 1, 2023, up 5.8% since April 2020 by the Census estimate (the 2020 count was 27,098). It has 10,544 households, a 57.8% owner-occupied rate and a median home value of $212,500 for 2019-2023 (QuickFacts, checked Nov 14, 2026). Angleton, for reference, was at 20,206 people in the same estimate.

Heavy trash and burning in Alvin

Alvin amended the heavy trash section of its code in 2023 (Ord. 23-II). Its text couldn't be read for this site, so call the city for current limits on brush and logs before setting out a large pile. The state's outdoor burning guide says burning "must be outside the corporate limits of a city or town" unless a local ordinance allows it, and Brazoria County is in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria ozone nonattainment area, where Texas limits burning of tree and brush waste (TCEQ, checked Nov 14, 2026). More on the debris page.

For a tree at an Alvin home, send a request or call (979) 612-4008. A single independent contractor who takes jobs in Alvin and elsewhere in the county receives it. The full city-by-city rules are on the tree rules page.

Sources: CenterPoint service centers, Alvin Code Ch. 15, Art. IX, Alvin Code Sec. 12-11, Alvin ordinance list, TNMP service area, TNMP tree trimming, TNMP debris, Health and Safety Code §752.004, NOAA WPC Claudette 1979, NWS 1970s hurricanes, NWS 1980s hurricanes, NWS Beryl local storm report, NWS Storm Data Aug 2017, OpenFEMA, UF/IFAS, Census QuickFacts, TCEQ RG-049. All checked Nov 14, 2026.