Berkeley's views and sunlight ordinance: what a tree claim requires
By Michael Schuck, ISA Certified Arborist WE-15750A · Last reviewed 2026-10-23
What the ordinance protects
Section 12.45.020 defines an obstruction as "any substantial blocking or diminishment of a view" or of access to sunlight caused by trees. Berkeley is unusual in protecting sunlight alongside views, which matters for gardens, south-facing rooms and solar installations. A "complaining party" may be the property owner or a legal occupant whose owner does not object.
The baseline is your own tenure: the evidence "must show absence of the obstruction at any documentable time during the tenure of the current property owner," and "evidence to show date of acquisition must be included." A view or sunlight access that was already lost when you bought is not recoverable.
What a tree claim must contain (12.45.020, item 13)
- The nature and extent of the obstruction, with corroborating physical evidence such as photographs
- Evidence that the obstruction did not exist at a documentable time during your ownership, and evidence of your acquisition date
- The location of the trees, the property address, and the tree owner's name and address
- The mitigating actions proposed by the parties
- Evidence of failed conciliation, such as copies of and receipts for certified or registered mail
The process
- Personal communication. The ordinance expects you to talk to the tree owner first; the claim must show that personal communication failed.
- Written conciliation. A written proposal to the owner, sent so that delivery can be proven. Section 12.45.030 governs this step.
- Mediation or arbitration. With a "tree mediator or tree arbitrator" acceptable to both the complaining party and the tree owner. The ordinance does not appoint one; the parties choose.
- Court action if the earlier steps fail.
This page quotes section 12.45.020 (Definitions) from the published code. Sections 12.45.030 onward set out the conciliation procedure, remedies and cost allocation; read them with counsel before filing, and we will add them here as they are reviewed. Read the ordinance →
Remedies
The ordinance defines "restorative action" as any specific requirement to resolve a tree dispute, and separately defines thinning, trimming, topping and tree removal. As in other Bay Area view ordinances, the practical order runs from the least to the most severe intervention, and an arborist's assessment of what each would do to the particular trees is central to what a mediator, arbitrator or court will order.
How Berkeley's tree protection interacts
Berkeley regulates one private species: coast live oak, under the Coast Live Oak Moratorium (BMC Chapter 6.52), covering single stems of 18 inches or more in circumference and multi-stem trees of 26 inches aggregate, measured at 4 feet. Removal, or pruning of more than 25 percent, requires an exception approved by the City Manager or designee, and there is no dead-tree exemption. Street and park trees are protected under BMC 12.44. A view claim against a coast live oak therefore runs into the moratorium; the report identifies the species before anything else. Other species on private land are not regulated by the city. Berkeley tree rules →
What the View Obstruction Report does in Berkeley
- Documents the view or sunlight obstruction from the affected rooms, garden or panels with photographs and, for sunlight, the shading pattern through the day and season.
- Identifies every tree to species, height and growth rate, flagging coast live oaks subject to BMC 6.52.
- Reviews the tenure evidence you supply against today's conditions.
- States, tree by tree, which restorative actions would restore the view or sunlight and what each would do to the tree.
- Assembles the claim contents required by 12.45.020 so the written conciliation is complete.
From $950. Mediation attendance $250 per hour. Also ordered by tree owners responding to a claim. Start the report
Sources
- Berkeley Municipal Code 12.45.020, Definitions (Ord. 6286-NS, 1993, 1995, 1987), reviewed October 23, 2026.
- City of Berkeley, City Trees and Coast Live Oak Ordinance; BMC Chapter 6.52.
Questions people ask
Does Berkeley have a view ordinance?
Yes. Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 12.45, Preservation of Views and Sunlight, creates a private tree claim for substantial blocking or diminishment of a view or of access to sunlight caused by a neighbor's trees.
Does it cover sunlight as well as views?
Yes. Berkeley's ordinance is one of the few that treats loss of sunlight (for example to a garden or solar panels) the same way as loss of a view.
What evidence do I need?
Physical evidence, such as photographs, showing the absence of the obstruction at a documentable time during your ownership, plus evidence of your date of acquisition, the trees' location, the owner's name and address, your proposed mitigation, and proof that written conciliation failed (certified or registered mail receipts).
Who hears the claim?
A tree mediator or arbitrator acceptable to both parties, or the court. The ordinance does not appoint one for you.
Can the tree owner be forced to remove a coast live oak?
Removal or pruning of more than 25 percent of a coast live oak in Berkeley requires an exception approved by the City Manager under the Coast Live Oak Moratorium (BMC 6.52). A view claim does not bypass that.
When you need a lawyer instead of (or as well as) an arborist
Call a California attorney first if a lawsuit has already been filed, if the damage is over the small claims limit and the other side will not negotiate, or if the dispute is really about where the property line is. We work alongside attorneys every week and the report is written to be used in that setting, but we do not give legal advice and we do not opine on property lines. How we work with attorneys →