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Why it matters
How it works
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What people mix up
How to check
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Home / Guides / How the documents differ / Defensible space vs tree preservation

Defensible space vs tree preservation

Last verified 2026-08-25.

This page is Oregon law.

A tree-preservation ordinance and a defensible-space rule can both be in force on the same lot, and they do not read each other. Oregon’s model code, where a city adopts it, wants a 5-foot noncombustible band and 10-foot crown clearance. It still encourages well-maintained trees that meet those distances. Bend’s development code can require keeping 20 percent of 20-inch trees, or 25 percent of total trunk diameter, on sites larger than one acre, then lock that tree to the land for three years. Bend’s own flammable-vegetation explainer says healthy trees within five feet do not have to come out. Name the document before you cut.

You are on a Bend lot with a 20-inch ponderosa eight feet from the wall. Planning has it on the preservation plan, with a root-protection fence at one foot of radius per inch of trunk. Fire wants limbs off the eaves and nothing carrying fire into the crown. Code enforcement sent a half-acre flammable-vegetation letter. Those are three desks. The AHJ for the building permit is not the desk for the nuisance letter, and neither desk is OSFM’s education visit.

This page is the collision. The Oregon defensible-space checklist is the walk-the-yard list. Zone 0 is whether those five feet are law. The 100-foot rule on a 50-foot lot is the property-line cap. Do not treat a preserved tree as a Zone 0 holiday, and do not treat a fire letter as a tree-removal permit.

Why it matters

People cut a required tree and fail plat conditions, or they leave a crown on the eave and fail a wildfire walk. The Governor’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council heard both halves in public. On 17 April 2026 in Sisters, planner Matt Martin named tree canopy versus fire and fuel breaks as a drafting barrier. Garret Moser of the Central Oregon Builders Association asked the Council to help jurisdictions identify conflicts between wildfire codes and other local codes before adoption. OSFM’s model already assigns conflict resolution to the local jurisdiction. Bend has not, on the documents opened here, published one memo that says which tree rule wins.

How it works

Oregon no longer ties a statewide hazard map to a statewide defensible-space mandate. SB 83 moved adoption to cities and counties. OSFM writes the model. Local government adopts, educates, enforces, and resolves conflicts. Tree preservation is a different chapter: in Bend, development applications go through BDC 3.2.200; the city’s 2025 guide sends non-development cutting to BMC 16.40, which this session did not open.

Document	What it wants from the tree	When it applies	What it is not
OSFM model 301.2 / 301.4.1 (if adopted)	5 ft free of combustible vegetation; trees encouraged if crowns are 10 ft from structures, other crowns, electrical, and unmodified fuel; limb 6 ft if the tree is over 18 ft	Where the local government adopted the model, inside the designated WUI	Not Bend law until Bend adopts it. Not R327
OSFM Version 1 checklist	10 ft from buildings and chimneys; 6 ft limbs on trees over 18 ft; vegetation 5 ft off the structure	Education. Written for homeowners and renters	Not a permit. Not 3.2.200
Bend BDC 3.2.200	Keep 20% of priority trees (20 in DBH) or 25% of total regulated DBH (6 in+) or 5% plus mitigation; three-year condition	Land division, site plan review, and listed housing reviews, except dwelling applications on one acre or smaller	Not the flammable-vegetation letter. Not OSFM
Bend flammable-vegetation explainer	Half acre or less: remove all flammable vegetation. Larger: 20 ft fuel break. Limbs within 10 ft of eaves cut back. Same-page FAQ: healthy trees within 5 ft stay	City published explanation of its nuisance code	Not the ordinance text. Not 3.2.200 percentages
Ashland wildfire safety ordinance (as WPAC 2025 reports it)	Restricts new plantings of known flammable trees and shrubs on any lot	All parcels, since 2018, per the annual report	Not Bend. Ordinance page not opened here
Sisters development code (as WPAC reports it)	Defensible-space requirements written into the development code	New development and additions that add 200 sq ft or more, including decks, per the 2025 report	The middle-ground path Sisters described to WPAC

Measure from the crown, not the trunk, when you are in OSFM 301.4.1. Measure a root-protection zone from the trunk when you are in Bend 3.2.200: one foot of radius per inch DBH. A 20-inch priority tree has a 20-foot radius fence during construction. Those two circles are not the same drawing.

The paths

1. Name the file in the driveway. If it is an OSFM or partner education visit, Version 1 is tips. If it is Bend code enforcement, it is the flammable-vegetation letter. If it is planning, it is 3.2.200 or a street-tree condition. If it is the building official, it is adopted R327, which is construction, not a planting-spacing code. See crown and shrub spacing.

2. Existing Bend house, no land-use file. The 2025 guide points tree removal to BMC 16.40. The flammable-vegetation explainer is the wildfire letter: limb off the eaves, take ladder fuels out of the drip line, and, on the same page, keep healthy trees within five feet if they are not under the eaves. Do not use 3.2.200’s 20-percent table on that lot. Do not use the half-acre “remove all flammable vegetation” line as a license to drop a healthy street tree without checking 16.40.

3. New Bend dwelling on one acre or smaller. 3.2.200 does not apply, including mitigation. Council added that exemption on 20 June 2024. The staff report for the 17 July 2024 second reading says street trees are the trade-off when a sidewalk and planter strip exist or are required. A required street tree can still sit inside OSFM’s 10-foot crown line if the house is close to the sidewalk. Place the species from Bend’s approved street-tree list where the mature crown will clear the wall, or ask planning which standard they will inspect.

4. New Bend development larger than one acre. You must hit 20 percent of priority trees, 25 percent of total DBH, or 5 percent plus on-site replacement or payment in lieu. Put the trees you keep where a house will not be. A preserved 20-inch tree eight feet from a planned wall will fail OSFM 301.4.1 if that model is later adopted, and it will fight Bend’s own eave-clearance explainer on day one. Replacement ratios in the adopted exhibit and the 2025 guide: one tree for 6–9.9 inches removed, two for 10–19.9, four for 20 inches and larger, counted from the largest removals until 25 percent DBH is made up.

5. Do not use wildfire as the Type II story. The discretionary track is for street connectivity, utilities, topography that will kill the tree, and industrial pads. It is not a defensible-space variance. Poor or very poor health, with an ISA arborist letter, is an exemption from preservation and from mitigation. Emergency removal is an immediate threat to life or safety, not a planning tool.

6. If the city adopts the OSFM model. 101.2 says conflict resolution is local. 301.3 stops at the property line, same geometry as 100 feet or the line. 301.2’s 5-foot noncombustible band is stricter than Bend’s FAQ that healthy five-foot trees may stay. That is the memo to write before first reading, which is what COBA asked WPAC to help with.

7. Other Oregon patterns, from documents the Council already published. Ashland’s 2018 ordinance, as WPAC 2025 describes it, restricts new flammable plantings citywide rather than forcing every existing tree down. Sisters wrote defensible space into the development code so the same application sees canopy and fuel break. Those pages were not opened here; the annual report and the April 2026 minutes were.

What people mix up

Treating Bend 3.2.200 as a citywide tree-cutting ban on existing lots.
Treating the one-acre dwelling exemption as the same thing as the one-acre land-division exception that still requires mitigation.
Treating Bend’s half-acre flammable-vegetation threshold as the same line as the one-acre tree-preservation exemption.
Treating OSFM 301.4.1 as a tree ban. The model encourages spaced, maintained trees.
Treating Bend’s FAQ (“healthy trees within five feet stay”) as OSFM 301.2 (five feet free of combustible vegetation).
Treating an OSFM education visit as a 3.2.200 amendment.
Treating R327 as planting spacing. It is construction where adopted. See R327 versus CWUIC.
Treating the three-year preservation condition as expired because a fire inspector walked the lot.
Treating “immediate threat to life or safety” as a defensible-space plan.
Treating COBA’s WPAC comment as a Bend variance. It is public testimony asking for conflict-finding before adoption.

How to check

Ask which document is being enforced, and who signs it.
Bend development: open Exhibit A to 3.2.200. Check acreage, whether the application includes a dwelling, tree DBH, and whether the tree is already a condition of approval. The city’s Tree Preservation Guide (last updated 4 February 2025) is the staff restatement.
Bend existing lot: read the flammable-vegetation explainer. Read the FAQ on five-foot trees and the “should be cut back” Immediate-Zone line on the same page. Then ask code enforcement which sentence they are using. BMC 16.40 was not opened this session.
Oregon model: open the OSFM PDF. Read 101.2, 301.2, 301.3, and 301.4.1. Ask the fire official whether the city adopted it.
Education only: open Version 1. It is not 3.2.200.
Sisters / Ashland: start from the WPAC 2025 report, then open those cities’ own codes. This page does not quote them.
Live bendoregon.gov and bend.municipal.codes returned HTTP 403 this session. Granicus PDFs and Wayback copies of the guide and the flammable-vegetation page are what this article cites.

Limits

This page does not decide which Bend desk wins. It does not reprint BMC 16.40. It does not reprint Ashland or Sisters code. It does not say Bend has adopted the OSFM model. The April 2026 WPAC summary is posted as a draft. The ordinance PDF does not print an NS number; cite PLTEXT20230178 and the Granicus dates. FireApproved is not the City of Bend, OSFM, or WPAC.

A private builders’ email is not a source. The COBA sentences above are from the opened WPAC draft summary.

Where this differs

Find what applies near you

Enter a ZIP before browsing the complete evidence. Matching, inherited, and place-neutral records will move first; other places and unmapped application rows will fold into expandable groups. Nothing is removed. All 5 cited place claims remain available.

City of Ashland (WPAC Annual Report, October 2025)

Since 2018, Ashland has had a wildfire safety ordinance that enforces fuel-modification areas and applies to all parcels in the city. Standards include the type and location of materials and vegetation relative to a home, including restricting new plantings of known flammable trees and shrubs on any lot in the city at any time. Ashland has compiled a list of fire-resistant landscaping and a list of prohibited flammable vegetation.

As of 2026-08-25 · Advancing Fire Protection in Oregon (WPAC Annual Report, October 2025) — Office of the Governor of Oregon

City of Bend (Bend Development Code 3.2.200)

Regulated tree means an individual tree with a trunk diameter of six inches DBH or larger. Priority tree means 20 inches DBH or larger. Clear-and-objective preservation is at least 20 percent of all priority trees, or 25 percent of the total DBH of all regulated trees, or 5 percent of that DBH with mitigation. Applications that include one or more dwelling units, micro-units, or single-room occupancies on a site one acre or smaller are exempt from the section. Trees identified for preservation must be preserved for a minimum of three years from land-division final plat approval or a building final inspection, whichever occurs first. The Type II discretionary track lists block length, connectivity, planned streets, utilities, topography, and industrial grading. It does not list defensible space.

As of 2026-08-25 · Bend Development Code tree-preservation amendments, Exhibit A (PLTEXT20230178) — City of Bend

City of Bend (flammable vegetation explainer)

If the property is half an acre or less, remove all flammable vegetation. If larger, create and maintain a 20-foot-wide cleared area around the entire property. Tree limbs overhanging a structure, or hanging within 10 feet of eaves, should be cut back. Limb up so branches hang no lower than 5–6 feet, or one-third of height for immature trees. Trees or shrubs in the Immediate Zone (0–5 feet) should be cut back. FAQ on the same page: healthy trees and shrubs within 5 feet of the home do not have to be removed; the expectation is no limbs or vegetation under the eaves or overhanging a structure. Maximum penalty $750 per day per lot. That is the city’s published explanation of its nuisance code, not the ordinance text.

As of 2026-08-25 · Flammable Vegetation — City of Bend

City of Sisters (WPAC April 17, 2026)

Principal planner Matt Martin told the Wildfire Programs Advisory Council that one barrier to drafting local fire code was existing competing interests (tree canopy, fire and fuel breaks, and so on). The goal was a middle ground. Sisters’ defensible-space code had been rolled out the previous summer and R327 the previous November, as of that meeting.

As of 2026-08-25 · Wildfire Programs Advisory Council — April 17, 2026 meeting summary (draft) — Office of the Governor of Oregon

Oregon State Fire Marshal model defensible-space code

Adoption by local governments is voluntary under SB 83. Education, enforcement, conflict resolution, and appeals related to an adopted defensible-space code must be administered by the local jurisdiction. A noncombustible space not less than 5 feet shall be provided around buildings, decks, and other human development and shall be free of combustible vegetation. Well-maintained existing trees are encouraged within the defensible space if crown spacing to adjacent trees, structures, overhead electrical facilities, or unmodified fuel is not less than 10 feet. Required fuel-modification distances extend only to the property or lot line.

As of 2026-08-25 · [Jurisdiction Name] Defensible Space Code — Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal

Questions

If planning made me keep a tree, can fire make me cut it?

They are different files. Bend Development Code 3.2.200 can require a preserved tree, with a condition that runs with the land for three years from final plat or building final, whichever occurs first. Oregon’s model defensible-space code, where a city adopts it, wants 10-foot crown clearance from structures and a 5-foot noncombustible band. Bend’s published flammable-vegetation explainer says healthy trees and shrubs within five feet do not have to be removed; the expectation is no limbs or vegetation under the eaves or overhanging a structure. Ask which document the person in the driveway is enforcing.

Does Bend’s tree-preservation code apply to my existing house?

The city’s February 2025 Tree Preservation Guide says land-division, site-plan-review, and minimum-development-standards-review applications are subject to BDC 3.2.200. Tree removal not associated with a development application is subject to Bend Municipal Code 16.40. Applications that include one or more dwelling units on a site one acre or smaller are exempt from 3.2.200, including mitigation. This page did not open BMC 16.40. Do not treat the development-code percentages as a permit to cut, or as a ban on cutting, an existing-lot tree.

Does Oregon’s model defensible-space code ban trees?

No. OSFM model section 301.4.1 says well-maintained existing trees are encouraged within the defensible space, provided the horizontal distance between crowns of adjacent trees, and between crowns and structures, overhead electrical facilities, or unmodified fuel, is not less than 10 feet. Trees taller than 18 feet also need 10-foot clearance from the structure and limbs removed to 6 feet. Shorter trees are limbed to one-third height. The 5-foot band in 301.2 is a different rule: it shall be free of combustible vegetation.

Can I use wildfire as the reason to preserve less than 5 percent of trunk diameter?

Not on the list Bend adopted. BDC 3.2.200(C)(2) names block length, connectivity, planned arterials and collectors, utilities that cannot be relocated, topography that threatens the tree, and industrial grading. Defensible space is not one of those findings. On a dwelling application one acre or smaller, the whole section does not apply. On a larger site, place the trees you keep away from walls, or mitigate.

Sources

Bend Development Code tree-preservation amendments, Exhibit A (PLTEXT20230178) — City of Bend (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Opened Granicus PDF. First reading 20 June 2024; second reading and adoption 17 July 2024 (companion ordinance PDF meta_id=79183 does not print an NS number). BDC 3.2.200: regulated tree 6 in DBH; priority tree 20 in DBH; clear-and-objective 20 percent of priority trees or 25 percent of total DBH or 5 percent of DBH plus mitigation. A.2: dwelling applications on sites one acre or smaller are exempt, including mitigation (Council add 20 June 2024). G.1: three-year preservation condition from final plat or building final, whichever first. Discretionary track C.2 does not list defensible space. Root protection zone is one foot of radius per inch DBH.
City Council Issue Summary, BDC tree preservation second reading — City of Bend (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Opened Granicus PDF. Meeting 17 July 2024. Street-tree requirements for listed housing types are the trade-off for the one-acre residential exemption. Replacement ratios 6–9.9 in one tree, 10–19.9 in two, 20 in and larger four. Payment-in-lieu dollar amount was proposed for a later fee resolution and is not quoted as current.
Tree Preservation Requirements — City of Bend (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Opened via Wayback 2026-04-16 (live bendoregon.gov returned 403 this session). Last updated 02/04/2025. Non-development tree removal is BMC 16.40. Restates 3.2.200 percentages, one-acre dwelling exemption, and the one-acre / three-or-fewer-trees mitigate-instead-of-preserve exceptions.
Flammable Vegetation — City of Bend (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Opened via Wayback 2026-05-07 (live page returned 403). City explainer of the flammable-vegetation / nuisance code, not the ordinance text. Half acre or less: remove all flammable vegetation. Larger: 20 ft fuel break. Limbs within 10 ft of eaves cut back; limb 5–6 ft or one-third on immature trees; Immediate Zone 0–5 ft trees and shrubs 'should be cut back.' FAQ: healthy trees and shrubs within 5 ft do not have to be removed; expectation is no limbs or vegetation under eaves or overhanging. Penalty up to $750 per day. BMC chapter text was not opened.
[Jurisdiction Name] Defensible Space Code — Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Opened live PDF. 101.2: SB 83 made local adoption voluntary; education, enforcement, conflict resolution, and appeals are local. 301.2: 5-foot noncombustible space free of combustible vegetation. 301.3 distances only to the property line. 301.4.1 trees encouraged if 10 ft crown spacing; 301.4.1.1–.3 limb and chimney rules.
Wildfire Programs Advisory Council — April 17, 2026 meeting summary (draft) — Office of the Governor of Oregon (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Opened live PDF. Sisters planner Matt Martin named competing interests (tree canopy, fire and fuel breaks). OSFM: voluntary code in place April 29 following RAC work; already adopted in various counties and jurisdictions. Public comment, Garret Moser of Central OR Builders Association: education assistance for local jurisdictions to identify potential conflicts between wildfire codes and other local codes prior to adoption.
Advancing Fire Protection in Oregon (WPAC Annual Report, October 2025) — Office of the Governor of Oregon (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Opened PDF. SB 83 shifted defensible-space adoption to local governments. Ashland since 2018: wildfire safety ordinance on all parcels, including restricting new plantings of known flammable trees and shrubs. Sisters amended its development code to require defensible space. Footnote URLs named; those municipal pages were not opened this session.
Oregon Defensible Space for Homeowners and Renters (Version 1) — Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Education checklist, not adopted Bend code. 10 ft from buildings and chimneys; 6 ft limbs on trees over 18 ft; one-third height on shorter trees; vegetation 5 ft from the structure; 100 ft or to the property line.