Why Is Burlingame Called "The City of Trees"?

Burlingame the Beautiful: Historical Efforts

Burlingame's famous green canopy thrives by design, sustained by strict local laws and decades of meticulous planning. While other cities have a lot of trees, Burlingame's entire legal, architectural, and visual identity has long been built around them.

• The 1870s Planting: Long before it was a town, the land was a windswept, nearly treeless prairie. Wealthy landowners William Howard and William Ralston began planting rows of imported eucalyptus and elm trees along El Camino Real to create a grand, shaded estate entrance.

• The 1908 Law: After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, people flooded into the area, prompting the town to incorporate in 1908. To protect the mature trees from aggressive new development, the very first Board of Trustees immediately passed a 1908 ordinance legally banning anyone from cutting down or injuring trees. Local promotional materials and newspapers quickly began branding the new town as the "City of Trees" and "Burlingame the Beautiful."

• The 1979 Official Stamp: In 1979, the National Arbor Day Foundation officially designated Burlingame as a "Tree City USA"—a title it has maintained every year since.

A Unique Urban Forest

While Burlingame isn't the only "Tree City USA"—sharing the title with over 3,500 other towns—its identity stands out for several unique reasons:

• High Tree Density per Acre: Burlingame packs over 11,000 public street trees into just 4.4 square miles, creating a dense overhead canopy the moment you enter the city. When you add the trees in parks, private yards, and open spaces like Mills Canyon, the total count reaches tens of thousands.

• Rare In-House Management: While most cities outsource their tree care, Burlingame employs a dedicated, in-house municipal crew to directly maintain its thousands of street trees.

• The name is a legally binding brand: For most of those 3,500 "Tree City USA" towns, the title is just a voluntary badge of honor. For Burlingame, the name is tied directly to its municipal origin story. Because the city’s very first piece of legislation in 1908 was passed explicitly to save its trees from being cut down, the town chose "City of Trees" as its primary civic identity from day one.

The "City of Trees" in Action

Strict Protection Laws

Burlingame doesn't just encourage people to keep trees; it legally mandates it through Municipal Code Chapter.

• The "Protected Tree" Threshold: Any tree on private property—regardless of species—is legally protected if it measures 44 inches or more in circumference (approx. 14 inches in diameter) when measured 54 inches from the ground.
• Permit Restrictions: Property owners cannot remove, structurally alter, prune more than 25% of the canopy, or cut more than 15% of the roots of a protected tree without a formal permit processed by the city.
• Real Estate Disclosures: The city requires a mandatory Protected Private Trees Disclosure Form during real estate transactions so new homebuyers legally acknowledge the restrictions on the trees on their new property.

Sidewalks vs. Roots

Massive trees present a major challenge: their roots can easily destroy concrete sidewalks. Instead of cutting down the trees, Burlingame protects them through a specialized Planter Strip Policy.

When new homes are built or major renovations require a sidewalk replacement, the city utilizes its public right-of-way to expand the dirt planter strips. Rather than running a straight concrete path that suffocates the tree, the city physically curves the sidewalk inward toward the property line—giving the roots the necessary room to grow without cracking the pavement.

Curated "Themed Blocks"

To maintain a cohesive, historic aesthetic, specific neighborhoods are designated for specific trees. In fact, the city manages over 2,500 themed block street locations! For instance:

• The 700 and 800 blocks of Bayswater Avenue are heavily curated for Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair trees) to ensure an emerald-to-bright-gold color transition in the fall.
• Other streets are explicitly restricted to London Planes (Sycamores), Chinese Pistache, or Raywood Ash to create uniformity .

Urban Forestry Operations & Maintenance

Burlingame actively maintains and cycles its forest to ensure safety and longevity.

• Cycle & Replacements: Public notices specify that when a city-owned tree must be removed due to age or disease, the city schedules a mandatory replacement for the following planting season.
• Large-Scale Pruning: The city funds multi-hundred-thousand-dollar initiatives (such as the Large Tree Pruning and Removal Project) to aggressively prune the towering, historic eucalyptus trees along major thoroughfares like Skyline Boulevard, Sanchez Avenue, and the Caltrain railroad tracks to prevent limbs from falling during winter storms.
• Citizen Watering Mandate: Because the city owns more trees than it has the capacity to water, municipal code actually requests that residents actively irrigate the city-owned street trees in front of their homes during the dry summer months.

Sustainability at Revery

Designed for LEED Silver Certification, eco-conscious building elements at Revery include everything from low-water and drought-tolerant landscaping to energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and more.

Contact us to learn more about available floor plans, save with move-in specials, or to schedule a tour of our new luxury apartments.