Land Clearing
in Houston, TX

How much does land clearing cost in Houston?

There is no flat rate. The land clearing cost on your tract turns on acreage, tree density and tree size. It also depends on full grubbing and stripping versus clearing only, and on the disposal method. Haul-off, grinding and on-site burning all price differently. Tree protection, truck access, wet ground and permits move it too. The cheapest route is usually grinding brush in place when nothing will be built there. A building site needs full grubbing, which costs more. Our free written estimate breaks each of those out as a separate price. If nothing is going up on the land, see forestry mulching.

Do I need a permit to clear land in Houston or Harris County?

It depends on where the land is and what the clearing turns into. Inside Houston, trees in the right-of-way or the setback need a City permit, posted on site 20 days ahead. In unincorporated Harris County, clearing that becomes grading, fill or a new pad needs a County development permit. In unincorporated Montgomery County, clearing is listed on the non-structure permit, and disturbing more than 15,000 square feet brings a County drainage sign-off. Once clearing and grading disturb an acre or more, the state storm water permit asks for a written plan and a sign at the site. So clearing your own land can still take a permit. See SWPPP for the storm water side.

Can you burn the brush, or does it have to be hauled off?

Around Houston, cleared brush can be burned only when there is no practical alternative like grinding or hauling. The burn must also happen at the site where it was cut. It cannot be trucked to another tract to burn. Legal burns need daylight hours, the right wind and 300 feet from a neighbor's home. Inside city limits, plan on grinding or hauling. County burn bans can stop open burning on short notice. Large tracts sometimes use a TCEQ-authorized air-curtain burner. At the estimate, we check which methods your tract allows and price the one you pick.

What is the difference between land clearing, grubbing and forestry mulching?

Clearing takes down the trees and brush. Grubbing pulls the stumps and roots out of the ground. Stripping removes the organic topsoil on top. Forestry mulching is different: it grinds brush and small trees in place and leaves the roots in the ground. Mulching is fine for pasture, trails and fence lines. It is the wrong tool under a pad, because buried wood and stumps rot and settle. A building site needs the full grub and strip. Read more on our building pads page.

Can you clear land that is wet or might be a wetland?

Sometimes, but the low ground gets checked first. Under federal rules, mowing or cutting trees above the ground is not a fill discharge, as long as the roots are left alone. Pushing trees over, root-raking or grubbing with a dozer in a wetland can be. Houston sits in the USACE Galveston District. A wetland consultant can request a jurisdictional determination there before machines go in. We will not grub ground that might be a wetland until that is settled. Tracked machines on wet clay also wait for it to dry.

Which trees can I keep, and how do you protect them during clearing?

You pick the keepers at the site walk, and we flag them. We fence at least 75 percent of the root zone out to the dripline, or cover it with wood chips and road boards. Most roots live in the top two feet of soil, so we keep machines and stockpiles off them. In Houston, a healthy tree you keep can count toward the trees the City requires on new construction. Street trees and big setback trees can be protected and need a permit to remove. Tallow and dead or leaning trees are usually the ones to take.