Sonoma County Chipper Program Guidelines

Read the guidelines below before creating your chipper pile.

All guidelines must be met before application submittal. Once an application is received, the piles will be inspected for compliance with the guidelines. Service may be denied, or corrections may be required if piles are not stacked or placed according to the guidelines or if they contain prohibited materials (see below). If the piles are not ready by the time of the inspection, the application will be put on hold until the crew-recommended corrections are made to the pile and the applicant contacts us to let us know they are ready for a re-inspection. Please note: Delays to your chipping request may occur if you haven’t met all of the program guidelines.

The crew can chip a pile in an approved location of no more than 3-feet tall, 10-feet wide, and 50-feet long, in about two hours. The crew may opt to return at a later date or ask that the remaining material be removed at the applicant's expense.

Things that can go in your pile:

• The Chipper Program is intended for trees and brush cut to create or maintain defensible space.
• The chipper can handle limbs from trees or brush no more than 4-inches in diameter and up to 10-feet long.
• Freshly cut and stacked materials chip much better than old, dry wood. If your piles have been in place for a long time and/or contain old, dry material, our crews may not be able to chip them.

Things that cannot go in your pile:

• No nails, wires, or any metal pieces!
• No roots or stumps.
• No Poison Oak or other poisonous species.
• No vines or materials entangled with vines.
• No Oleander.
• No bamboo or fibrous materials such as palm tree fronds.
• No spiny plants or trees with thorns (roses, blackberries, thorny fruit trees, etc.).
• No Scotch/French broom or gorse.
• No construction-type wood (Example: fence posts or 2x4s).
• No rocks, dirt, and/or mud.
• No rakings or piles of needles, leaves, and/or grass.
• No fire debris, burned logs, branches, or trees from past fires.
• No firewood or logs cut into wood rounds.
• No wood older than a year; no rotten wood.
• You WILL be responsible for disposing of any unchipped materials.

Piles must be placed along road or driveway frontages so that crews can work safely without the need for additional personnel, signage, or road closure permits. The crew will not chip piles that are more than 10-feet from an accessible road or driveway. The chipper cannot go up very steep slopes.

• Do not place piles where they might block roadways or access.
• Do not put piles within 10-feet of power poles.
• The chipper and truck must be able to get to a place they can turn around.
• Place piles on road or driveway within 10-feet of chipper access, preferably on the uphill side of the road or driveway. The Chipper Crew will not work around obstructions.
• Do not place piles in a field or area more than 10-feet from the road or driveway.  Damage to equipment and frequent maintenance is often required when the truck and chipper drive off-road to get to a woodpile. Applications may be placed on hold by the Chipper Crew until the applicant moves the pile to a location that meets the guidelines. 
• Call or Email the Chipper Program when a crew-recommended issue is fixed. Applications will be placed back on a list to be reinspected for compliance. 
• Disposal of any unchipped material is the responsibility of the property owner.
• All material chipped will be blown back onto the property in a place the crew deems practical and safe. Applicant is responsible for spreading out the piles of chips. Special accommodations for chip locations will be the determination of the chipping crew.
• The crew has the right to deny chipper service when the application or service area is outside the scope of the program or does not meet the guidelines of the free Chipper Program.

• Piles must be no more than 3-feet tall, 10-feet wide, with rows no longer than 50-feet.
• The chipper can chip wood up to 10-feet long and no more than 4-inches in diameter. It is quicker for the crew to chip one 10-foot branch then multiple short lengths. Materials should be between 4-feet long and 10-feet long.
• Piles must be stacked with the cut ends lined up facing the same direction and pointing towards the road or driveway, preferably on the uphill side.
• Do not use large equipment, such as tractors or bobcats, to stack piles.
• No burn or debris piles.
• When your piles are complete, take digital photos of your pile(s) to submit along with your application. If you have a problem with uploading your photos, please email the photo to the chipper program: Chipper@sonoma-county.org

« Go Back to main Chipper Program | Go to Chipper Program Application Portal & Information »