Permits for Land Clearing in Austin & Surrounding Cities (Plain-English Guide)

TL;DR

If you’re clearing land anywhere around Austin, assume you’ll need at least basic notifications and erosion controls—and possibly a full permit—when you: disturb ≥1 acre, work near creeks or floodplains, clear inside a platted subdivision/ETJ, remove regulated trees, or prep a building pad/drive. The fastest path is to sequence your project: concept sketch → site walk → utility locates → tree assessment → drainage/erosion plan → city/county submittal (if required) → mobilize with BMPs and inspections baked into the schedule. Keep clearing and grading under one plan so you don’t trigger extra reviews mid-project. If you want a local crew that handles the paperwork and the work, you’re in the right place with Ace Excavating Austin.

Why permits matter for land clearing around Austin

Central Texas soils and terrain swing wildly—limestone shelves to the west, expansive clays to the east. Clear the wrong way and you can send a storm’s worth of silt downslope in one afternoon or remove a tree you didn’t realize was regulated. Permitting isn’t about red tape; it’s there to keep drainage, creeks, and neighboring lots intact while you open yours up. The good news: if you organize your plan before the first machine rolls, approvals are usually straightforward and your job stays on schedule.

What “land disturbance” means in plain English

Most municipal and county rules key off “land disturbance”—any activity that exposes, removes, compacts, or transports soil. In practice, that includes:

• Pushing a brush into piles with a dozer
  
• Forestry mulching that removes vegetative cover at scale
  
• Root-raking and stump pulling
  
• Cutting a new driveway, house pad, or utility trench
  
• Hauling fill in or out
  

A little selective thinning may not trigger a permit; a pad or mass clear usually will. The threshold often changes at 1 acre of disturbed area, at waterways, or when you’re inside city limits/ETJ.

When you usually can clear with minimal paperwork

Many small, selective projects can proceed with a simple plan and field BMPs (best management practices) when you’re outside floodplains, away from regulated trees, and under the one-acre disturbance threshold. Examples:

• Thinning the cedar understory to reduce ladder fuels while keeping the oaks
  
• Cutting a footpath or view corridor with a mulcher
  
• Clearing a small homesite envelope with erosion control placed the same day
  

Even when a formal permit isn’t required, you’re still responsible for erosion controls, utility locates (811), and neighbor-safe practices. We treat these light jobs like mini construction projects—because a single thunderstorm will too.

When you’ll likely need a permit or formal review

Expect a formal review if any of these apply:

• ≥1 acre of disturbance (often triggers stormwater/erosion plan requirements)
  
• Work near creeks, drainageways, or floodplains (buffers, setbacks, and special BMPs)
  
• Clearing inside city limits or ETJ with subdivision or site development rules
  
• Building pad/drive grading that changes drainage patterns
  
• Tree protection: removing or impacting regulated trees or critical root zones
  
• Commercial or multi-family tracts (nearly always reviewed)
  

If your end goal is a home, barn, shop, or driveway this season, it’s often faster to wrap clearing, grading, and BMPs into one site preparation plan so reviewers see the whole picture and you avoid extra loops mid-project.

Tree rules, buffers, floodplains, and other hot spots

Trees:
Central Texas cities protect particular species and trunk sizes. You can usually remove invasive cedar and brush freely, but you’ll want a quick tree inventory for large oaks and hardwoods near planned work. We flag drip lines, set no-go fences around critical root zones, and route machines outside those boundaries.

Buffers & water:
Any work near a creek, stream, or wet weather drainage needs setbacks and erosion/sediment controls (silt fence, wattles, stabilized entrances). We also avoid windrowing chips directly into low areas; mulch is a great BMP, but not when it becomes a dam.

Floodplains:
If FEMA maps show flood hazard on your lot, mass clearing or fill can trigger additional review and elevation data. In those areas, we stage light, selective clearing first and plan any pad work with proper grading data so approvals don’t stall.

How to plan your submittal (the simple sequence that works)

Here’s the plain-English sequence we use to keep land-clearing approvals smooth and fast:

Sketch the idea

• Print a simple site map (county GIS or survey), mark structures, drive, pad envelope, trails, and any waterways.
  
• Circle tree clusters to keep and thickets to thin.
  

Walk the site together

• Flag keep trees with tape and fence their drip lines.
  
• Mark access (protect culverts) and staging so trucks and machines don’t crush the wrong corner of the lot.
  

Call 811

• Get utilities located before any ground touches an auger or blade—especially new drive paths and building envelopes.
  

Right-size the plan

• If you’re under 1 acre and away from waterways, we’ll draft a BMP sketch (silt fence lines, stabilized entrance, stockpile area).
  
• If you’re over 1 acre or near a creek, we’ll build a simple erosion/sediment control plan and pair it with your site preparation scope so the reviewer sees how you’ll stabilize.
  

Submit & coordinate

• We file the packet (if required), track review questions, and sequence mobilization so that clearing starts the same week approvals hit.
  
• You get a field checklist so you know what “good” erosion control looks like between visits.
  

If you want to understand how this flows into pad, drive, and utility work, our site preparation overview shows how we convert a clearing permit into a fast, compliant build start without rework.

Typical timelines, inspections, and field coordination

Light selective clearing (no formal permit):

• 1–3 days from site walk to mobilization (weather allowing).
  
• Same-day BMP placement (silt fence/wattles) where needed.
  
• Work completed in 1–3 working days, depending on acres and density.
  

Clearing tied to site prep (submittal required):

• 1–2 weeks to assemble plans, utility locates, and tree notes.
  
• The reviewer window varies by jurisdiction; we schedule the first pass of work (access/entrance, light thinning) to begin immediately after approval.
  
• Inspections may occur at BMP placement, after rough grading, and at stabilization. We handle the cadence and keep you posted.
  

Weather:

• After heavy rain, we’ll let the ground drain to tacky so machines don’t rut or track sediment off-site.
  
• Extreme heat shortens crew days for safety, but doesn’t stop work; we adjust the schedule and hydration.
  

Costs, fees, and budget reality

Think in three buckets:

City/county fees

• Modest for small reviews; scale with acreage/disturbance and whether drainage modeling or floodplain checks are required.
  

Professional prep

• Field mapping, tree notes, erosion plan, and submittal handling—small line item on light jobs; meaningful on larger builds (but it buys speed).
  

Field controls & build-ready steps

• Silt fence/wattles, stabilized entrances, stockpile wrappings
  
• Clearing production (mulching or push/rake/haul)
  
• Adders for stump removal, root raking, rough grade, compaction if you’re going straight into build mode
  

If you’re on the fence between forestry mulching and traditional push-and-haul, this primer on land-clearing techniques explains costs, speed, and soil impact, so your permit scope matches what the field crew will actually do.

Two example paths: 1-acre homestead vs 10-acre ranchette

One-acre hillside lot (Lakeway)

• Goal: Safer access, protect oaks, open views; build next year.
  
• Approach: Forestry mulching with 2–3″ feathered chips, light BMPs along the downslope, no formal permit required because disturbance stays small and away from a creek.
  
• Outcome: Park-like understory now; when you’re ready to build, we convert to traditional clearing within the pad envelope, with root removal and rough grading under a simple site-prep plan.
  

Ten-acre tract (Elgin/Hutto side)

• Goal: Barndo this season; long driveway, utilities, pad, and code-clean drainage.
  
• Approach: Consolidate clearing, grading, and erosion controls into a single site-prep submittal. Traditional clearing in the envelope and corridors; forestry mulching on back acres.
  
• Outcome: Approvals align with land grading and utilities. Fewer surprises, fewer hold points, faster move-in.
  

If you’re weighing how much to grade after clearing, the most common next step is dialed-in land grading—it locks drainage and compaction so inspection and construction go smoothly.

FAQs

Start Your Project the Right Way

If you want a simple, compliant path from first cut to build-ready, we’ll walk the property, sketch the plan, and—where needed—package a submittal that reviewers can approve quickly. You’ll know what needs a permit, what can move now, and exactly how clearing connects to grading, utilities, and pad work so you don’t pay twice. Contact Ace Excavating Austin or call (512) 236-5135 to schedule a site walk and ensure your project begins efficiently and by the book.