A friend of mine mentioned that he understood that it was illegal to transplant an Arbutus tree. Is that true and, if so, why is that?
If a municipality or other entity actually has such a prohibition it would be for the purposes of conservation. Tiny plants with intact rootballs may shift, there is also supposed to be a good take from larger plants defoliated, barerooted and lifted at the end of winter, potted and put into a humid greenhouse to recover. Otherwise, Arbutus menziesii is expected to be quite difficult to transplant.