Madeira Beach Tree Removal Permits and Tree Rules
Updated: Oct 4
Last reviewed October 2, 2026. Next review due April 2, 2027. By Forest, Property Intelligence Specialist, Ken's Tree Service.
Do you need a tree removal permit in Madeira Beach?
Madeira Beach calls its approval a tree removal permit: identify the jurisdiction and tree, check the local exemptions and qualifying state-law route, then obtain any required approval before removal under Section 106-69. (Section 106-69) Start with our city-or-county tree permit guide if the jurisdiction is uncertain.
This is a regional reference, not an offer to perform work in Madeira Beach. The codified rules described here are in Supplement 34; the city's September 2026 records also contain a proposed vegetation rewrite, Ordinance 2026-10, which this guide does not treat as adopted law. (September Planning Commission packet)
Why does the city regulate removal?
The ordinance's stated purpose is environmental and visual protection through control of existing tree and mangrove removal. (Section 106-61) Its prohibition is broader than cutting a trunk: removal, cutting down, damage, poisoning and other destruction must comply with the article. (Section 106-65)
The comprehensive plan also says clearing trees and wetland vegetation is prohibited except where necessary to avoid a hazard to public or private property, creating a narrower-sounding statement than the permit article's general removal process; neither passage is a promise that a proposed removal will be approved. (Policy 8.1.5.5, Section 106-69) Have Community Development reconcile the plan, tree article and applicable approvals for the project.
Which trees are protected, including palms and dead trees?
Subject to the species exemptions and qualifying Florida Statute 163.045 route, Section 106-69(a) states: "It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or cause to be removed any tree having a diameter at breast height of four inches or greater without first having procured a no fee permit." (Section 106-69(a)) The code's tree definition is self-supporting woody plants normally growing to at least 15 feet, with trunks maintainable with over five feet of clear wood and an average mature crown spread of at least 15 feet. (Section 82-2, Trees)
Palms are not limited to cabbage palms in the code: Section 106-62 lists "All species of palm trees," while Section 106-68 gives cabbage palms a particular construction-barrier rule; neither provision expressly resolves how every palm species fits the tree definition and removal trigger, and Section 106-64 names no palm exemption. (Section 106-62(21), Section 106-68(a), Section 106-64) Do not read that as either all palms being exempt or every palm automatically requiring a permit; the City must resolve the definition for the palm involved.
The codified removal trigger contains no dead-tree exclusion, subject to the listed species exemptions and qualifying state-law route; dead or dying hazardous growth separately falls under the maintenance rule requiring pruning and trimming to prevent the hazard. (Section 106-69(a), Section 14-68(7)) A dead tree is not, by that fact alone, documented as qualifying under the state statute.
How do you measure the tree?
The code defines DBH as the standard measurement of a single-stemmed tree at 4½ feet above grade. (Section 82-2, Diameter at breast height) For a circular-trunk approximation, circumference in inches at that height divided by 3.14 gives diameter in inches; the four-inch permit threshold corresponds to approximately 12.56 inches of circumference, subject to the exemptions and state-law route. (Section 106-69(a))
The code's definition addresses a single stem, not a formula for combining multiple trunks. (Section 82-2, Diameter at breast height) Ask the City how it measures an irregular or multistem tree rather than substituting a rule from another municipality.
What exceptions change the answer?
The codified local species exemption is Section 106-64; natural-disaster discretion concerns reasonable time for removal and replacement, not a blanket exemption from approval. (Section 106-64, Section 106-66) The independent Florida Statute 163.045 route has specific property, documentation and risk conditions, and excludes the exercise of delegated mangrove authority. (Florida Statute 163.045)
For an emergency involving a natural disaster, the city manager may allow reasonable time for removal and replacement of damaged trees to meet Sections 106-71 and 106-72. (Section 106-66) The ordinary four-inch removal trigger is not a declaration that damaging a smaller tree is permissible, because Section 106-65 separately prohibits damage except in accordance with the article. (Sections 106-69(a) and 106-65)
Does pruning a private tree require a permit?
No provision requiring a separate permit for ordinary private-tree pruning was found in the city's Supplement 34 code, but effective removal through damaging a tree to death is included in "Remove or removal," and tree damage remains regulated; this finding does not cover mangrove trimming, utility rights, public rights-of-way or departures from an approved landscape plan. (Section 82-2, Remove or removal, Section 106-65, Section 110-33, County mangrove guidance)
Section 14-68(7) requires hazardous dead and dying growth or branches to be pruned and trimmed to prevent danger; the text does not create a pruning permit. (Section 14-68(7)) Intersection landscaping must preserve cross-visibility between 36 inches and eight feet under Section 106-39, with tree trimming allowed where visibility is not hindered and the City finds no traffic hazard. (Section 106-39)
Do not interpret a removal permit as permission to poison or indiscriminately damage retained trees: the separate prohibition still requires compliance with the article. (Section 106-65) No numerical private-tree canopy-removal allowance, topping authorization or root-pruning distance was found in the code search described in Sources and scope.
Which species are exempt?
Section 106-64 says a permit is not required for removal of its seven listed trees and encourages replacement with species native to the city; this is an exemption, not merely a waiver of the fee; the quoted species names retain the code's botanical spellings, with punctuation omissions marked. (Section 106-64)
Entry | Verbatim code wording |
|---|---|
1 | "Punk (cajeput) tree [...] Malaleuca leu codendron" (106-64(1)) |
2 | "Brazilian pepper [...] Schinus terebin thefolius" (106-64(2)) |
3 | "Australian pine [...] Casuarina spp." (106-64(3)) |
4 | "Chinaberry (Melia azedarach)" (106-64(4)) |
5 | "Ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum)" (106-64(5)) |
6 | "Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.)" (106-64(6)) |
7 | "Silk Oak (Grevillea robusta)" (106-64(7)) |
UF/IFAS identifies punk tree as Melaleuca quinquenervia and Brazilian peppertree as Schinus terebinthifolia; those sourced names are not silent corrections to the ordinance. (UF/IFAS punk tree, UF/IFAS Brazilian peppertree)
The code's introduced-species list names camphor, citrus, eucalyptus, silk oak, jacaranda, Jerusalem thorn, ear tree and fig tree, but introduced status alone is not a permit exemption; eucalyptus, silk oak and ear tree appear in both that list and the express exemption list; it would be wrong to say every species in Section 106-63 is nonexempt. (Section 106-63, Section 106-64)
Who can apply, and who decides?
The tree article requires an applicant's site information but does not specify a separate owner-only, HOA or corporate-signatory form; the broader development application must be signed and notarized by all property owners and their agents. (Section 106-70, Section 110-49(b)) The City's tree FAQ routes inquiries to the Building Department at 727-391-9951, while the code assigns certain decisions to the city manager or designee. (City tree FAQ, Sections 106-66 and 106-71(c))
The posted Authorized Agent Affidavit is an authorization by a license holder for someone to act for the business in permit matters; it should not be mistaken for proof that an HOA board, corporation or property owner authorized a tree removal. (Authorized Agent Affidavit) Ask the Permit Desk which signatures and authorization evidence it needs for the applicant's actual role.
When does Florida Statute 163.045 apply?
Florida Statute 163.045 provides a separate route only when the property meets its residential definition and the owner possesses the specified signed onsite assessment finding an unacceptable risk under its named standard; mangrove delegated authority is excluded. (Florida Statute 163.045(1), (2) and (4)) A tree's poor health alone is not the statute's test.
Property: A single-family detached building on a lot actively used for single-family residential purposes, as a conforming use or legally recognized nonconforming use under the applicable local land development regulations. (163.045(1)(b))
Documentation: An onsite assessment performed under Best Management Practices - Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition (2017), by an ISA certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect, signed by that professional. (163.045(1)(a))
Risk and possession: The property owner must possess documentation that the tree poses an unacceptable risk to persons or property, meaning removal is the only means of practically mitigating the risk below moderate under that same standard. (163.045(2))
Local restrictions: When those conditions are met, local government may not require notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation for pruning, trimming or removal, and may not require replanting a tree handled in accordance with the section. (163.045(2) and (3))
Mangroves: The section does not apply to the exercise of specifically delegated mangrove-protection authority under Sections 403.9321 through 403.9333. (163.045(4))
Commercial sites, multifamily buildings, institutional grounds and HOA common areas do not become qualifying single-family residential property merely because someone owns or lives near them. (163.045(1)(b)) Ken's Tree Service does not sign this documentation itself; for this regional guide, direct questions about the City process to the Building Department, not to a request for a Madeira Beach assessment.
What penalties and enforcement remedies does the code provide?
Section 82-5 authorizes a fine up to $500, up to 60 days' imprisonment, or both for land-development violations, with each day a separate offense and injunction available in addition or as an alternative; other enforcement routes have different limits. (Section 82-5) The figures here are codified amounts, not a prediction of the penalty in a particular case; original effective dates for the older penalty amounts were not established from the instruments available in this review.
Route | Codified consequence and qualification |
|---|---|
General penalty | Where no specific penalty is provided, up to $500, up to 60 days, or both; continuing days are separate offenses. (1-16(a)) |
Nuisance abatement | The City may abate a violating condition as provided by law; each continuing day is a separate offense. (1-16(b)) |
Civil citation | Contest in county court or pay the appropriate fine; maximum contested civil penalty $500; uncontested fine follows the County schedule and cannot exceed $475 per day per infraction. (2-405(a), (b) and (c)) |
Special magistrate | Up to $250 per day for a first violation, $500 per day for a repeat violation, plus applicable repair costs; an irreparable or irreversible violation may receive up to $5,000 per violation. (2-378(a) and (b)) |
Liens and costs | A recorded order may become a lien; after three months unpaid the City may be authorized to pursue foreclosure or a money judgment, subject to the stated homestead protections, and prevailing prosecution costs may also be recovered. (2-378(e) and (f)) |
Before a civil citation the officer ordinarily gives a correction period of no more than 30 days, but may cite immediately for a serious threat or an irreparable or irreversible violation. (Section 2-403) That exception is particularly important when an action cannot be undone; do not count on receiving time to correct it first.
What replacement trees are required?
Subject to the species exemption and the qualifying state-law no-replanting route, residential replacement uses the lot-area table and cap in Section 106-72(a), while nonresidential tracts use a separate calculation; under the residential rule, removal requires replacement up to the minimum, never more replacements than the trees existing on the property when the removal permit is granted. (Sections 106-64, 106-72, 163.045(3))
The table supplies no row below 3,500 square feet; do not invent one. (Section 106-72(a)) Replacement species must match the species requested for removal or be on Section 106-62's list. (Section 106-71(a))
Replacement stock must be at least eight feet overall at planting and state Department of Agriculture nursery grade No. 1 or better, unless the City grants the market-availability waiver; the waiver requires demonstrating that compliant stock is not readily available under current market conditions, with substitutes approved by the city manager's designee. (Section 106-71(b) and (c))
The listed replacement choices include native pines and oaks, hickories and pecans, bald and pond cypresses, southern red cedar, hollies, sweetbay, southern magnolia, sweetgum, red maple, black cherry, Carolina cherry laurel, persimmon, black gum, loblolly bay, wax myrtle, willows, elderberry, the code's "Slatbrush," cabbage palm, all palm species, and additional species listed as "Florida Native" or "Okay" on the UF/IFAS Florida Friendly Plant List as updated. (Section 106-62) Listing all palms here is not a finding that all are botanically native, nor does it remove the separate landscape-plan palm limits.
What changes for commercial, multifamily and HOA property?
For existing commercial, multifamily, institutional and HOA common-area property, the codified removal trigger does not set a different size or fee by owner type, and the species exemptions still matter; the Florida Statute 163.045 route is limited to its qualifying single-family residential property. (Sections 106-69(a) and 106-64, 163.045(1)(b)) Replacement classification depends on the lot and zoning language, not simply on whether an association submits the application. (Section 106-72)
On retail commercial, tourist commercial, marine commercial or related nonresidential-zoned land, Section 106-72(b) requires at least one replacement for each permitted tree removed beyond 25 percent of the naturally existing protected trees, or at least the number required under Sections 106-33 through 106-36, whichever is greater. (Section 106-72(b)) The code does not specify how to round a fractional 25-percent calculation.
Approved site-plan landscaping must be maintained in accordance with that plan, and a deviation from a final development order first needs an amendment through development review. (Sections 110-33 and 110-50) An exemption from the tree-removal permit should not be read as a blanket amendment to an approved landscape plan.
What if you are developing, rebuilding or adding a pool?
A tree-removal permit is not the same thing as development approval: Section 82-2 expressly excludes tree and grubbing permits from its development-permit definition, while development activity requires a final development order and any required development permits under Section 110-46. (Section 82-2, Development permit, Section 110-46(a)) If you are building a pool, adding a structure or altering a site, have Community Development determine the applicable review level rather than treating approval to remove a tree as approval for the project.
Section 110-47 uses minor, intermediate and major review thresholds and applies the highest triggered level where a project has multiple components; Section 110-51(b) addresses minor work such as additions, alterations, renovations and site changes; the Section 110-47 table calls a minor preapplication meeting recommended, while Section 110-49(a) says an applicant shall attend before filing: ask the City to reconcile these instructions for a minor project. (Sections 110-47, 110-51(b), 110-49(a))
Ordinance 2026-09, adopted September 9, 2026, amends Chapter 110, Article III on nonconformances, not Chapter 106; its nonconforming-characteristics provision includes inappropriate landscaping and requires compliance when the principal structure must comply with current code. (Ordinance 2026-09, September 9 minutes) If you are rebuilding a nonconforming property, have Community Development apply that ordinance alongside the tree and site-plan requirements.
Plans, surveys and professional requirements
For four-or-more-unit multifamily, hotel, motel, motor lodge, commercial and mixed-occupancy development, Section 110-31 requires a site development plan by a "state registered architect or engineer." (Section 110-31) Section 110-71(a) calls for eight signed and sealed site plans and provides 15 working days for review, which may result in approval, conditional approval or denial rather than assured issuance. (Section 110-71(a))
The relevant tree and landscape submittals are:
Tree survey: Species and size of all existing trees four inches or greater at breast height. (110-71(a)(12))
Landscape plan: Chapter 106, Article II compliance, tree and shrub sizes, species, locations and quantities, and a schematic underground irrigation layout where required. (110-71(a)(15))
Site context: Existing and proposed development, preservation areas, drainage and land-alteration information as applicable. (110-71(a)(7))
Small-scale work: The city manager or designee determines which information is necessary; not every listed item is automatically required. (110-71(b))
The tree-survey clause itself names no arborist credential; do not convert the architect-or-engineer site-plan requirement into a claim that an ISA arborist must prepare every municipal tree survey. (Sections 110-31 and 110-71(a)(12)) The separate drainage-plan requirement is "prepared by a professional engineer," including an up-to-date survey showing existing tree number and location. (Section 98-33)
Required planting, palm limits and credits
These are the Supplement 34 landscape minimums, not the proposed 2026-10 replacement text. (September Planning Commission packet)
Development requirement | Codified standard |
|---|---|
New single-family, duplex and triplex | At least 25 percent landscape area; tree count follows the residential table already set out in this guide. (106-33(a)) |
New multifamily or commercial | At least 10 percent landscape area, excluding required vehicular perimeter buffers; extra perimeter landscape area may count toward the interior requirement; one tree per 400 square feet or fraction of required landscape area. (106-34(a)) |
Vehicular-use perimeter | At least five-foot-wide buffer; one tree per 35 linear feet or fraction; clustering is allowed, with screening from the public right-of-way where applicable. (106-35(1)) |
Paving beside exclusively residential zoning | Landscape all land between the paving and property line, including a buffer at least five feet wide with a hedge or other durable landscape screen at least five feet high. (106-35(2)) |
Small-crowned trees and palms | May be grouped to create the equivalent of a 15-foot crown spread. (106-35(3)) |
Perimeter planting stock | Required nonpalms at least eight feet high; palms no more than half the total tree requirement and at least ten feet of clear wood at planting. (106-35(3)) |
Native component | At least half the trees required for landscaping must be native species or their hybrids or cultivars. (106-32(b)) |
Vehicular-area plant mix | Fifty percent drought tolerant, grouped by water needs; 75 percent a combination of native and drought tolerant. (106-36(1) and (2)) |
Existing-plant credit | City manager or designee may adjust requirements for healthy existing material on sites developed for vehicular use, excluding sick, damaged and prohibited-list trees, where consistent with the article's intent. (106-41) |
The ordinary replacement eight-foot standard and the perimeter-landscape ten-foot-clear-wood palm standard regulate different requirements; ask the City how both apply when one palm serves both purposes. (Sections 106-71(b) and 106-35(3)) Supplement 34 publishes discretionary existing-plant credit, not the proposed fixed DBH credit ratios. (Section 106-41, September Planning Commission packet)
Maintenance, impervious cover, irrigation, intersection visibility, backflow screening and sea-oat coordination remain addressed in Sections 106-32 through 106-42; a tree permit does not replace those project checks. (Chapter 106, Article II) Facilities shown on the applicable site plan must be provided before the certificate of occupancy under Section 110-31, and plan landscaping remains a maintenance obligation afterward. (Sections 110-31 and 110-33)
Protecting trees during construction
For trees scheduled to remain, Section 106-68(a) sets these minimum barrier extents; the barrier must remain until all construction activity has ended. (Section 106-68(a) and (b))
Retained tree group | Barrier minimum |
|---|---|
All mangrove species and cabbage palms | Six-foot radius (106-68(a)(1)) |
Native pines | Full dripline (106-68(a)(2)) |
All other species | Two-thirds of the dripline (106-68(a)(3)) |
Signs, permits, wires and other attachments are prohibited on trees, except guy wires designed to support them. (Section 106-68(c)) For covered land alteration, disturbance must be minimized and undisturbed areas protected with an adequate barrier, retaining natural vegetation wherever possible. (Section 98-36(7))
No numerical root-pruning allowance or separate tree-barrier inspection schedule was found in Supplement 34; that is not permission to injure roots or skip inspections required by a project's approvals. (Section 106-65, Section 110-46(a))
Clearing, drainage and wetland buffers
Chapter 98 applies to site development, redevelopment and alteration, requiring whole-site compliance where work exceeds half the buildable area or half an acre, and on newly developed undeveloped sites, subject to Section 98-34's exemptions. (Section 98-31(a)) The exemptions address individual single-family, duplex and triplex ownership, retaining the impervious-surface and no-harmful-runoff conditions, and defined minor additions or alterations; they are not exemptions from the tree article. (Section 98-34)
Where that chapter applies, drainage approval follows site-plan and required plat approval and precedes development or grading and land balancing; the City inspects completed improvements before issuing its certificate of compliance, which must precede the related occupancy certificate or paved street access. (Sections 98-32 and 98-35)
Environmental buffer | Codified rule, subject to Chapter 98 applicability |
|---|---|
Listed isolated wetlands and connected waterways not designated preservation land use | The code states "15 feet outside the top of a bank of contiguous wetlands, whichever is greater," without clearly identifying the two comparison points. (98-37(b)(1)a) |
All other wetlands | 30 feet (98-37(b)(1)b) |
Existing seawall exception | No environmental setback landward of a seawall built on or before the effective date of the originating ordinance; that cutoff date was not established here. (98-37(b)(2)) |
Vegetation and disturbance | Show and preserve setbacks; vegetation removal is discouraged and may be restricted or prohibited; no fill, excavation, permanent structures or impervious surfaces within the required setback. (98-37(b)(3), (4) and (5)) |
Ask Community Development to locate the applicable buffer on the actual plan and resolve the defective comparison wording. No standalone operative grubbing-permit procedure was found beyond the code's definition reference, so confirm the combination of tree, development, drainage and any excavation approvals rather than assuming clearing is unregulated.
Fees, contractor obligations and appeals
The tree article's no-fee wording does not eliminate project-review charges: Section 110-72 directs site-plan applicants to the fee manual. (Sections 106-69(a) and 110-72)
Site-plan review under Ordinance 2026-08, Exhibit A, Section II.F is $500 for minor review, $1,000 for intermediate review and $2,000 for major review. (2026-08 Exhibit A, II.F(1) through (3))
Section II.F prints the schedule history as Resolution 2016-24, July 12, 2016; Resolution 07.14, June 26, 2007; and Resolution 04.02, January 27, 2004. (Exhibit A, II.F) Ordinance 2026-08 took effect upon its September 9, 2026 adoption, with the proposed Splash Pad increase excluded; the site-plan amounts were unchanged. (Ordinance 2026-08, Section 4, September 9 adoption minutes)
The City's contractor guidance calls for required permits before work, proper inspections and closeout, protection of adjacent property and public infrastructure, and warns of stop-work orders and other enforcement. (Contractor responsibilities) The code separately assigns removal of large contractor and land-clearing debris accumulations to the owner or responsible contractor, not routine City collection. (Section 54-33(b))
For a bid involving public-street excavation, ask for the applicable excavation permit and the insurance evidence required by Sections 58-60 and 58-93; Section 58-60 expressly exempts federal, state and local governments and public utilities from its requirements. (Sections 58-57, 58-60 and 58-93) These are excavation conditions, not a claim that the tree article imposes a universal tree-contractor credential.
An administrative land-development appeal to the special magistrate must be filed in writing with supporting facts through the building and zoning official within 30 days after rendition; it ordinarily stays work, with the stated imminent-peril exception. (Section 2-505(b) and (c)) Variances require the full hardship findings, not financial loss alone, and a final special-magistrate order may be appealed to circuit court within 30 days of execution on the existing record. (Sections 2-507 and 2-509) Code-enforcement final orders have the parallel record-review appeal in Section 2-380. (Section 2-380)
How do you apply, and what does it cost?
The ordinary tree-removal approval is a no fee permit, subject to the local exemptions and qualifying state-law route; mangrove and development approvals are separate. (Section 106-69, 2026-08 fee manual) For application questions, contact the Building Department at 727-391-9951. (City tree FAQ)
Confirm jurisdiction and classification. Use the Pinellas County address lookup and ask the Building Department to resolve palms, uncertain species, existing approvals and the appropriate application.
Prepare the tree site plan. Show all trees and mangroves, proposed removals, existing and proposed structures, walks, driveways, parking and other improvements. (106-70(1))
Address mangrove imagery if requested. Where mangroves exist, an aerial photograph at a scale not smaller than one inch equals 50 feet may be required instead of the preceding submission requirements; it is not automatically mandatory on every application. (106-70(2))
Confirm delivery and signatures. Permit applications are submitted through the MGO portal (My Government Online), the route the City publishes in its application-forms answer and its tree FAQ; ask the Building Department, buildingdept@madeirabeachfl.gov, which form it currently accepts for a standalone tree permit. (City submission instructions, City tree FAQ)
Coordinate the project's additional approvals. For development, submit the applicable owner/agent authorization and project plans and obtain final development authorization before the activity begins. (110-49(b), 110-46(a))
Planning questions can be directed to the Community Development Department at planning@madeirabeachfl.gov. (Community Development) The Building Permitting Documents directory is the document starting point, and the City's published submission route is the MGO portal in step 4.
How do mangrove rules and County authority fit together?
Mangroves require a separate check regardless of trunk size: Section 106-69(b) states, "It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or cause to be removed any mangrove, regardless of size without first having procured the required city, county and state permits." (Section 106-69(b)) Yet Section 106-67 says, "County tree regulations shall not be applicable to real estate within the city limits of the city." (Section 106-67)
The County's own guidance says its Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Code "now provides the sole regulation over mangroves in Pinellas County," and FDEP lists Pinellas County as a delegated local government under Section 403.9324. (County homeowner guidance, FDEP delegated governments) Those statements explain why the city-code sentence about County tree regulations is not a safe basis for ignoring County mangrove review.
The County says mangroves cannot be trimmed unless an exemption applies or a permit is obtained and provides 727-453-3385 for questions. (County mangroves) Ask the County which delegated trimming or alteration rules apply and which, if any, additional City or state authorization the proposal requires; do not presume that every proposal needs three separate permits.
The city definition names red mangrove "Rhizophora mangle," black mangrove "Avicennia nitida or avicennia geminans," white mangrove "Laguncularia racemosa," and buttonwood or button-mangrove "Conocarpus erecta." (Section 82-2, Mangrove) UF/IFAS uses Avicennia germinans for black mangrove and Conocarpus erectus for buttonwood; the City's spellings and four-part definition should not be silently replaced with another authority's species list. (UF/IFAS black mangrove, UF/IFAS buttonwood)
Where do guidance and the codified rules differ?
The City's tree FAQ begins with a permit instruction for "any tree," while the operative code contains a size trigger and express species exemptions; the FAQ is guidance, not a substitute for those legal provisions or the state statute. (City tree FAQ, Sections 106-69 and 106-64, 163.045) Its later quotation of the four-inch rule does not make its opening sentence a complete answer.
An older 2021 fee manual lists a $50 tree-removal permit, but Section 106-69(a) now specifies a no fee permit; the fee manual updated through Ordinance 2026-08 contains no tree, vegetation or mangrove fee line. (Ordinance 2021-12, Section 106-69(a), 2026-08 Exhibit A) Do not use the historical amount as today's bill.
As of October 2, 2026, Ordinance 2026-10 remains proposed, not adopted; the September 14 Planning Commission draft minutes record a 7-to-0 recommendation for approval, with staff asked to analyze the 50 percent palm limitation and revise the right-of-way notice language. (Planning Commission draft minutes, Board meeting schedule, September 23 workshop minutes)
The subsequent Board meetings listed through October 2 were the September 18 special session for millage and budget and the September 23 workshop; the next regular meeting is October 14, 2026. (City meetings directory) Related Ordinances 2026-11 through 2026-13 remain proposals, with no adoption recorded in the September 9 or September 23 Board minutes. (Planning Commission packet, September 9 minutes, September 23 minutes) Neither the proposed palm language nor the proposed notice language is an adopted requirement.
Is the property inside Madeira Beach, and what about the right-of-way?
The County's address lookup distinguishes unincorporated property from the municipalities and identifies service providers; use the jurisdiction result rather than relying on a mailing-city name. (Pinellas County address lookup) Our unincorporated Pinellas reference is separate reading, not authority for the Madeira Beach rule.
The City makes private owners/occupants responsible for vegetation on their property and adjoining rights-of-way excluding roads and streets, unless the Board designates City-maintained areas by resolution; vegetation must not obstruct visibility, travel or utility access. (Section 14-68, opening and (5), (6), (9)) That maintenance responsibility should not be mistaken for ownership of a street tree or permission to undertake public-street excavation.
Chapter 58 requires an excavation permit for covered breaking or excavation of public streets, with its definition extending to sidewalks and other public ways or grounds. (Sections 58-56 and 58-57) Utility work must also be checked against the applicable franchise and right-of-way approvals rather than treated as an ordinary private-tree job. (Appendix B, Duke Energy franchise)
For nearby reference reading only, see our Seminole guide and St. Pete Beach guide. Neither substitutes for Madeira Beach's code.
What does the Madeira Beach code not publish?
The whole Supplement 34 export search found no reference to 163.045, no specimen-tree program, and no historic-tree designation provision; these are findings about that codified snapshot, not statements that later legislation cannot exist. (Madeira Beach Code) The same search found no tree-bank or tree-replacement fee-in-lieu schedule, fixed DBH credit table, general tree-permit expiration period, multistem measurement formula, or standalone ordinary private-tree pruning-permit requirement.
Those omissions do not erase retained-tree protection, approved-plan maintenance, the state statute or the City's power to administer the applicable approval. (Sections 106-65, 106-68 and 110-33, 163.045) For nonresidential replacement fractions, lots below the residential table, palms and landscape credits, request the deciding office's interpretation.
What was searched but could not be verified?
On October 2, 2026, the review searched the City's tree FAQ, Building Permitting Documents, Community Development pages, document directory and indexed city records for a City-specific Section 163.045 notice and standalone tree application; it did not verify a dedicated form or state-law notice in those locations. The City's published submission route is the MGO portal (My Government Online), named in its tree FAQ. (City tree FAQ, Building documents, Community Development, City documents) This is a scoped search result, not a statement that the City has no such material.
Sources and scope
This guide uses the City of Madeira Beach Code of Ordinances, Supplement 34, codified through Ordinance 2025-20 enacted January 14, 2026, with later records checked October 2, 2026. (Municode code) The core is Chapter 106, Article III, supported by the definitions, landscaping, maintenance, enforcement, drainage and development provisions cited beside each rule.
Municode's single uncodified listing is Ordinance 2025-01, adopted April 2, 2025, concerning personnel policy rather than Chapter 106 or tree rights-of-way; the policy is effective April 6, 2025, so the listing is not proof of a post-January-2026 tree amendment. (Ordinance 2025-01, Personnel policy)
The code-silence review searched the full supplied codified corpus for statute numbers and terms relating to pruning, topping, root cutting, specimen and historic trees, credits, tree banks, fee-in-lieu, permit duration and grubbing. The municipal-record review also checked the meetings hub, the September Planning Commission packet, the September 9 minutes and the September 23 workshop agenda; a listed record is not described as read when retrieval failed.
Where does this leave your tree or project?
A tree may be a candidate for removal or pruning, but the deciding City office must resolve the applicable permit, palm classification, approved plan, replacement and current-law questions for the property. For mangrove questions, begin with the County's delegated program rather than relying on the city-code County exclusion sentence. (City tree FAQ, County homeowner guidance)
Ken's Tree Service has worked since 1996 from Tarpon Springs, across approximately 20 miles covering north Pinellas County, west Pasco County and the northwest corner of Hillsborough County. This Madeira Beach article is a regional reference rather than an offer to perform work there; for projects within our service area, our number is 727-934-5804.
Questions requiring review of your map, site plan or application belong with the deciding public office. For questions about the code explained in this guide, talk with our website agent, the chat on this page.