Redington Beach Tree Removal Permits and Tree Ordinance Guide
Last reviewed October 5, 2026. Next review due April 5, 2027. By Forest, Property Intelligence Specialist, Ken's Tree Service.
Do you need a tree removal permit in Redington Beach?
The Town of Redington Beach requires a tree removal permit before removal of a tree measuring more than 12 feet above existing grade, subject to the Town's exceptions and the separate Florida Statute 163.045 route explained in this guide. The permit comes from the Town, and the building code administrator decides the application under five approval criteria. Town Code Section 12-58
Start by checking jurisdiction using our city-or-county tree permit guide. For a Town tree permit, the current instructions are to contact the Building Department at 727-202-6825. Town Forms and Permits
What does the ordinance require before removal is approved?
A permit application is not merely a registration of intended work: Section 12-58(b) says a permit shall issue after filing and compliance with all applicable requirements if at least one of five criteria is met. The approved-plan criterion specifically requires a professional finding that the project cannot reasonably be redesigned to preserve the tree. Section 12-58(b)
Approval criterion | Evidence stated by the ordinance |
|---|---|
Safety hazard because of proximity to an existing structure | The applicant may provide a written report signed by a licensed engineer; the code does not make that report mandatory for this criterion. 12-58(b)(1) |
Diseased, injured or declining tree with no reasonable assurance of regaining vigor | A written report signed by a certified arborist is required. 12-58(b)(2) |
Tree conflicts with a structure, improvement or access point in an approved plan | A written report signed by a licensed architect, licensed landscape architect or licensed engineer must determine that the proposal cannot reasonably be redesigned to preserve the tree. 12-58(b)(3) |
Site has the minimum number of trees required by the Town Code | Removal must allow a use consistent and compatible with same-use, similar-sized properties in abutting blocks of the same zoning district; the missing minimum is discussed under the Town Code's omissions. 12-58(b)(4) |
Removal reasonably necessary for efficient solar-dependent technology | Supporting documentation from a solar collection and solar hot water system installer, or another credible source such as an expert government agency or the named design professionals, must confirm no reasonable alternative equipment location or reasonable tree-trimming option. 12-58(b)(5) |
These are the ordinance's professional credentials, not credentials claimed by Ken's Tree Service. The solar criterion is not simply permission to remove any tree that shades equipment.
Which trees and palms does the Town's height rule cover?
The Town defines a tree as a self-supporting woody plant, expressly including royal palms and cabbage palms, of a species normally reaching at least 12 feet in overall height at maturity. Both named palm species are included, not just cabbage palms; the text does not expressly settle other palm species. Section 12-57
There are two different tests: the definition considers the species' normal mature height, while the removal trigger considers the individual tree's height above existing grade. The trigger says more than 12 feet, not 12 feet or taller, and has no trunk-diameter threshold; those observations concern the Town's rule, not mangroves or any applicable overlapping authority. Sections 12-57 and 12-58(a)
The height requirement originated in Article III as rewritten by Ordinance No. 2019-06, adopted October 3, 2019; Section 12-58 also records a May 6, 2020 amendment. Article III history Ask the Building Department how it classifies an unnamed palm species rather than assuming that species is excluded.
How should height be measured?
Use the code's measurement, height above existing grade, rather than circumference measured at breast height. The reviewed Town Code does not prescribe a height-survey technique, a slope adjustment or a multi-stem formula, so ask the Building Department what measurement evidence it accepts; do not climb or approach hazardous trees to obtain it. Section 12-58(a)
The separate development-plan requirement to locate major trees over eight inches in diameter is described in the development section. It is not the removal-permit threshold. Section 6-104(13)
What exceptions does the Town's tree-removal section state?
Section 12-58(a) excludes trees the Town removes from Town parks and trees on residential property when the owner obtains documentation from an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist or a licensed architect that the tree presents a danger to persons or property. That is the Town's wording, which differs materially from the state statute and should not be treated as a statement of the state-law test. Section 12-58(a)
What about dead trees or a nuisance-removal notice?
The removal section contains no categorical dead-tree exemption. Under Section 12-62, a code enforcement officer's finding that a private tree is dead, diseased, infected, harbors invasive or destructive insects or disease with realistic potential to spread or threaten other trees within or near Town, or presents a current hazard to life or property makes it a public nuisance; the owner must remove it at the owner's expense within 30 days after service of written notice. Sections 12-58 and 12-62
If the officer judges the condition to result from a tropical storm, the owner may receive up to 60 days, and failure to comply leads to nuisance abatement under Section 12-31. Section 12-62 Public instructions reviewed October 5 did not establish whether the Town treats such a notice as eliminating the separate tree permit, so obtain that answer from the Building Department before treating the notice as authorization.
Do you need a permit to prune a private tree or palm?
No general private-tree pruning-permit requirement was found in the reviewed Town Code, but mangrove trimming has its own regulatory route and public trees and street-clearance vegetation have specific controls. The Town Code also contains no published “effective removal” rule; that scoped absence is not permission to disregard another applicable authority's rules or an existing approval. Sections 11-5 and 12-61
The public-property topping prohibition is not written as a townwide private-tree topping ban: it prohibits topping street trees, park trees or other trees on public property as a normal practice unless the Town authorizes it. Topping is defined as severe cutting of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter, removing normal canopy and disfiguring the tree. Section 12-61(c)
The same subsection says palms shall be trimmed under county cooperative extension guidelines. Because this sentence sits within the public-tree topping subsection, and no reviewed Town page resolved its application to private palms, confirm the Town's interpretation rather than infer that it applies, or does not apply, to all private palms. Section 12-61(c)
Owners of vegetation overhanging a street or right-of-way must maintain unobstructed street lamps and intersection views and eight feet of clear space above the street or sidewalk, and remove dead, diseased or hazardous trees and dangerous broken or decayed limbs. The Town may prune private vegetation that interferes with street lighting or traffic-control visibility. Section 12-61(d)
Which species are prohibited, and does removal still need permission?
Section 12-59 prohibits planting or selling the nine species or species groups in its table; Section 12-58 does not create a prohibited-species removal exemption. A prohibited tree more than 12 feet above existing grade therefore falls within the Town's written permit trigger, subject to its stated exceptions and the separate state-law route, although the Town's current public instructions do not specifically confirm its administration of these removals. Sections 12-58 and 12-59
Code common name | Scientific name as printed in the Town Code |
|---|---|
Acacia, earleaf | Acacia auriculiformis |
Australian pines, all | Casuarina spp. |
Brazilian pepper | Schnius terebinthifolius |
Carrotwood | Cupaniopsis anacardioides |
Chinaberry | Melia azederach |
Chinese tallow | Triadica sebifera |
Lead tree | Leucaena leucocephala |
Punk | Melaleuca quinquenervia |
Strangler fig | Ficus aurea |
The table preserves the code's spellings, including the Brazilian pepper and chinaberry entries. Section 12-59(b) Strangler fig is on this local prohibition list even though the University of Florida identifies Ficus aurea as native to Florida. University of Florida, Ficus aurea
Development or redevelopment required to obtain a landscaping permit or file a landscape plan must remove prohibited trees on the property and abutting right-of-way and include a regrowth-prevention plan before certificate-of-occupancy approval. New growth where a prohibited tree was removed must be eradicated at the owner's expense within 30 days of becoming known. Section 12-59(b) and (c)
No tree may be planted within six feet of a municipal sewer line. A requirement to remove a prohibited species does not itself authorize work on a public right-of-way, and “no fee” would not mean “no permit.” Section 12-59(a) and Section 12-61(b)
Who may apply for a Town tree permit?
The tree-removal section refers to an applicant but does not publish a separate owner, agent or association authorization procedure. The archived Town tree application has property-owner and contractor fields and a property-owner signature, but the current Forms and Permits page instead instructs applicants to contact the Building Department for tree permits. Section 12-58 Archived tree application Current Town instructions
For an HOA, company, trust or institution, ask what evidence of authority and signatures are required for a tree-only application. Do not assume that the building-permit office's owner-builder restrictions are identical to the tree-permit rules.
When does Florida Statute 163.045 change the permit answer?
Florida Statute 163.045 bars local notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation requirements for pruning, trimming or removal only when the owner possesses an onsite assessment performed and signed by an ISA certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect using Best Management Practices: Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition (2017), documenting that removal is the only practical means of mitigating risk below moderate. The property must be a single-family detached building on a lot actively used for single-family residential purposes, as a conforming or legally recognized nonconforming use under local land-development regulations, and specifically delegated mangrove protection is excluded. Florida Statute 163.045(1), (2) and (4)
Local government cannot require replanting after work complying with this section. Commercial sites, multifamily buildings and HOA common areas do not qualify merely because people live nearby; general concern, poor health or a report saying only that a tree is dangerous is not the complete statutory test. 163.045(1)(b), (2) and (3)
The Town sentence uses “licensed architect,” “residential property” and “presents a danger”; the state statute instead specifies a Florida licensed landscape architect, the narrower qualifying use, and its risk-assessment test. Publish and read these as two different texts, not interchangeable tests; this guide does not decide which governs an individual property. Town Section 12-58(a) State statute
Who regulates mangrove trimming and removal?
The Town's Section 11-5 says no mangrove may be trimmed, cut, defoliated, killed or removed without a current permit under Pinellas County Code Chapter 58, Article XVI. County Section 58-602 also expressly preserves applicable riparian-fringe trimming exemptions, creating an important qualification to the Town's blanket permit sentence; obtain the County's determination for the proposed activity instead of applying the ordinary 12-foot tree rule. Town Section 11-5 County Section 58-602
FDEP lists Pinellas County as a delegated mangrove-program authority under Florida Statute 403.9324, and the County directs mangrove questions to 727-453-3385. FDEP delegated local governments Pinellas County Mangroves
County Section 58-602 authorizes further municipal delegation by interlocal agreement and says the County issues required permits in place of FDEP permits. The Town provision references County enforcement unless authority is delegated to the Town; no Redington Beach-specific mangrove enforcement agreement was located in the public materials searched October 5. County authority Town enforcement reference
What penalties can apply to unauthorized removal?
The Town's general enforcement provisions, not a tree-specific replacement-price schedule, supply the penalties described here. For a conviction under Section 1-14(c), except where otherwise provided, the maximum is a $500 fine, 60 days' imprisonment or both; permit suspension or revocation and equitable relief remain available. Section 1-14(c), (d) and (e)
The current Section 1-14 history cites Ordinance Nos. 91-15, 2004-19 and 2019-04, but the reviewed instruments did not establish the original effective date of those conviction figures. They should not be described as a new fine created in 2019. Section 1-14 history
Under the separate special-magistrate route, daily fines follow failure to comply with an order or a repeat violation; the ceilings are $250 per day for a first violation and $500 per day for a repeat violation. A fine up to $5,000 per violation requires a magistrate finding of irreparable or irreversible violation after due notice and hearing, not an assumption that every unpermitted removal qualifies. Section 2-47(a) and (b)(1)
Repair and enforcement costs can also apply, and recorded fine orders can become liens; after three months of an unpaid filed lien, the magistrate may authorize foreclosure or a money-judgment suit, subject to the stated constitutional homestead and personal-property protections. These administrative provisions were created by Ordinance No. 2019-04, effective upon adoption April 17, 2019. Section 2-47(b)(4), (c) and (d) Ordinance No. 2019-04
The supplemental county-court civil-citation route provides a maximum $500 fine, or $250 if the violator elects not to contest, also created by that ordinance on April 17, 2019. Public nuisances may additionally be pursued as second-degree misdemeanors under Florida Statute 823.01 or through civil abatement. Section 2-54 Section 12-31
Must you replace a tree after permitted removal?
No general replacement ratio, mitigation payment, tree-bank rule or fee-in-lieu table for ordinary permitted removal was found in the reviewed Town Code. This is a Town Code finding, not a conclusion that an approved landscape plan, utility restoration obligation, mangrove rule or applicable County provision can be ignored. Town tree-removal article
The whole-code searches supporting that finding used “replacement,” “replant,” “mitigation,” “tree bank” and “fee in lieu”; relevant utility restoration is retained in the right-of-way section. Development landscaping remains a separate requirement under Section 6-106(c). Section 6-106(c)
What changes for commercial, multifamily, HOA or institutional property?
The Town's more-than-12-foot removal trigger is written for any person or entity, not just single-family homeowners, and no different nonresidential tree-removal threshold, tree fee or replacement table was found in the reviewed Town Code. The narrow state-law documentation route is unavailable for a commercial parcel, multifamily building or common area that does not satisfy the statute's qualifying single-family property definition. Section 12-58(a) 163.045(1)(b)
If you manage an HOA common area or company property, obtain the Building Department's tree-specific applicant-authority requirements and current fee rather than importing its general building owner-builder rules. If a tree appears on an approved plan, Section 6-78 prohibits deviations from work described in a Chapter 6 permit without building-official approval, but no express tree-only landscape-plan amendment procedure was located; provide the prior approval when asking how to proceed. Section 6-78
What tree rules apply to development, demolition, additions, pools or clearing?
If you are building a pool, adding a structure, demolishing or clearing for construction, the Town's development review operates alongside the tree-removal section. “Development” includes changes to structures or land, demolition, clearing as an adjunct of construction and depositing fill; applicable development applications require a site plan or site sketch under Section 6-103. Sections 6-102 and 6-103
Plans, sequencing and preservation
Site-plan trigger: A substantial or material change to the principal structure's footprint, grading or drainage, or disturbance of more than 400 square feet of the lot requires a site plan; work not affecting the lot outside an existing structure's footprint needs neither plan nor sketch, while other development uses a sketch, subject to administrator adjustments and survey requirements. Section 6-103(1) through (5)
Tree information and credentials: A site plan must be signed and sealed by a registered engineer, show landscaping, utilities, drainage and proposed improvements, and spot-locate major trees exceeding eight inches in diameter. The section does not specify breast-height measurement for that diameter. Section 6-104
Drainage and fill: Section 6-59(a) separately requires a site and drainage plan signed and sealed by a Florida licensed engineer for commercial, residential and lot-improvement permits, and a conformity certificate before occupancy or completion. Its fill restriction allows only the stated minimum-grading, stem-wall or building-envelope exceptions; also check that section's grading, drainage and construction-runoff controls. Section 6-59(a)
Electronic submittals: Site plans and sketches go to the administrator as PDFs suitable for printing at 11 by 17 inches, with 24 by 36 inch paper copies on request; site-sketch requirements do not state the same engineer-signature requirement as site plans. Sections 6-104(23) and 6-105(10)
Approval sequence: The approved-plan removal criterion belongs to Section 12-58(b)(3), not to a blanket clearing exemption, and prohibited-tree removal and a regrowth-prevention plan must precede certificate-of-occupancy approval where Section 12-59(b) applies. Sections 12-58 and 12-59
Preservation and construction protection: The approved-plan criterion requires considering redesign to preserve the tree, but the Town Code search did not locate tree-protection barricade distances, dripline zones, root-pruning protocols, installation timing or tree-protection inspections. This does not eliminate a condition in an existing approval or overlapping law. Section 12-58(b)(3)
Clearing, fill and fees: Clearing associated with construction and fill are development; no separately named Town tree-clearing or grubbing permit or tree-development mitigation fee was found. Chapter 6 permits and its construction fee schedule remain distinct from the Chapter 12 tree permit. Sections 6-102 and 6-83
Landscaping and the full buffer matrix
All uses must be landscaped, and vegetative landscaping must contain at least 25 percent native plantings as defined by University of Florida IFAS; punk trees, Australian pines and Brazilian pepper trees are prohibited in that landscaping. These are development design requirements, not a per-tree replacement schedule. Section 6-106(c)
Appendix A Section 9 requires buffers for new construction, changes of use and expansion of use or structure; a buffer may contain drainage, utilities and landscaping, and includes required setbacks, but excludes mechanical or air-conditioning equipment, outdoor storage and parking. Appendix A Section 9(b)
Proposed use | Abutting single-family dwelling or duplex | Abutting multifamily dwelling with three or more units | Abutting nonresidential use |
|---|---|---|---|
Single-family dwelling or duplex | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Multifamily dwelling with three or more units | 5 | 0 | 15 |
Nonresidential use | 15 | 10 | 0 |
These are the distances printed in the buffer matrix; the exported matrix does not print a unit beside the numbers, so confirm the intended unit with the Building Department rather than treating the table as a tree-count requirement. The matrix is from Ordinance No. 2026-02, adopted March 16, 2026. Appendix A Section 9
Contractor obligations and permit exposure
The Town's business-tax provisions cover specified business activity in Town and preserve statutory and stated exemptions; they support checking a contractor's applicable business-tax status rather than treating the old form's blanket instruction as the whole law. Section 20-56 Section 20-57 The archived tree form says tree contractors must complete the Business Tax Receipt application and pay an annual fee. Archived tree application
The currently linked Redington Beach contractor-registration form says the office collects licenses or insurance certificates, requires current Pinellas County registration before permit issuance, and requires a notarized contractor-authorization letter from a submitter who is not the license holder; letters expire after one year. These are published building-office instructions, whose applicability to tree-only work should be confirmed, not a claim that every tree contractor holds a particular trade license. Redington Beach contractor-registration form
For construction work and the listed regulated trades, Chapter 6 requires valid state or county credentials covering the work before its permits issue. Section 6-80 Starting Chapter 6 work without a permit can prompt a stop-work order and enforcement against the owner and, when relevant, the contractor; Section 6-32 does not say that its after-the-fact fee automatically applies to a Chapter 12 tree permit. Section 6-32
Appeals and proposed changes to development review
Section 12-58(c) specifically sends a tree-permit grant or denial to the board of commissioners and states no deadline. Section 6-292 instead sends building-regulation appeals to the board of adjustment, generally within 30 days; do not assume that its deadline supplies the missing tree-permit deadline. Section 12-58(c) Section 6-292
The September 9 meeting packet contains proposed Ordinance No. 2026-06, which would replace the board of adjustment with special-magistrate review beginning November 1, 2026. The reviewed copy has uncompleted adoption lines, and adoption was not established; the October 7 published agenda does not list its second reading, so confirm status before relying on a development-appeal or variance route. September 9 packet, proposed Ordinance No. 2026-06 October 7 agenda
For development variances and review of board decisions, Sections 6-289 through 6-293 supply criteria, hearing procedures, fees and judicial review; they do not publish a tree-specific variance entitlement. Variance authority Hearing procedure Judicial review Board fees Ask the Building Department for the applicable procedure and filing deadline, including how a tree decision is treated when it accompanies a development approval.
How do you apply, and what does a tree permit cost?
Contact the Town of Redington Beach Building Department at 727-202-6825 for the current tree application, accepted submission method and fee; a current tree-permit fee instrument was not located in the sources searched October 5, 2026. The code leaves the fee to the board of commissioners, and the live linked 2025 building fee schedule contains no tree-permit line. Town Forms and Permits Section 12-58(a) Linked 2025 fee schedule
Confirm the town and activity. Identify whether the request concerns ordinary private-tree removal, a mangrove, a public tree or development; identify the Town as Redington Beach, not North Redington Beach.
Obtain the current tree-specific application. Ask whether to use the public portal, email or paper; the Town's tree-permit instruction does not settle that question. Current tree-permit instructions
Prepare the applicable evidence. Identify the approval criterion and provide its required professional report or solar documentation; include an approved plan where relying on the development-conflict criterion. Section 12-58(b)
Confirm signatures, payment and related approvals. Ask for the current fee instrument and any property-owner or entity authorization requirements; obtain the permit before removal unless a properly established exception or state-law route applies. Section 12-58(a)
The named office is the Town of Redington Beach Building Department, administered by SAFEbuilt, at 17985 Gulf Blvd., Redington Shores, FL 33708; email redington@safebuilt.com. The office location in Redington Shores does not change the town whose permit you need. Town Building Department
The Town links a Redington Beach public permitting portal, while the shared administrator page says Redington Beach permit applications can be emailed to the office. Those general instructions do not establish whether a tree-specific permit type is presently accepted online. Building Department portal link Administrator's Redington Beach instructions
Where do the Town's forms and guidance differ from the law?
The codified ordinance is the law; a form or web instruction is not a substitute for its wording. The archived tree form and live administrative downloads contain differences important enough to verify before relying on them. Section 12-58
Engineer report: The archived tree form says “Signed report by licensed engineer,” while Section 12-58(b)(1) says the applicant “may provide” that report. The code makes the report optional for that criterion. Archived form 12-58(b)(1)
Declining tree and solar evidence: The form uses “no recovery possible,” where the code says no reasonable assurance of regaining vigor, and abbreviates the range of acceptable solar-documentation sources. Apply the operative criteria, not the form's stricter or shortened paraphrases. Archived form 12-58(b)(2) and (5)
Old fee and payment instruction: A March 2019 permit-card template still contains a $30 fee and checks-and-cash-only instruction; no current commission instrument establishing that tree fee was located, and the administrator's live instructions say no cash payments are accepted. Do not use the old card as a current price or payment rule. Archived permit card Current administrator page
After-the-fact fees: The live 2025 download says twice the normal permit fee plus a $150 investigation fee remitted to the Town, but August 5 packet versions use different allocation wording and include proposed fee changes. Neither source establishes a current Chapter 12 tree-penalty fee; Section 6-32 starts with permits under the Florida Building Code and Chapter 6. Live schedule August 5 packet Section 6-32
The Town's 2020 amendment is not simply an assumed new state-law exemption: the adopted markup changes “trees” to “tree” in 12-58(a) and changes the approved-plan criterion's reference from “Grand tree” to “tree.” The residential danger-documentation sentence appears in that ordinance without being marked as a newly added sentence. Ordinance No. 2020-05
Is your property in Redington Beach, another town or unincorporated Pinellas?
Check the Pinellas County address and jurisdiction lookup before choosing a form. Redington Beach, North Redington Beach and Redington Shores are separate municipalities, and the shared building-office phone or a Redington Shores office address is not a reliable jurisdiction test. Town Charter Section 1 Town building office
There is also an important County-law qualification: County Section 58-809 says its tree article reaches incorporated and unincorporated property, excludes county-maintained right-of-way from that applicability sentence, and makes municipal ordinances prevail where provisions conflict. A Town Code search finding no adoption of the County tree ordinance is therefore not proof that every County requirement is inapplicable; confirm overlapping requirements for the project rather than borrow County thresholds as the Town's own rule. County Section 58-809
For regional reading, see our unincorporated Pinellas guide, Redington Shores guide and Madeira Beach guide. The neighboring articles are related reading, not authorities for a Redington Beach rule.
Who controls right-of-way trees, utility trimming and landscape waste?
The Town may plant, prune, maintain and remove vegetation within street rights-of-way and public grounds under Section 12-61(b); private ownership beside the street does not establish authority to remove a public tree. Utilities must comply with applicable protected-tree law and notify Town staff at least 24 hours before trimming needed to avoid wire or cable contact. Section 12-61(b) Section 19-11(a) and (b)
Utility trimming is limited to necessary cable clearance without major structural branches that materially alter appearance or growth, and cannot adversely affect natural growth or make the tree appear unnatural; the utility bears liability for trimming damage. Temporary vegetation removal for utility construction needs a restoration plan with the permit application, or at least 48 hours before construction under an annual general permit, and unacceptable restoration plans can delay construction or permit issuance. Section 19-11(b) and (c)
Where the Town requires vegetation installation as a utility permit condition, the utility must maintain it to the permit and landscaping standards and provide a one-year warranty against death or disease from Town inspection and acceptance. This is a specific restoration obligation, not a general replacement ratio for homeowners. Section 19-11(d)
Section 12-61(a) limits street-tree planting species to Urban Trees of Florida and references County Article XII as habitat-management landscaping law; today's County Chapter 58 Article XII is titled Noise. The intended historical destination was not established, so the Town's reference should be treated as unresolved rather than silently replaced with a different County section. Town Section 12-61(a) County Chapter 58 Article XII
Tree trunks, roots and root balls from maintenance or removal are not collected by the Town's refuse company; the owner must arrange transportation to a suitable designated brush site or landfill and cannot satisfy the obligation by leaving them in an adjoining right-of-way. Include that responsibility when comparing what a removal proposal includes. Section 12-60
What does the reviewed Town Code not say?
Whole-code searches did not locate an implementing minimum tree count, a general private-tree pruning permit, a general ordinary-removal replacement schedule or a construction tree-protection system in the Town Code reviewed October 5, 2026; these findings do not exclude specific public-tree, mangrove, development or utility rules, permit conditions or outside law. The core tree article and development landscaping section were read alongside whole-code search hits. Town tree article Development landscaping
Missing tree minimum: Section 12-58(b)(4) refers to the minimum number of trees required by the Town Code, but searches for “minimum number” and “number of trees” did not locate that minimum; other hits concern lighting or parking. Section 6-106(c) supplies landscaping and native-planting requirements, not a minimum tree count. 12-58(b)(4) 6-106(c)
Pruning and measurement: Searches for “prun,” “trim,” “hatrack,” “effective removal,” “DBH” and “diameter at breast height” found no general Town private-tree pruning permit or breast-height removal trigger; the relevant public-tree, mangrove and utility passages remain operative.
Replacement and protection: Searches for “replacement,” “replant,” “mitigation,” “tree bank,” “fee in lieu,” “barricade,” “drip line,” “dripline,” “protection zone” and “root pruning” found no general ordinary-removal replacement schedule or construction tree-protection system; utility restoration is the relevant distinct obligation.
Development administration: Searches for “landscape plan,” “landscaping permit,” “grubbing,” “clearing,” “tree removal,” “authorization” and “amendment” did not locate a standalone landscaping-permit procedure, a tree-only landscape-plan amendment procedure or a tree-specific entity-authorization procedure. This does not erase the plan and development provisions described in this guide.
What current information was searched for but not found?
The October 5 review of the Town Forms and Permits page, Building Department page, shared administrator's Redington Beach forms, media-library tree files, and commission packets from April through the upcoming October 7 meeting did not establish the current tree-specific form in use, a current commission tree-fee instrument, a tree-only portal workflow, private-palm interpretation, permit handling after a nuisance notice or a tree-permit appeal deadline. A search of those pages and forms also did not locate a current Town notice implementing Florida Statute 163.045; questions remain questions, not newly invented application requirements. Town Forms and Permits Town meeting records Administrator's jurisdiction-specific documents
Sources and scope
This guide uses the Town's Municode Code of Ordinances, Supplement 32, codified through Ordinance No. 2026-03 enacted March 16, 2026, plus the primary government and administrative sources linked beside the relevant statements. Ordinance No. 2026-04, adopted September 9 and effective upon adoption, changes shore-based shark fishing in Section 4-20, not the tree provisions; proposed Ordinance No. 2026-06 and fee questions remain identified rather than represented as settled law. Town Code Ordinance No. 2026-04 September 9 packet
The article is documentary guidance, not a determination that a particular tree is hazardous, a property qualifies for an exception or an application will be approved. The deciding office answers property-specific plan and permit questions.
Where does this leave your tree or project?
A tree may be a candidate for removal or pruning, but the Building Department decides Town permit questions and the County handles its mangrove program. Take the species, location, height and project scope to those offices rather than assume that a cheap bid includes the correct approval and disposal arrangements.
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. Redington Beach is outside that service area, and this guide is a regional reference resource, not an offer to perform work there.
For projects within our service area, our number is 727-934-5804. For questions about the rules explained in this guide, continue with our website agent, the chat on this page.