Seminole Tree Permits: Homeowner and Development Guide
Last reviewed October 1, 2026. Next review due April 1, 2027. By Forest, Property Intelligence Specialist, Ken's Tree Service.
Do you need a tree removal permit in the City of Seminole?
The city's approval is called a tree removal permit: identify the jurisdiction, check the tree and any approved landscape plan, then obtain the required approval before removal, subject to the local exemptions and the qualifying state-law route explained below. Sections 62-33 and 62-34 govern the ordinary permit triggers; Section 62-35 supplies special protections and exemptions.
Start with our city-or-county tree permit guide if the jurisdiction is uncertain. This article is a regional reference for Seminole, not an offer to perform work there.
Why does Seminole start with tree protection rather than removal?
Seminole declares trees a natural public resource and makes cutting down, topping, improper pruning, poisoning or otherwise destroying covered trees unlawful except in accordance with its tree-protection article. Section 62-31 establishes that protective posture, while Section 62-1 directs developers to consider natural-resource protection before other development design work.
That makes a permit application more than a payment transaction. Use the rules below to identify the questions the city must resolve, not to assume that filing an application means removal will be approved.
Which trees and palms are protected?
The ordinary removal threshold is a protected tree with a trunk DBH of “four inches or more,” except exempt trees; smaller replacement trees, mangroves and palms or trees on approved plans have separate rules, and qualifying work under Florida Statute 163.045 follows the state-law section below. Sections 62-33, 62-34, 62-35 and 62-36 must be read together rather than treating four inches as a universal cutoff.
Tree or property situation | Codified rule, subject to the applicable exemptions and state-law route |
|---|---|
Platted lots or tracts of less than one acre | A protected tree, except an exempt tree, at “four inches or more” DBH needs a removal permit under Section 62-33(a). |
Any platted or unplatted tract of one acre or more | The same protected-tree threshold, “four inches or more,” applies under Section 62-34(a). |
Mangroves as listed by the city | Section 62-35(a) recognizes them “of whatever size”; see the separate mangrove authority discussion below, not a four-inch exemption. |
Live oak and laurel oak | Section 62-35(a) recognizes these species “of four-inch dbh or greater” as having special ecological value and requires the removal report described below. |
Other protected tree species, except exempt trees | Section 62-35(a) identifies “20-inch dbh or greater” for its special ecological-value/report rule; this does not displace the ordinary four-inch removal threshold. |
Trees planted as replacements under Section 62-36 | Their later removal requires a permit “regardless of size,” under Section 62-36(a), subject to any applicable overriding state-law protection. |
For that threshold, the code defines a tree as a self-supporting woody plant that normally grows to at least 15 feet in height with a mature crown spread of at least 15 feet and trunks that can be maintained with over five feet of clear wood, expressly including mangroves and excluding palms. Section 62-32 supplies that definition as well as the protected-tree definition, so native status alone does not satisfy the ordinary four-inch trigger.
The definition of protected tree reaches native trees, excluding palms, listed by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences or listed in Chapter 58, Article V. The same Section 62-32 says “palms are not defined as trees,” but that is not a blanket palm-removal exemption because Sections 62-33(b), 62-34(b) and 58-325(f) separately regulate plan-listed palms.
For palms, the plan rule is not limited to sabal palms, native palms or a named species list: it says any tree or palm shown on the relevant approved landscape plan, without a minimum palm size in those clauses. The small-tract clause names nonresidential and multifamily plans; the large-tract clause also names single-family subdivision development plans, and required landscaping is additionally covered by Section 58-325(f). Sections 62-33(b) and 62-34(b) therefore require checking the approval documents rather than deciding from palm species alone.
Are dead trees automatically exempt?
Dead status is not a general local permit exemption in the reviewed tree article: Section 62-36(a) instead provides a mitigation-fee exception when the specified arborist report establishes a covered condition, while permitting and possible replacement remain separate questions. Required landscape trees also have explicit dead-or-diseased replacement provisions in Section 58-325(a); see replacement below and the separate state-law route rather than treating a dead tree as automatically permit-free.
How is DBH measured?
DBH means trunk diameter measured four and one-half feet above the base of the tree at grade level under Section 62-32. To estimate diameter, measure circumference in inches at that height and divide by 3.14; this is an approximate geometric conversion, not an additional city measurement rule.
Do not substitute nursery caliper for DBH. Section 58-321 measures caliper six inches above ground for trees up to and including four inches in diameter and 12 inches above ground for larger trees.
Who regulates mangroves?
The city's text lists black mangrove, white mangrove, red mangrove and buttonwood in its all-sizes provision, and exempts mangroves from the tree survey requirement, not from the article's other procedures. That is what Section 62-35(a) and (b) says; it must be read alongside the state delegation framework rather than presented as proof that two mangrove permits are required.
Florida Statute 403.9324 makes the state act and lawful delegated local regulations the sole trimming-and-alteration regulations and prohibits requiring more than one such permit within a delegated local government's jurisdiction. FDEP's delegation list names Pinellas County, and the County's environmental-compliance page identifies its Division of Environmental Management as the delegated regulator.
For a Seminole mangrove question, contact Pinellas County Environmental Management at 727-453-3385 and have the city clarify how its printed provision relates to that delegated review. The County's mangrove guidance describes its code as the sole mangrove regulation in Pinellas County; this guide does not decide the approval requirements for a particular shoreline.
Which local exemptions change the permit answer?
The code exempts the defined commercial nursery/tree-farm activity and the listed nuisance species, with a mechanism for supplementing that species list; emergency relief requires an official waiver, not merely a property owner's declaration. Those provisions are in Sections 62-32, 62-35(c) and (d) and 62-38, and the separate state-law route below has its own narrower property and documentation test.
The nursery/tree-farm definition concerns trees planted and growing on the operator's premises for sale or intended sale to the public in the ordinary course of that business. It is not a general exemption for every tree at a property used commercially. Sections 62-32 and 62-35(c) supply that boundary.
In hurricanes, windstorms, floods, freezes or other disasters or hazards, the city manager or designee may waive requirements on finding a waiver necessary so that restoration of order is not impeded. Section 62-38 does not say that the occurrence of a storm itself grants every owner a waiver.
Does pruning follow the same rules as removal?
Article II's ordinary permit triggers in Sections 62-33 and 62-34 concern removal, while its pruning permit provision is Section 62-41(g), which covers the business of pruning, treating or removing street or park trees, not ordinary private-tree pruning. This is not permission to destroy a covered tree: effective removal through damage is included in removal, and topping or improper pruning can violate the code independently of physically cutting down the trunk under Sections 62-31, 62-32 and 62-41.
Topping: As a normal practice, topping is unlawful for street trees, park trees, other public-property trees, protected trees and private-property trees four inches DBH or greater; required landscape trees are also covered. The definition concerns severe cutting to stubs larger than three inches within the crown to the extent that the normal canopy is removed and the tree disfigured. Sections 62-41(b) and 58-325(b) allow the city manager or designee to determine exceptions for severely storm-damaged or otherwise damaged trees, or certain obstructed trees where other pruning is impractical; that is not a general topping-permit entitlement.
Lateral branches: ANSI A300 Part 1 pruning techniques must be followed, and flush cuts removing the branch collar and stub cuts leaving limb stubs are prohibited. Sections 62-41(d) and 58-325(d) distinguish those prohibited cuts from recognized pruning.
Landscape credit: A topped or improperly pruned tree does not count as a healthy retained tree toward landscaping, buffering or replacement requirements and becomes subject to replacement requirements. Sections 62-41(i) and 58-325(e) make this a development-compliance issue as well as a maintenance issue.
For trees overhanging streets or rights-of-way, owners must preserve street-light and intersection visibility and a clear space of 13 feet, six inches over the street or sidewalk, and address dead, diseased or dangerous trees or broken or decayed limbs that menace public safety. Section 62-41(c) states those duties; it should not be read as dispensing with otherwise applicable removal approvals.
Which species are exempt, and does no fee mean no permit?
Section 62-35(d) specifically exempts the eight nuisance species listed below from Article II, but an approved landscape plan, another approval or another authority must still be checked before treating a particular removal as cleared. By contrast, the city's July 2018 application says a permit is required for tree or palm removal related to an approved landscape plan even though it charges no fee for that category.
Common name in the code | Botanical name in Section 62-35(d) |
|---|---|
Punk | Melaleuca quinquenervia. Section 62-35(d) |
Ear | Enterolobium cyclocarpum. Section 62-35(d) |
Chinaberry tree | Melia azedarach. Section 62-35(d) |
Jacaranda tree | Jacaranda mimosifolia. Section 62-35(d) |
Brazilian pepper | Schinus terebinthifolius. Section 62-35(d) |
Australian pine | Casuarina equisetifolia. Section 62-35(d) |
Camphor | Cinnamomum camphora. Section 62-35(d) |
Chinese tallow tree | Sapium sebiferum. Section 62-35(d) |
The code supplements that list through specified determinations by the city manager or designee and/or identifications by the University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. Section 62-35(d) supplies that mechanism; a species' appearance on a different planting-prohibition list does not by itself establish that it is one of these eight named removal exemptions.
Who may apply for tree removal?
The city application provides property-owner and contractor identification and signature fields, places responsibility on the owner to obtain, collect, pay for and review the permit, and requires the contractor to give the owner the approval and replacement requirements. For association property, the same application requires an approval letter and includes a sample for an HOA, condominium or mobile home park.
The sample calls for the president, another authorized person or an authorized property-management-company agent to authorize submission and acknowledge replacement responsibility. For a company-owned property or development application, establish the applicant's authority with Community Development; Section 50-103 includes proof of ownership, owner and agent information and an affidavit authorizing an agent where necessary, rather than making a contractor's signature alone proof of ownership authority.
When does Florida Statute 163.045 prevent local tree-permit requirements?
Florida Statute 163.045 prevents a local government from requiring notice, an application, approval, a permit, a fee or mitigation for tree pruning, trimming or removal only when the owner possesses the required signed onsite assessment documenting unacceptable risk on qualifying residential property: a single-family detached building on a lot actively used for single-family residential purposes, as a conforming or legally recognized nonconforming use. The assessment must be performed and signed by an ISA certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect using Best Management Practices - Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition (2017), with removal the only practical means of mitigating the risk below moderate; lawful work under the section cannot trigger required replanting, and specifically delegated mangrove protection is outside it. Section 163.045(1) through (4) states all of those conditions together.
The current eligibility language took effect July 1, 2022, under Chapter 2022-121, Section 2. Tree health alone, a generic recommendation to remove a tree or residential zoning alone is not the statutory test described above.
A commercial or institutional site, multifamily property or HOA common area does not qualify merely because people live nearby or an association owns it; apply the statute's detached-building and active-lot-use definition to the actual property. The statute does not provide a general development-site or association-property exemption, and this guide does not determine a particular property's eligibility.
The city's older notice states a different account of residential removal and development agreements. Its wording and the unresolved property-specific question are set out under “Where guidance and code differ,” rather than substituted for the current statute.
What are the penalties for unauthorized work?
Where no specific penalty is provided, the codified general penalty is, upon conviction, a fine not exceeding $500, imprisonment not exceeding 60 days, or both; each continuing day is a separate violation, and unlawful conditions are subject to nuisance abatement. Those are the terms of Section 1-15, not a flat price for removing a tree, and Section 62-41(h) applies its own cross-referenced fine language only to violations of that section.
The separate special-magistrate process allows civil penalties up to $250 per day for a first violation, up to $500 per day for a repeat violation, and up to $5,000 per violation for an irreparable or irreversible violation, together with the specified city costs and qualifying repair costs. Section 2-111 requires consideration of gravity, corrective action and previous violations; Section 2-103 defines a repeat violation by a prior finding or admission involving the same provision within five years.
The city can record an unpaid penalty order as a lien against the violation property and other real or personal property of the violator, and the code authorizes foreclosure or a money-judgment action after an unpaid lien has been filed for three months. Sections 2-112 and 2-113 describe those remedies and the 20-year lien-duration rule, subject to a timely foreclosure action and the stated notice protections.
For a dangerous or nuisance dead or diseased private tree, Section 62-41(e) separately authorizes certified-mail notice and removal at the owner's expense within 60 days after service; noncompliance can lead to city removal, a lien for unpaid costs or code enforcement. The enforcement article generally provides notice and an opportunity to correct, but has different procedures for repeat violations and serious threats or irreparable or irreversible conditions. Section 2-109 sets out those distinctions.
The posted permit fee schedule, checked October 1, 2026 and without an established effective date for these lines, separately lists a $50 stop-work-order charge and double normal fees for after-the-fact permits; those administrative charges are not the codified penalty limits. Its ten-times-normal-fee clause concerns subsequent construction without permits by the same contractor, so it should not be recast as an automatic tenfold tree-removal penalty; the retrieved copy of Resolution 06-2024 refers to an Exhibit A but does not include it or establish these figures' effective date.
What replacement and mitigation can the city require?
As a permit condition, the city manager or designee may require relocation or comparable replacement on the property, replacement based on minimum DBH or caliper and height, and/or mitigation charged per DBH inch; the city's authority and the special no-mitigation-fee condition are in Section 62-36(a), subject to the state-law route above. Under that section, a report prepared by a “certified arborist” establishing that a protected tree is diseased, dead, severely declining or a public-safety threat removes the mitigation fee, but replacement may still be required.
Replacement rule | What the code actually provides |
|---|---|
Comparable relocation or replacement | The city may designate areas on the property and set replacement size and height conditions under Section 62-36(a). |
Palm substitutions | Single-trunk or cluster palms use a 3:1 replacement ratio under Section 62-36(b). |
Accent-tree substitutions | Accent trees use a 2:1 replacement ratio under Section 62-36(b). |
Combined limitation | Palms and/or accent trees may not constitute more than 20 percent of the total number of required replacement trees under Section 62-36(b). |
Required landscaping that dies or is removed | Section 58-325(a) allows required plantings to be reinstated and calls for equivalent DBH replacement, mitigation under Section 62-36 or a city-manager-approved alternative for dead or diseased trees; the certified-report fee exception above must not be omitted. |
Infeasible perimeter landscaping | A city-established payment in lieu may be considered where the city manager or designee determines installation is not feasible or practical under Section 58-329(5). |
The application's Exhibit B adds administrative replacement guidance: canopy trees at 1:1 with a two-to-three-inch caliper and eight-to-ten-foot height, accent trees at 2:1 with two-to-three-inch DBH or caliper and eight-to-ten-foot height, and palms only with staff approval at 3:1 with ten feet of clear trunk. It specifies Florida Grade No. 1 material; those form details are not a substitute for Section 62-36's discretion and combined substitution cap or the different installation standards for development landscaping below.
The form also describes an equivalent cumulative diameter on-site or, where that is impractical, a city-established contribution to its Street Scape program. Section 62-36 says the city shall establish the per-inch mitigation basis but does not print a dollar rate; the published-rate search and its limits are stated below rather than supplying an invented calculation.
What changes for commercial, multifamily, HOA and institutional property?
For an existing commercial, multifamily, HOA common-area or institutional project, check both the ordinary tree rules and the approved landscape plan: the code differentiates tract size and plan status, not a universal exemption for existing developed property. Sections 62-33, 62-34 and 58-325 govern that screening, and the restricted state-law definition above is not a general exemption for these uses.
If you manage required landscaping, the owner, tenant and their agent are jointly and severally responsible for its maintenance under Section 58-325(a). That provision expressly covers required landscaping, drainage retention and common areas on nonresidential property under an approved city site plan or a county-approved plan on subsequently annexed land.
If removal changes an approved landscape plan, city approval of the modification is required by Section 58-323(c). Separate changes to a development order or permit must be approved before deviation under Section 50-164, and Section 50-105 requires construction to follow the approved final site plan, including protection of areas required to remain natural.
For the nonresidential fee, use the government-document amounts and qualifications in “How do you apply,” not an assumed separate commercial rate. Replacement and fee-in-lieu questions are governed by the preceding replacement section and project-specific conditions under Section 62-36.
For an association submission, use the authorization process in “Who may apply”; for a company, confirm the authorized representative and any required agency documentation with Community Development. The application's sample letter and Section 50-103 are the source documents for that distinction.
What if you are developing, redeveloping, adding a pool or clearing land?
Development includes construction, clearing, filling, excavation, grading and other significant soil disturbance, as well as landscaping or tree removal requiring authorization, so a pool, addition, demolition or clearing project cannot be screened solely as a detached tree-removal job. Section 50-86 defines the development activities and permit types, while Section 62-37 expressly requires protection before tree-affecting demolition, excavation, clearing or other land alteration.
Sequence the project and its approvals
Site-plan review applies to all new construction, including parking lots and mobile home subdivisions or parks, except a single-family home on an individual lot or parcel, subject to other rules that can still require review; additions can require review when the city manager or designee considers it appropriate and necessary, and subdivisions require it. Section 50-100 also flags Chapter 59 review for qualifying exterior enlargements or expansions of nonresidential and mixed-use residential development.
A development order authorizes the project, whereas a development permit authorizes particular components; a development permit ordinarily follows an order, but Section 50-163 allows specified standalone activities, including protected-tree removal on a previously developed site independent of other development, to proceed to a permit without a new development order. Other exceptions concern qualifying earlier approvals, specified dwelling construction or alteration in previously approved recorded subdivisions, remodeling without a change to gross floor area, use or impervious surface, and compliant resurfacing; they do not dispense with the remaining code and applicable permit requirements. Sections 50-86, 50-161, 50-162(a) and 50-163 set that sequence.
All other applicable county, regional, state and federal permits must be obtained before development starts under Section 50-162(a). A city permit does not guarantee another agency's approval, and Section 46-2(d) authorizes withholding a certificate of occupancy for applicable land-development-code or project-approval violations.
Where a property has a code-enforcement violation notice, an unpaid recorded city code lien or qualifying notified unpaid development-review fees, Section 46-2(c) restricts accepting applications and issuing approvals. Its exceptions include applications to correct the listed violations or an imminent life-safety, health or welfare condition as determined by the appropriate official.
Submit the right documents and credentials
Section 50-103 calls for the signed and notarized application, signed and sealed site plans as required by the application, ownership and agency information, and potentially a landscape plan/tree survey, stormwater information, elevations, signage, traffic, utilities, fire-flow and environmentally sensitive-land information. Section 50-104 carries preliminary information into final review and adds review responses, applicable concurrency and utility material, solid-waste approval and outstanding outside-agency approvals.
The tree-survey definition specifies an aerial photograph or drawing at no more than a 1-inch-to-200-foot scale, with accurately plotted locations, common and botanical names, consecutive numbering and DBH calibration of protected trees. Section 62-32 supplies that definition, while Section 62-35(b) exempts mangroves from the survey requirement only.
For the protected-tree condition-and-reasons report and the mitigation-fee exception, the code's credential is “certified arborist,” not an expressly named certifying organization. Sections 62-35(a) and 62-36(a) use those words; the separate state-law documentation standard above is different.
For proposed excavation plans, the code specifically requires the seal and signature of an engineer registered and licensed by the state. Section 70-888(d)(5) states that credential, while Section 58-324 describes accepted planting procedures prescribed by IFAS and/or a registered landscape architect rather than imposing the state-law tree-risk-report credential on every landscape plan.
Preserve trees and install protection before disturbance
Where possible, at least 25 percent of native vegetation on site should be preserved and incorporated into the landscaping; that wording is not an unconditional numerical retention mandate. Section 58-329 uses “should,” Section 58-328 permits conforming existing plants to satisfy minimum landscaping and requires existing invasive species to be removed at development or redevelopment, and Section 62-1 puts resource protection before design.
During construction, material, machinery and temporary soil deposits may not be placed within six feet or two-thirds of the drip line, whichever is greater, of a tree with DBH of four inches or greater, subject to the article's applicable exemptions. Section 62-37(a) states that protective distance; the drip line is the ground projection of the outermost branch tips under Section 62-32.
Before development, demolition, excavation, clearing or other alterations that may affect existing trees, the developer must erect suitable protective barriers, keep them until removal is authorized and avoid attaching wires or other attachments to those trees during construction. Section 62-37(b) supplies the timing and prohibitions, and Section 58-323(a)(6) provides for an onsite landscape inspection as part of final inspection.
The reviewed code does not publish a separate root-pruning procedure or a tree-barrier inspection appointment schedule. Do not turn that silence into permission to sever roots or move barriers: the damage prohibition and authorization-to-remove-barriers rule remain in Sections 62-31 and 62-37, and project-specific conditions should be confirmed with Community Development.
Apply the development landscaping tables separately from removal replacement
The removal-replacement ratios above and the following installation rules serve different requirements; do not substitute one cap for the other. Section 62-36 governs removal replacement, while Sections 58-324 and 58-331 govern required development landscaping and interior vehicular landscaping.
Required-landscaping item | Chapter 58 standard |
|---|---|
Quality and native component | Florida No. 1 or better or equal, and at least 25 percent of required canopy trees native Florida vegetation. Section 58-324 |
Caliper proportions | At least 60 percent of required canopy and accent trees other than palms have at least three-inch caliper; at least 40 percent of required trees other than palms have at least two-inch caliper; fractions round to the nearest whole tree, with 0.5 or greater rounding up. Section 58-324(5) |
Accent for canopy | 2:1, with no more than 30 percent of required canopy trees substituted. Section 58-324(5) |
Palm for canopy | 3:1, with no more than ten percent of required canopy trees substituted. Section 58-324(6) |
Palm for accent | 2:1, with no more than 30 percent of required accent trees substituted. Section 58-324(6) |
Palm installation | At least ten feet of clear trunk and at least paired clustering, using the approved list or city approval. Section 58-324(6) |
Tree planting space | At least 25 square feet and a minimum dimension of eight feet, excluding curbing; planting medium at least four feet deep and bottom width at least three times root-ball diameter. Section 58-324(5) |
Species diversity | Development sites of one acre or more require at least two different species of canopy/large tree and accent tree. Section 58-327 |
Trees must be planted upright and appropriately staked for at least 60 days, and all zoning districts' front-yard setbacks must be landscaped and maintained under Section 58-324. For related ground cover, turf, hedges, wheel stops, watering and irrigation details, consult the installation, maintenance and irrigation provisions in Sections 58-324, 58-325 and 58-326.
Site requirement | Rule and qualifications |
|---|---|
Perimeter planting | One canopy tree for every 50 linear feet of frontage or fraction, with utility-conflict substitutions under Section 58-324; Landscape Standard A also specifies two accent trees and a continuous shrub row per 50 feet. Section 58-329(1) |
Ordinary, gateway and residential-adjacency buffers | Ordinary strip at least five feet wide with the specified wheel-stop setback; at least ten feet excluding curbing on major gateways with no wheel stops required; at least eight feet where a nonresidential use abuts single-family residential zoning. Section 58-329(1) |
Screening vehicular areas from residential property | A wall with continuous hedge, berm with hedge or combination forms a continuous screen between four and eight feet high; the city may require planting on the residential or street side. Section 58-329(2) |
Perimeter parking islands | At least nine by 18 feet, with a canopy tree, for every eight spaces and at row ends where parking is along the perimeter. Section 58-329(1) |
Interior landscaping | Ten percent of vehicular-use area, exclusive of required perimeter buffers; excess perimeter landscaping may count, with at least one canopy tree per 400 square feet or fraction of required landscaped area. Section 58-331(a) |
Interior substitutions | Up to 50 percent of that requirement may use accent trees clustered in pairs or palms described as “clustered in pairs of three”; do not assume a palm layout without city clarification of that wording. Section 58-331(a) |
Interior parking islands | Multifamily and nonresidential development need a nine-by-18-foot canopy-tree island per eight spaces and at row ends; instead of the every-eight-spaces island, the code permits a nine-foot planter median with wheel stops or a ten-foot island without them. Section 58-331(c) |
Open space | One canopy tree or two accent trees per 2,000 square feet of required open space. Section 58-332(a) |
Stormwater ponds | Along the top of bank or slope beside public right-of-way or private property, canopy trees every 50 feet or two accent trees every 25 feet; required perimeter buffers may be used for ponds only up to 50 percent and only with planting along the top of bank. Section 58-332(b) and (c) |
New single-family house | At least one canopy tree in the required front setback when abutting a public or private street, with the stated utility-conflict substitutions. Sections 58-329(4) and 58-367(f) |
The perimeter exceptions are material: Section 58-330 provides a qualifying dedicated-alley/opposite-building exception, potential credit for an adjacent existing buffer and reduced canopy-and-shrub provisions where adjoining property is zoned or used nonresidentially. It specifies a platted alley or dedicated vehicular easement at least 15 feet wide for its alley condition, so a driveway should not simply be assumed to qualify.
Existing mature canopy can support administrative relief from perimeter or interior requirements under Section 58-328, and landscaping around structures on the same parcel may count toward the interior requirement under Section 58-331(b). The code's Article V definitions exclude only driveways and parking spaces serving single- and two-family uses from “vehicular use areas”; its general purpose language excluding single-family and duplex development does not erase the express new-house front-tree provision. Sections 58-321, 58-322 and 58-329(4) establish those distinctions.
Redevelopment can end landscape nonconformity
An existing development with nonconforming landscape buffers or vehicular-use-area landscaping must fully comply when any listed Section 58-333 trigger occurs:
Building expansion: Site building square footage increases by 25 percent or more. Section 58-333(a)(1)
Higher-parking use: At least 50 percent of existing building square footage changes to a use triggering a greater parking requirement. Section 58-333(a)(2)
Vehicular area: Fifty percent of the vehicular-use area is replaced or demolished. Section 58-333(a)(3)
Renovation value: Exterior site and/or building renovations exceed 51 percent of the most current assessed property value, including buildings and land, in the property appraiser's records. Section 58-333(a)(4)
Other Chapter 50 compliance: Chapter 50 can also require compliance. Section 58-333(a)(5)
That last reference matters for damaged, altered or abandoned nonconforming developments: Sections 50-258, 50-260 and 50-261 provide additional pathways to compliance or renewed site-plan review. The Chapter 58 renovation test is therefore not the only possible trigger for a redevelopment project.
Check the commercial-corridor overlay as well
If you are developing along a designated commercial corridor, Chapter 59 adds a separate review: its overlay identifies specified commercial, office, mixed-use and industrial future-land-use categories along 113th Street, Seminole Boulevard, Park Boulevard, Bay Pines Boulevard, Park Street and Starkey Road. Section 59-1 defines that scope; Section 59-21 applies the standards to new construction or total redevelopment along a corridor and to existing sites when the stated site improvements and exterior renovations or modifications reach 51 percent or more of current assessed building-and-land value, with an independent appraisal allowed for consideration.
Within that chapter's applicability, and subject to an approved project-specific modification or waiver under Section 59-23, commercial buildings facing but not adjacent to a public street need five-foot-wide planters at least ten feet long at each side of an entrance, each with at least one accent tree or two palms or a combination, plus five-foot-wide planted areas along at least 25 percent of the building front. Section 59-26(6) specifies hedges and accent trees and/or palms, trees at least two inches in caliper and palms with at least ten feet of clear trunk.
For commercial buildings abutting a public street within that scope, the frontage buffer is at least ten feet wide, with at least one canopy or accent tree of at least two-inch caliper every 20 feet and a continuous hedge, subject to that same approved-modification provision. Section 59-26(7) supplies this rule, while Section 59-25 adds parking screening and buffer provisions, including a five-foot-wide continuous-hedge buffer along side or rear parking boundaries beside a nonresidential use and Chapter 58 treatment beside residential zoning.
The code also carries Appendix B site-standard material with ten-space parking-tree language and an eight-space qualification for lots with more than 60 spaces, while Chapter 58 states its own eight-space requirements. The Appendix B introduction says its standards take precedence in conflicts except where explicitly provided otherwise, but its scope and applicability wording also differ from the numbered Chapter 59 provisions; have the city identify the controlling approved layout rather than choosing between the Appendix B site standards, Section 59-21 and Sections 58-329 and 58-331.
Clearing, fill, mitigation timing and development fees
A grounds permit is defined as required before development, redevelopment or addition to a vehicular-use area, with the single-/two-family driveway and parking exclusion noted above. Section 58-321 is separate from the grading-and-clearing and tree-removal permit categories in Section 50-86.
For topographic alteration or excavation, Section 70-888 requires zoning approval above five but below 250 cubic yards, with a scaled site/grading plan showing boundaries, protected trees, work locations and existing/proposed topography. Below five cubic yards, it states no zoning approval is required unless drainage interference calls for it; it leaves exactly five cubic yards unstated between those clauses, says tree-removal permits are required for fills and/or excavations, and applies a further approval rule at 250 yards or more.
Excavation at that larger scale is limited to the section's specified illegal-fill removal situations or excavation under a development order for an approved site plan. Section 70-888(c) and (d) also supplies review, setback and drainage requirements, so a tree permit should not be treated as authorization for the earthwork.
Tree replacement and mitigation are permit conditions under Section 62-36, with the applicable landscaping standards and final inspection described above. The reviewed code does not supply a universal tree-bank payment deadline or a single planting deadline for every development; obtain those conditions in the actual approval, while recognizing the certificate-of-occupancy enforcement authority in Section 46-2(d).
That is not a claim that environmental restoration has no deadlines: development beside a protected environmentally sensitive zone has separate restoration and buffer rules, including the requirement that a construction-damaged protected area operate as effectively as the prior natural system within two years. Section 62-192 also allows measures such as limiting vegetation removal and expeditious replanting; those context-specific rules do not create a universal ordinary tree-permit planting deadline.
For site-plan review, Section 50-107 points to a council-adopted fee schedule available from Community Development and makes applicants responsible for required outside consultants or engineers. It is specifically a site-plan fee provision, not itself a codified $25 tree fee or a published per-inch mitigation rate.
What should a project manager check about the contractor?
For a business pruning, treating or removing street or park trees, Section 62-41(g) requires a permit and evidence of liability insurance in an amount satisfactory to the city, covering bodily injury and property damage and indemnifying the city or an injured or damaged person. That is a checkable requirement for that public-tree work, not a statement of Ken's Tree Service's credentials or a universal private-tree insurance minimum.
The subsection's heading says “License and bond,” but its operative text describes the permit and insurance and states no bond requirement. Section 62-41(g) should be read by its operative words; the heading adds no requirement that the text does not state.
On a development site, enforcement may reach owners and persons or entities controlling the property, including the contractor working there, and Community Development may issue a stop-work order for violations during activity requiring a permit. Section 46-6 requires work to cease until correction; the fee-schedule charge and other penalties are described above, not a substitute for compliance.
The tree application affidavit also makes the owner acknowledge responsibility for city-infrastructure damage and assigns delivery of the approval and replacement requirements to the contractor. Its broad warnings about unlicensed workers are form guidance, not proof that Chapter 62 creates a general private-property tree-contractor license.
Can you appeal a decision or request a variance?
The route depends on the decision: final site-plan denial, a variance decision and a special-magistrate enforcement order have different review provisions. Sections 50-102, 50-291, 50-297 and 2-115 should not be collapsed into one tree-permit appeal deadline.
Final site-plan denial: A written appeal to the city council is requested through the city manager with reasons under Section 50-102(d); that subsection does not state a filing period.
Variance with development review: Section 50-292 places the variance with the development application and requires developmental review board approval where a variance is sought; Sections 50-293 and 50-294 require the relevant physical-condition assessment and substantial competent evidence supporting the enumerated findings, not cost savings alone.
Administrative variance: Section 50-291(d) permits listed limited dimensional adjustments to help protect trees or address site constraints, subject to the required findings; denial is taken to the developmental review board by a variance application.
Board judicial review: Section 50-297(e) states 30 calendar days from the public hearing at which the decision was finalized, not from later reduction to writing; an identical variance application is generally barred for six months after denial unless denied without prejudice.
Enforcement order: Section 2-115(a) states an appeal to circuit court within 30 days of execution of the special-magistrate order, on the existing record rather than a new hearing.
Variance conditions remain enforceable, and a variance is not automatic approval of the other permits or plans. Section 50-295 supplies its one-year permit/clearance expiration rule, possible one-year extension for good cause requested in writing at least 30 days before expiration, and separate 180-consecutive-day discontinuance/removal expiration condition.
How do you apply, and what does the permit cost?
The posted tree application documents in-person submission or email of a signed application to permits@myseminole.com, with Community Development at 9199 113th Street North and 727-398-3108. The posted fee schedule, whose tree-fee effective date was not established, lists $25 for tree removal, and the application states no fee for removal tied to an approved landscape plan, which still needs the permit.
The city's online permitting portal exists, but this review could not confirm that its login-protected application choices include tree permits; do not assume either that trees are accepted there or that offline routes are the only routes. Use the documented form routes while confirming the available tree-specific route with Community Development.
Confirm jurisdiction and existing approvals. Use the address lookup below and assemble any approved landscape plan, development order or agreement before asking Community Development which local application is applicable. Sections 62-33, 62-34 and 50-164 make those approvals material.
Prepare the signed form and site information. The tree application asks for a plot plan, survey or approved landscape plan locating structures, driveways, power lines, removal trees and trees remaining, together with species, size, condition and accurate locations; plan-listed palms need species and clear-trunk measurements.
Supply the required report and authorization. The condition-and-reasons report requirements are in Section 62-35(a); the application adds photographs, signed-report instructions and association documentation, with differences disclosed below.
Allow the city's review. The application says staff checks completeness, may inspect identifiable removal trees, and issues approval, conditional approval or denial through the Community Development Director or designee, followed by notification and permit collection.
Check the fee and conditions before work. The current posted fee schedule lists $25 for tree removal; the July 2018 application repeats $25 but states no fee for removal tied to an approved landscape plan, without waiving the permit.
Those are government-document amounts checked October 1, 2026, not the cost of tree work or a per-inch mitigation rate; the posted schedule does not identify the original effective date of its tree fee. The city Document Center's two-page copy of Resolution 06-2024, rechecked October 1, 2026, confirms adoption on August 27, 2024 and effectiveness on October 1, 2024, but refers to an Exhibit A that is not included and does not print the $25 tree fee, $50 stop-work charge or after-the-fact doubling, so those dates cannot be assigned to those charges from this copy.
Resolution 04-2026, adopted July 28, 2026 according to the council minutes, took effect upon adoption and changes private-provider building-service discounts while expressly leaving other fees unchanged, so it is not evidence of a new tree fee. Confirm the applicable charge with Community Development rather than using that later resolution to date an undated tree-fee line.
Where do guidance and code differ?
The codified ordinance and current state statutes are the legal texts; the city's forms and notice describe its administrative guidance, and the differences below should not be silently blended into a new rule. In particular, compare the tree application, House Bill 1159 notice, Section 62-35 and current Section 163.045.
Old state-law account: The notice says House Bill 1159 “precludes local governments from requiring tree removal permits on residential property,” then describes a danger report furnished if requested. Its attached statutory text predates the narrower property, signed-assessment and unacceptable-risk language set out above; the current statute, not that old summary, supplies the state-law test. City notice; current Section 163.045.
Development agreements and orders: The same notice states the city's position that residential property subject to a binding development agreement or order needs a permit and may need replacement, and says other multifamily developments are considered case by case. It names Seminole Groves, Arabella, Pine Crest Villas, Artisan Estates, Artisan Preserve, Enclave and The Cove at Bay Pines; this is the notice's list, not a finding here about any property's current agreement or statutory eligibility. City notice.
General threshold and mangroves: The form's opening says any tree at four inches DBH except exempt trees, while the operative tract clauses concern protected trees; the form also groups mangroves with four-inch specimen trees, although the code's mangrove language is all-sizes. Application; Sections 62-33, 62-34 and 62-35(a).
Exempt list: The form's instructions add Cuban laurel, omit Chinese tallow and repeat Australian pine, while its own Exhibit A includes Chinese tallow. Cuban laurel appears on the code's prohibited landscape-material list, but not among the eight named Article II exemptions; the supplementation mechanism remains relevant. Application; Sections 62-35(d) and 58-327(2).
Arborist report: The code asks for current condition and specific removal reasons and may require a report for large numbers of smaller protected trees; the form adds a signed report, photographs, preservation-based justification, an attestation that the tree should be removed or cannot otherwise be preserved, and the possibility of a second owner-paid arborist report. Section 62-35(a); application.
Replacement guidance: The form's equivalent-diameter/Street Scape discussion and Exhibit B sizes and 1:1 canopy example are more specific than the discretionary wording of Section 62-36; its suggested species also differ from the Article V planting list. The code permits suggestions rather than an exclusive replacement-species list, and its palm/accent cap still applies. Section 62-36; Section 58-327; application.
Application-only administration: The form adds marking, potential inspection, association authorization, signatures, collection and responsibility statements, and broad contractor warnings; these should be attributed to the form rather than quoted as sentences from Article II. Its arborist-attestation wording is not the separate risk-assessment documentation required by state law. Application; Section 163.045.
Online submission: The city FAQ describes online accounts for contractors and certain building permits, directs other applications in person, and the tree form additionally permits email; the newer portal's public pages are generic. None of those statements establishes the current tree-specific portal choices without confirmation. City FAQ; application; portal.
The notice and the statute must both be disclosed, but this article does not decide which requirement controls a particular agreement or parcel. Ask the city to identify the governing approval and its position; do not infer a property-specific outcome from this general reference.
Internal drafting problems should also stay visible
Palms: The definition excludes them, but the specific approved-plan clauses include them; read the specific clauses rather than deleting either side. Section 62-32; Sections 62-33, 62-34 and 58-325.
Emergency wording: Section 62-38 says “this division,” although Article II is arranged directly in sections without divisions in the reviewed code; that is an unresolved drafting reference, not an owner-created waiver. Tree Protection Article II; Section 62-38.
Public-tree business heading: The “License and bond” heading does not match the permit-and-insurance language described above. Section 62-41(g).
Interior palm grouping: Section 58-331(a) describes accent trees as “clustered in pairs of two” and palms as “clustered in pairs of three”; the table preserves the palm wording's uncertainty rather than prescribing a layout. Ask the city to confirm the proposed layout. Section 58-331(a).
Enforcement cross-reference: Section 46-6 still points to Chapter 2, Article V and Section 2-201, while the current code reserves Article V and Sections 2-192 through 2-219; the current special-magistrate provisions are in Article IV. Section 46-6; reserved Article V; current code-enforcement Article IV.
Is your Seminole address inside the city?
A Seminole mailing address is not by itself proof of City of Seminole jurisdiction: Pinellas County identifies Seminole among its unincorporated community areas, and the city's FAQ tells owners to verify the property appraiser's SM tax-district code for city property. Use the Pinellas County Address Lookup and the city's jurisdiction FAQ instead of relying on the postal city.
The reviewed primary resources establish that the mailing/community area extends beyond incorporated jurisdiction, but do not provide a dependable numerical area comparison here. If the lookup identifies an unincorporated parcel, use our Pinellas County tree-permit guide and the County's own environmental-permitting page, rather than applying this city's thresholds to it.
What about rights-of-way, street trees and utility work?
No tree may be removed from a public right-of-way except under the direction of the city manager or designee, and the public-road shade-tree provision separately requires the stated road authority's authorization. Sections 62-39 and 38-37 make location and authority critical even when an adjoining owner maintains the ground.
Section 38-36 allows qualifying landscaping of unpaved adjoining right-of-way without a city landscaping permit, but the plants become city property and must not obstruct public use or safety. That planting rule is not permission to remove a public tree, and it coexists with the street-tree species and spacing provisions of Section 62-40.
Street-tree requirement | Section 62-40 rule |
|---|---|
Approved species | Canopy: live oak, weeping elm, winged elm, magnolia, red maple; accent: crepe myrtle, tree-form ligustrum, weeping yaupon holly, weeping bottlebrush, silver buttonwood; palms: Washingtonia, sabal, Medjool, queen; another species needs written permission. Section 62-40(6) |
Spacing | Listed on-center ranges are 40 to 50 feet for shade trees, 30 to 40 feet for accent/power-line planting and 20 to 30 feet for palms, with city-manager/designee approval and the advisory-committee qualification in the text. Section 62-40(7) |
Curb and sidewalk setback | Three feet for shade trees and two feet for accent trees and palms. Section 62-40(8) |
Corners and hydrants | At least ten feet from the specified street-corner measuring point and from a fireplug. Section 62-40(9) |
Utility proximity | Only species listed in subsection (6) may be planted under or within ten lateral feet of overhead wires, or over or within five lateral feet of specified underground utilities. Section 62-40(10) |
If utility installation will affect trees, the city's utility right-of-way permit calls for plans, insurance evidence, protection of public safety, restoration and advance notice to Public Works, in addition to the tree-direction rule above. Submit the project to the responsible city units rather than treating a tree-removal approval as a utility construction permit.
What does the reviewed Seminole code not say?
Whole-code searches of the Supplement 8 text checked October 1, 2026 found no reference to “163.045,” no stated dollar-per-DBH-inch tree-mitigation rate, no named tree-bank program, and no separate root-pruning procedure. These are limited findings about the reviewed Seminole Code, not findings that state law, administrative rates, project conditions or tree-damage protections do not exist.
The code does not name an arborist certifying body in the report provisions, even though it specifies other professional standards and credentials where applicable. Sections 62-35 and 62-36 therefore should not be rewritten to say ISA, nor confused with the expressly specified credential in Florida Statute 163.045.
Which published answers were not found?
The October 1, 2026 review of the city forms page, posted fee schedule, tree application, official-domain search results and council records did not establish a published tree-mitigation per-inch basis or a separate nonresidential tree rate. The application refers to a city-established Street Scape contribution, so ask Community Development for the adopted rate and calculation rather than assuming none is charged.
The same review did not establish the tree-specific online application route, a universal replacement-payment due date or the original effective date of the posted tree-removal fee. The public portal, replacement section and posted fee schedule leave those questions open; the later Resolution 04-2026 does not resolve them.
Sources and scope
This review uses the City of Seminole Code of Ordinances, Supplement 8, codified through Ordinance No. 09-2025, enacted December 16, 2025, with the Land Development Code in the same volume. The principal texts are Chapter 62, Article II and Chapter 58, Article V, with the cited development, enforcement and right-of-way provisions.
The tree article's history notes identify Ordinance 09-2014 dated October 14, 2014, and the landscaping article's provisions identify Ordinance 24-2014 dated November 25, 2014; these are codified history dates, not a claim that original enactment instruments establishing every effective date were recovered. Section 62-35 and Section 58-324 carry those histories, and this guide reports the published codified rules as checked on the review date.
The post-codification check used the city's council page and current council records portal, including relevant 2026 search hits and the September 30 agenda. No relevant tree-article or landscaping-article amendment was found in the records reviewed, while Resolution 04-2026 changes private-provider building-service fees and the September 9 workshop minutes discuss possible future Community Development fee increases, not an adopted tree-rate change.
This is not a certification that every post-cutoff adopted instrument or unposted minute has been reviewed. For related reading, our Largo tree-permit guide and Pinellas Park tree-permit guide are separate resources, not authorities for Seminole's rules.
Where does this leave your tree or project?
A tree may be a candidate for removal or pruning, but the city office that reviews the application must resolve the local approval questions, and the mangrove and state-law routes require their own applicable review. Take site-specific plans and approval documents to Community Development, using the city application contact, rather than asking a general guide to decide the outcome.
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 Seminole article is offered as a regional reference, not an offer to perform work in Seminole; for projects within our service area, our number is 727-934-5804.
Property-specific maps, plans and permit determinations belong with the responsible government office. For questions about the code explained in this guide, continue with our website agent, the chat on this page.