Land Clearing in Miami-Dade County, FL

Tree problems in Miami-Dade County, FL that call for land clearing

1. 1

   County and city permits in Miami-Dade

   Section 24-49 of the Miami-Dade County Code sets the county's tree protection rules, and no county or municipal official may issue a removal permit that doesn't comply with it. Many municipalities, like Doral and Miami Lakes, run their own permit programs; unincorporated areas go through the county. So the practical first step is finding out whether your address is in a city and, if so, which department issues tree permits.

2. 2

   The state exemption for dangerous trees

   Florida Statute 163.045 overrides local permit rules for one situation: a single-family detached home where the owner has documentation, from an ISA-certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect using ISA tree risk assessment procedures, that a tree poses an unacceptable risk. Then the county or city can't require a permit, fee, mitigation or replanting.

3. 3

   When pruning becomes illegal removal

   Miami-Dade treats hatracking, topping and other excessive pruning that effectively destroys a tree as removal without a permit, and root cutting or girdling counts too. Selective pruning done to the ANSI A300 standard doesn't need a permit. If a trimmer offers to cut a black olive or mahogany down to stubs for hurricane season, decline: it's both harmful and a code violation.