Tree Cutting in Miami-Dade County, FL

Tree problems in Miami-Dade County, FL that call for tree cutting

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.

4. 4

   Hurricanes and limestone soil

   Much of Miami-Dade sits on limestone with shallow soil, so trees root shallowly and wide. Combine that with dense crowns and hurricane winds, and uprooting is common. Thin crowns before June, keep palms cleaned of coconuts and dead fronds, and have trees with lean or decay assessed early. After a storm, see [storm damage tree removal in Florida](/services/storm-damage-tree-removal/florida/).