How Daytona Beach Handles Tree Protection: A Practical Guide

Daytona Beach maintains 131 local ordinances across all categories, and 3 of those deal specifically with tree protection. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Daytona Beach falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Parkway Planting

New development along collector streets and above in Daytona Beach must plant street trees between the curb and sidewalk, spaced 40 to 50 feet apart for shade trees, under Land Development Code Section 6.13.K.

Key details: Trigger: Streets rated collector or above. Shade tree spacing: 40-50 feet on center. Small tree spacing: 20-30 feet on center. Location: Between curb and sidewalk. Exempt: Single-family detached lots, AG district farms.

Compliance with Section 6.13's Community Form Standards, including the street tree requirement, is reviewed as part of Planned Development, Special Use Permit, Public or Semipublic Use Permit, Site Plan, Certificate of Appropriateness, or Building Permit applications, so a project missing required street trees cannot clear that review. Where the standards of this section conflict with other Land Development Code provisions, the more restrictive standard controls, meaning the street tree requirement cannot be relaxed by a less protective standard found elsewhere in the Code.

Heritage & Protected Trees

Daytona Beach protects live oaks and bald cypress 36 inches or more in diameter as historic trees, requiring them to stay inside a tree protection zone and City Commission approval before a healthy one can ever be removed, under Land Development Code Section 6.15.A.7.

Key details: Historic tree threshold: 36 inches DBH, live oak or bald cypress. Healthy tree removal: City Commission approval required. Diseased/dying tree removal: City staff approval, appealable. Specimen tree retention (low density): 80% preserved after development. Specimen tree retention (high density): 4 trees per acre minimum.

Damaging or removing a historic tree without the required City Commission approval, or outside the narrow staff-approval path for diseased or dying trees, triggers the Section 6.15.A.9 replacement standards, requiring a restoration plan within two weeks of a stop-work notice and two caliper inches of replacement trees for every caliper inch of historic or specimen tree removed or damaged. A City staff decision approving removal of a diseased, damaged, or dying historic tree can be appealed to the City Commission by any affected party.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Daytona Beach actively enforces its heritage & protected trees requirements.

Protected Tree Species

Daytona Beach's Land Development Code protects two tiers of trees: specimen trees (12+ inch DBH) and historic trees (36+ inch DBH live oaks, bald cypresses, or City Commission-designated champion trees). Removing a healthy historic tree needs City Commission approval showing hardship, and mitigation follows a strict replacement ratio under LDC Section 6.15.A.

Key details: Specimen tree threshold: 12 inch DBH or greater. Historic tree threshold: 36 inch DBH oak or cypress. Retention rate: 50-80% of specimen trees, density-based. Mitigation ratio: 2 caliper inches per inch removed. In-lieu fee: $1,000-$2,000 per replacement tree.

Removing or damaging a protected specimen or historic tree without a permit stops work immediately once City staff issues notice, and the landowner has two weeks to submit a restoration plan. Failing to fence a required tree protection zone before grading begins is itself a Code violation. Unresolved tree violations carry the same civil citations as other Land Development Code violations: $100 for a first offense, $250 for repeats, up to $500 if contested in county court.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Daytona Beach actively enforces its protected tree species requirements.

The Bottom Line

Daytona Beach is tougher than many cities when it comes to tree protection. Out of the 3 rules covered here, 2 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Daytona Beach, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

All of the above reflects Daytona Beach's municipal code as of our last review. If you need specifics on fines, exemptions, or filing requirements, the detailed ordinance pages linked above have the full breakdown.