Landscaping Rules in Bay County, FL (2026)
4 rules for unincorporated Bay County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
In unincorporated Bay County, a county permit is required only to remove a protected oak (30-inch trunk) in the Urban or Suburban Service Area. Pines are unprotected at any size, and single-family homes are largely exempt.
Bay County Tree Removal Regulations
Few RestrictionsBay County, FL, Land Development Regulations § 1911
No property owner, builder, contractor, landscaper, business, firm or other legal person shall remove, destroy, or damage a protected Historic, Specimen, Champion or Heritage tree located in the Urban or Suburban Service Area without first obtaining a permit from the Planning and Zoning Division.
Weed Ordinances
Bay County lists "any excessive accumulation of overgrowth upon any developed or improved property" as a code nuisance under Sec. 17-1(5). There's no numeric height cap in the ordinance itself; instead, an overgrown yard is enforced through the same nuisance and special-magistrate process used for junk, blight and other Chapter 17 violations.
Bay County Excessive Overgrowth Nuisance Rule
Some RestrictionsBay County Code of Ordinances §§ 17-1(5), 17-2(a)
Nuisance shall mean any of the following: (5)Any excessive accumulation of overgrowth upon any developed or improved property. Sec. 17-2. - Prohibitions.(a)Any person who causes, creates, maintains or allows any act, occurrence, or existence of any condition deemed a nuisance shall be in violation of this article and shall be subject to the processes and penalties under chapter 7 of this Code.
Water Restrictions
Bay County lies in the Northwest Florida Water Management District, the only Florida district with no mandatory two-day-per-week watering schedule. Watering is largely unrestricted outside declared shortages. State law protects your right to install Florida-Friendly Landscaping.
Bay County Water Restrictions & Lawn Watering
Few RestrictionsFla. Stat. § 373.185(3)(b)
A deed restriction or covenant may not prohibit or be enforced so as to prohibit any property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land.
Native Plants
Bay County encourages Florida-Friendly, native, drought-tolerant landscaping. State law protects your right to replace turf with native plantings, and an HOA cannot prohibit it. Native replanting is rebuilding canopy lost to Hurricane Michael.
Bay County Native Plant & Xeriscape Rules
Few RestrictionsFla. Stat. § 373.185(3)(b)
A deed restriction or covenant may not prohibit or be enforced so as to prohibit any property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land.
All Bay County ordinances
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