Tree Protection in Lee County, FL (2026)
3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Lee County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Heritage & Protected Trees
Lee County rewards developers for saving big trees instead of clearing them: under LDC § 10-416(a)(4), a preserved native heritage tree with at least a 20-inch caliper trunk counts five times over toward a project's general tree requirement. Remove one anyway, and the replacement tree only counts once, at a straight 1:1 ratio.
Lee County's 5:1 Heritage Tree Credit
Some RestrictionsLee County Land Development Code § 10-416(a)(4)
(4)Heritage trees. For large developments, effort must be made to preserve native heritage trees with at least a 20-inch caliper DBH. Preserved heritage trees may be counted at a 5:1 credit ratio towards the general tree requirement. If a heritage tree must be removed from a site, then a replacement native canopy tree with a minimum 20-foot height must be planted within an appropriate open spac...
Protected Tree Species
Unincorporated Lee County protects only the tree species named in the Land Development Code's Appendix E; those trees cannot be cut, injured or removed without a County permit, while unlisted species may be cleared freely so long as protected trees nearby aren't disturbed.
Protected Tree Species List in Lee County
Significant RestrictionsLee County Land Development Code §§ 14-380, 14-411
Any tree delineated in Appendix E shall henceforth be a protected tree and shall thereby come under the provisions of this article, except those trees exempted pursuant to Section 14-377. All other species of trees not named in Appendix E may be removed without a permit, but only in such a manner so as not to disturb or destroy surrounding protected trees. ... No person, organization, society, ...
Parkway Planting
New streets in unincorporated Lee County come with a planting bill of specifics: LDC § 10-296(5) requires 75 percent native Florida species among required street trees, minimum ten-foot height and two-inch caliper at installation, five-foot clearance from underground utilities for palms and ten feet for shade trees, and a two-inch mulch ring at least 24 inches wide around every new tree, with cypress mulch banned outright.
Lee County's Street Tree and Mulch Rules
Some RestrictionsLee County Land Development Code § 10-296(5)a, d, e
(5)Landscaping.a.Grassing and mulching. Prior to the acceptance of the streets or the release of the security, the developer will be responsible for ensuring that all swales, parkways, medians, percolation areas and planting strips are sodded, seeded or planted and mulched in accordance with Section 570 of the FDOT standard specifications....d.Tree/plant installation. Horizontal separation betw...
Tree Protection by City in Lee County
2 cities in Lee County have their own tree protection rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All Lee County ordinances
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