Daytona Beach, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

A, Tree Preservation, requires most development in the City to retain at least 15 percent tree canopy coverage and protect qualifying specimen and historic trees before a Tree Removal Permit, Site Plan, Planned Development or Building Permit is approved. The Land Development Code carves the seven nuisance species out of every one of those protections. c(v), removing a nuisance tree is one of the activities exempt from the section's requirements entirely, so no Tree Removal Permit review is needed to take one down. a(i) goes further: when multifamily, mixed-use or nonresidential projects calculate the six diameter-inches of retained trees required per 2,500 square feet of site to satisfy canopy coverage, nuisance trees (along with historic trees) cannot be counted toward that total.

a excludes nuisance trees from qualifying as a 'specimen tree' no matter their trunk diameter, a status that otherwise forces retention of large healthy trees at 12 inches DBH or greater; pine trees get the same carve-out. Practically, this means a homeowner or developer can clear Brazilian pepper or Australian pine on a lot without filing paperwork, but cannot lean on those same trees to hit landscaping or tree-canopy minimums elsewhere on the site. Because the exemption turns on correctly identifying the species, City staff can still require documentation, and misclassifying a protected oak or other species as a 'nuisance tree' converts the removal into an unpermitted tree removal under the Code.