Martin County, FL Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 4.666 of the Martin County Land Development Regulations protects three groups of native trees. Any native hardwood with a diameter of eight inches DBH or greater is protected, and DBH means the diameter measured 54 inches above the naturally occurring ground level. In the perimeter area of a development site the line drops to four inches for native hardwoods, while native softwoods, pines included, stay at eight inches. Any tree inside a canopy road tree protection zone is protected as well, except prohibited trees. That zone is all land within 100 feet of the centerline of an existing road where the trees form a continuous canopy over the roadway.

Removal covers more than cutting. The code defines tree removal to include an unmitigated development impact to 25 percent or more of a protected tree's critical protection zone, any encroachment within three-fourths of the radius of that zone, and damage to 30 percent or more of the crown. Most of this applies to development sites. A certificate of occupancy is withheld until the division is satisfied, and single-family and duplex residences are exempt from every requirement except planting one tree per 3,000 square feet of site area and removing prohibited species. Removal of exotic, dead or diseased vegetation is exempt, and so is land used and permitted for agriculture.

Approval for removing a protected tree is granted only when the applicant shows at least one condition: the tree is a safety hazard to people, buildings, vehicular traffic or public services; it is diseased or pest-infested; removal reduces competition between trees or swaps exotics for natives; or removal is essential for reasonable use of the property. Under that last ground, construction equipment access is limited to a maximum width of 20 feet from the structure, and driveways and buildings qualify only where there is no other alternative.

The development must also preserve at least ten percent of the total number of protected trees on the site, unless the property would be precluded from reasonable use. An applicant who cannot meet the standard can propose an alternative landscape plan under § 4.667, which is approved only on a finding that it serves the division's purpose as well as or more effectively than strict compliance.