Monroe County, FL Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Monroe County, FL, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Permit trigger
- any removal, pruning over 6" DBH
- Standard followed
- ANSI A-300 (2017) / Z133.1-2006
- Invasive exemption
- 10 or fewer stems, residential lots
- Hazard-tree exemption
- F.S. § 163.045, ISA arborist letter
- Annual pruning cap
- 25% of native canopy
Summary
In the unincorporated Florida Keys (Monroe County), removing any tree, of any size, or heavily pruning one over six inches in trunk diameter requires a development permit. The code exempts a handful of invasive-species stems on residential lots and a state arborist exemption for hazard trees, but otherwise every cut goes through Planning.
Except the removal of ten or fewer stems of invasive exotic plant species identified in Section 114-102(h), which are located on residential developed lots, and except for other exemptions provided herein, the removal of any tree regardless of size, or major pruning of any tree over six inches DBH, shall require a development permit. All such activity shall adhere to practices and principles set by the 2017 American National Standards Institute ("ANSI") A-300, Standards for Tree Care Operations: Tree, Shrub an Other Woody Plant Maintenance-Standard Practices, and Z133.l-2006 Arboricultural Operations: Pruning, Trimming, Repairing, Maintaining, and Removing Trees, and Cutting Brush-Safety Requirements. Excessive annual pruning of more than 25 percent of a native tree's canopy or other forms of tree abuse are subject to code compliance.
Full Breakdown
Section 114-103 of the Land Development Code requires a development permit before removing any tree regardless of size, or before major pruning of any tree measuring over six inches diameter at breast height. 1-2006 arboricultural safety standard, and pruning more than 25 percent of a native tree's canopy in a year, or other tree abuse, is treated as a code compliance matter even if a permit was issued. The section carves out two exemptions. First, removing ten or fewer stems of an invasive exotic species named in Section 114-102(h) from a residential developed lot needs no permit.
045. After a declared local emergency from a natural disaster, the Board of County Commissioners may temporarily suspend the permit requirement for major pruning or removal of native vegetation that poses an imminent danger, but the property owner must still document the work with before-and-after photographs. Clearing habitat beyond what is genuinely hazardous is not covered by any of these exemptions and remains subject to code compliance.
Violations & Fines
Removing or heavily pruning a tree without a permit, clearing habitat beyond a documented hazard, or exceeding the 25 percent annual canopy-pruning limit on a native tree is referred to Monroe County Code Compliance and can be heard by the Special Magistrate under Chapter 8, which can order mitigation planting, impose daily fines, and place a lien on the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to cut down a tree on my Keys property?
Can I remove a dangerous tree without a permit?
Can I clear invasive trees like Brazilian pepper without a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monroe County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Monroe County to another location·View the Florida landscaping rules overview
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