Kissimmee, FL Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

City Code § 9-282 makes the property owner "jointly and severally responsible" for maintaining all landscaping on private property and in abutting rights-of-way. Subsection (4) sets the actual clearance numbers: turf and ground cover must stay trimmed to the sidewalk or street edge, and tree and shrub branches that grow out over a sidewalk need a minimum of seven feet of vertical clearance, rising to 14 feet over streets and alleys. The same section bans "hatracking or topping" (cutting limbs back to stubs over three inches in diameter that remove roughly a third or more of the canopy), except where storms have already damaged a tree or other pruning is impractical and the designated official grants an exemption.

Removing a tree over four inches in diameter on commercial property, or 30 inches on any other property, requires city authorization first under subsection (7). The city can inspect for compliance at any time (subsection 15), and if landscaping is found nonconforming after a certificate of occupancy issues, the designated official gives written notice describing the required fix and a deadline. If the owner does not correct the violation or appeal the notice, the city performs the trim or replacement itself and bills the owner, with a minimum charge of $300 based on man-hour and equipment-hour costs (subsection 16).

Dead or dangerous trees that endanger health, safety, or property follow a parallel notice-and-removal process under subsection (12), and unpaid city removal costs become a lien on the property, accruing interest after 30 days. All of this traces to Ord. No. 3098, adopted April 16, 2024, which rewrote article V of chapter 9.