Flagler County, FL Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Sec. 26-55 of the Flagler County Code regulates landscaping and irrigation systems along county rights-of-way in the unincorporated county. Subsection (b)(5) addresses trees specifically: on divided or undivided county roads, trees may not be planted or allowed to remain within the clear recovery zone next to the traveled way, with the required minimum width of that zone set by the Florida Department of Transportation's Manual of Uniform Minimum Standards for Design, Construction and Maintenance for Streets and Highways (the Green Book). The same subsection extends onto private land: trees and other plants on private property may not overhang the right-of-way to the extent that they screen traffic sight distance at intersections.

Sec. 26-55(b)(1) separately bars planting or improving landscaping within the right-of-way without county engineer approval and a valid right-of-way utilization permit, and Sec. 26-55(b)(3) requires a 4-foot minimum mowing strip between plantings and the curb or pavement edge. Landscaping in a median or within 100 feet of a median nose is capped at 24 inches above road grade, and trees are normally barred from medians altogether unless clear-zone and sight-distance requirements allow it (Sec. 26-55(b)(2)). Poisonous or exotic pest plant species may not be planted in any dedicated or planned public right-of-way (Sec.

26-55(b)(6)). This is a county-road standard: it governs unincorporated Flagler County only and does not reach street trees inside Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Beverly Beach, Bunnell or Marineland, each of which regulates its own rights-of-way.