Palm Coast, FL Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Per the City's Help Center, a permit is required to 'cut down, remove, damage or destroy by pruning' any tree with a trunk caliper of 6 inches or greater measured at 4.5 feet above grade, or any tree of 4-inch caliper or greater at 4.5 feet that was surveyed for credit. Substantive standards live in Land Development Code Chapter 11 — Tree Protection, Landscaping, Buffering and Irrigation. The City's Tree Pruning Regulations document (issued by Palm Coast Building) requires ANSI A300 pruning practices and prohibits 'hat-racking' or topping. FS 163.045 (Tree pruning, trimming, or removal on residential property) provides that 'A local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for the pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on a residential property if the property owner obtains documentation from an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree presents a danger to persons or property.' The assessment must follow ANSI/ISA Best Management Practices — Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition (2017). The exemption applies only to single-family detached residences actively used as such; multifamily, commercial, ROW and surveyed-for-credit trees still require Chapter 11 review.