St. Johns County, FL Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- LDC § 4.01.05.C.6
- Development freeze
- 4 years after ag tree clearing
- Freeze exception
- 80 D.B.H. inches canopy per acre
- Not exempted
- Historic and Specimen Trees
- Covered uses
- Nurseries, farms, ranches, silviculture
- Burden of proof
- On the landowner claiming exemption
Summary
St. Johns County exempts working farms, ranches, nurseries and silviculture operations from the tree-removal permit that applies to everyone else. Land Development Code Section 4.01.05.C.6 lets a Bona Fide Agricultural or Silvicultural Use clear even Protected Trees without a permit, though Historic and Specimen Trees stay off-limits and a four-year building freeze follows if the land is later developed for anything else.
6. Any activity conducted on land operating as a Bona Fide Agricultural Use or Silvicultural Use such as a commercial nursery, farm, wetland enhancement, wetland creation areas, ranch or similar operations. This exemption shall include the purposeful Removal of a Protected Tree or Trees excluding Historic and Specimen Trees. When Land Clearing or Protected Tree Removal has been performed under this exemption based upon the Use of the property for an Agricultural Use, no County Development approvals shall be given for any non- ... Agricultural Use or Improvement on the same site within four (4) years of the completion of such Land Clearing or Protected Tree Removal. However, the four (4) year rule shall not apply if the land to be developed has maintained at least eighty (80) D.B.H inches per acre. Existing Bona Fide Agricultural and Silvicultural Operations may continue, within Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) and Planned Rural Developments (PRDs) when allowed with the ordinance establishing the PUD or PRD district.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
C of the county's Land Development Code lists activities that are lawful without a tree-removal permit, and item 6 covers any activity conducted on land operating as a Bona Fide Agricultural Use or Silvicultural Use, naming commercial nurseries, farms, wetland enhancement and creation areas, and ranches as examples. The exemption reaches the purposeful removal of a Protected Tree, something the general code otherwise requires a permit to touch, but it stops at Historic and Specimen Trees, which the ordinance does not exempt. The provision also builds in a guardrail against using the farm exemption as a backdoor to clear a lot for development: once Land Clearing or Protected Tree Removal has happened under the agricultural exemption, the county will not approve any non-agricultural use or improvement on that same site for four years from the date the clearing was completed.
) inches of tree canopy per acre on the land. Operations that predate a Planned Unit Development or Planned Rural Development may keep operating inside one of those districts if the ordinance that created the PUD or PRD allows it. C exemption list also puts the burden of proof on the landowner: whoever claims an exemption has to be ready to show the county the land genuinely qualifies as a Bona Fide Agricultural or Silvicultural operation. 461, Florida Statutes.
Violations & Fines
There's no direct fine written into Section 4.01.05.C.6 itself: the consequence is a development freeze, not a citation. Clear protected trees under the agricultural exemption and then try to build a house, store or any non-agricultural improvement on that land within four years, and Growth Management will deny the development approval outright unless you can document at least eighty D.B.H. inches of retained tree canopy per acre. Removing a Historic or Specimen Tree under this exemption is not covered and can trigger enforcement under the county's general tree-protection provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does St. Johns County require a tree permit to clear farmland?
Can I clear trees under the farm exemption and then build a house?
Who has to prove the land qualifies as agricultural?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Johns County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare St. Johns County to another location·View the Florida right to farm overview
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