Boca Raton, FL Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

The development services director recommends candidate trees for specimen or historic status; the city manager reviews the recommendation and adds comments, then the city council votes to accept, modify or deny it by ordinance under Sec. 27-44. The code separately defines the two labels in Sec. 27-37: a "historic tree" is one found by the development services director to be of notable historic interest because of its age, type, size or historic association and formally recorded, while a "specimen tree" is one determined to be of high value based on type, size or other professional criteria and likewise recorded in the city's official files.

Designation carries teeth: under Sec. 27-39(a), any property with a designated specimen or historic tree falls under the tree article's protections even where an ordinary single-family yard would otherwise be exempt, and Sec. 27-66 bars anyone from cutting down, destroying, removing, moving or effectively killing a specimen or historic tree without first obtaining a tree permit from the inspection division. Permit applications go through the development services department's review under Sec. 27-71, and removal is only approved under the narrow criteria of Sec. 27-73, such as disease, safety hazards, utility conflicts or an approved final development order. Protective barriers must also be installed around any tree required to be preserved during nearby construction under Sec. 27-45(7).