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

Section 29-3 of the City Code defines a specimen tree as any tree whose trunk has a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 18 inches or more, or whose combined multitrunk diameters reach that threshold, with narrow carve-outs for certain multitrunk palms, non-native ficus, and species already on the city's exempt invasive-tree list. Section 29-62 makes preservation the default: before approving removal of a specimen tree, Development Services must weigh the size and configuration of the property and proposed development, the tree's location relative to that development, whether it can be preserved under the plan or an alternative plan, its health and aesthetic qualities, and whether it poses a safety threat.

If preservation is not feasible, the department can require relocation under Section 29-66's transplanting standards before it will consider outright removal. When removal is approved, Section 29-62(e) doubles the standard replacement-tree requirement set in Section 29-64(b)(3), and if on-site or off-site replacement is not feasible, the permittee must contribute to the City of Homestead Tree Trust Fund, including an added payment for the specimen tree's irreplaceable aesthetic and environmental value under the fee schedule in Section 29-69. Section 29-62(f) allows an exemption from the doubled replacement, though not from the base replacement duty, when a registered landscape architect certifies the tree no longer provides a specimen tree's aesthetic or environmental value, when it poses a foreseeable safety risk, or when 50 percent or more of a multi-specimen site's trees and canopy are already being preserved.