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

Under the city's Land Development Code, a "historical tree" is any tree or group of trees the City designates historical because of its location on a historically significant property, its relationship to a historic event, its unique relationship to the heritage of Pompano Beach, or simply because it is at least 75 years old (§ 155.5204, definitions in Article 9, Part 5). That designation matters because § 155.5204.B.2.b carves out a broad exemption for ordinary trees: an owner-occupied single-family or duplex lot of one acre or less can remove any non-specimen, non-historical tree without a Tree Permit, as long as the property still meets the minimum tree count and height standards of §§ 155.5203.B.2.g.ii and 155.5203.C.

Historical trees are expressly excluded from that carve-out, so removing one still requires a Tree Permit reviewed by the Development Services Director under the removal findings in § 155.5204.C, such as proof the tree is dead, diseased, hazardously close to a structure, or blocking safe vehicular sight lines. If a historical tree cannot be relocated, § 155.5204.E.1.b.ii requires the owner to replace it with trees whose combined purchase price equals the removed tree's appraised dollar value, an appraisal an ISA Certified Arborist must prepare under Rule 14-40.030, Florida Administrative Code, rather than the simpler inch-for-inch replacement used for ordinary trees.

An owner who removes a historical tree before securing a permit still has to apply after the fact, and that late application carries a doubled fee under § 155.5204.B.3.