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

Land Development Code § 5-83(d) lists the trees the city protects from removal, impact, or damage without an approved environmental management permit, and subsection (d)(2)e places 'any patriarch tree' on that list regardless of size or location. LDC § 1-2 defines a patriarch tree as one 'designated as a patriarch or state champion tree by the state division of forestry, or an exceptional specimen shade tree of 36 inches diameter at breast height or larger.' The protection is pointed: § 5-83(c)(3) exempts owners of single-family detached lots from needing a permit to remove trees up to 36 inches in diameter during and after development, but that exemption applies only to 'non-patriarch trees,' so a patriarch tree on a house lot still needs a permit no matter its size.

Inside the Multi-Modal Transportation District, § 5-83(e) doubles the stakes on both sides of the ledger: the code directs that 'top priority shall be given to preserving, protecting and developing around existing patriarch trees including providing double tree credits and debits,' so a builder who preserves a patriarch tree there banks twice the mitigation credit of an ordinary protected tree, while removing one costs twice the debit. The director decides removal permits by balancing tree health, size and form against the density the comprehensive plan allows, and an applicant who disagrees can appeal to the environmental board for a hearing. Removing a patriarch tree, or any protected tree, without a permit triggers § 5-83(j)(4)'s enhanced replanting penalty rather than the standard debit schedule.