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

Point Washington's tree protection standard, in Appendix NP-5 to the Land Development Code, names three species as protected once they reach eighteen inches in diameter at breast height: Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), and Long Leaf Pine (Pinus palustria, as printed in the plan). Removing, destroying, or damaging a qualifying tree anywhere in the roughly 112-acre, 62-parcel overlay requires a clearing permit from Walton County Planning and Development Services before the work begins; the requirement applies to property owners, builders, contractors, landscapers, and any business or firm operating on the property.

The plan exempts single-family dwelling construction where the protected tree sits within ten feet of the building footprint, sites where the tree stands in an area needed for required infrastructure, utility line maintenance and construction limited to the area necessary for the work, clearing for a right-of-way built to county roadway standards, listed invasive or noxious species, and trees that are diseased, insect-ridden, or weakened to the point of being a hazard. A protected tree removed without a permit or a qualifying exemption must be replaced at the developer's or owner's expense with the same species and an equivalent total combined caliper to what was removed.

The eighteen-inch threshold and species list are specific to Point Washington; the newer Old Seagrove Neighborhood Plan Overlay District, adopted in 2025, protects Live Oak and Hickory at a much smaller eight-inch diameter and Southern Magnolia at six inches, so the protected-tree rule is not uniform across Walton County's neighborhood plans.