Charlotte County, FL Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Sec. 2 of the Charlotte County land development code governs perimeter landscaping, the planted space required between a public right-of-way and the property behind it, and it applies whenever a new parking area is constructed, with limited exemptions for single- and two-family residences and agricultural or excavation-and-mining zoned parcels. The baseline standard in subsection (b)(1)a requires an eight-foot-wide perimeter landscape strip screening the site from the right-of-way; subsection (b)(1)b lets parcels under 20,000 square feet narrow that strip to five feet, but only if at least three feet of pervious surface sits alongside it.

Subsection (b)(1)d sets the tree-planting rate directly: one tree for every 35 linear feet of perimeter landscape strip, or fraction thereof, though trees may be clustered within a section as long as no gap between trees in that section exceeds 50 feet. Where the frontage carries paved parking, Sec. 2(b)(2) layers on parking lot screening: a hedge or durable non-vegetative barrier at least three feet high must run the entire length of the strip except within sight triangles, with at least one shrub or vine planted every eight linear feet.

Every plant used to satisfy the strip has to come from the county's approved species list and meet the planting-standard minimums in Sec. 3-9-100(f), such as an eight-foot installed height for canopy trees counted toward tree points. A landscape plan showing the strip's dimensions, tree count, and species must be approved by the Community Development Department before the associated building permit is issued.