Sarasota County, FL Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Sarasota County Code § 54-582 defines a Grand Tree as any tree the Administrator determines meets the article's characteristics, or any tree designated a Florida State, United States or World Champion by the American Forestry Association. Section 54-586(4) sets the objective designation standard: Schedule A assigns a minimum point threshold by species (Live Oak, Bald Cypress, Hickory and Pine each need 100 points; Southern Magnolia and Sand Live Oak need 80), and Schedule B awards one point per inch of trunk diameter, one point per foot of height, and one point per four feet of average canopy spread, with every Grand Tree also required to carry a 70 percent or greater Condition Classification.

Once a lot is identified as holding a Grand Tree, § 54-586(2)(c) requires development applications submitted after October 30, 2002 to be designed around it; the Administrator or, on appeal, the Board may allow removal only for documented safety reasons or where preserving the tree would unreasonably prevent developing the lot, and for lots created after January 31, 2023 also where the tree blocks the only reasonable access point. Section 54-584(1)(d) separately prohibits causing Irreparable Injury to a Grand Tree without a Tree Permit, and § 54-587 requires the Administrator to notify a property owner by mail once a tree on the parcel is identified as a Grand Tree candidate.

Grand Tree pruning must also meet the Best Management Practices of § 54-588, and an owner-occupied residential lot exemption under § 54-585(1)(e) never extends to a Grand Tree, regardless of lot size.