Homestead, FL Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Section 29-60(d) of the City Code lists activities exempt from Homestead's own tree-removal permit, such as removing dead trees, trees under two inches DBH near an existing single-family home, or species on the city's own invasive-tree list in Section 29-60(d)(6). Section 29-60(d)(8) specifically withholds that exemption structure from mangroves and wetland trees: removing, trimming, cutting or altering a mangrove tree, or removing any tree on land defined as wetlands under the Miami-Dade County Code, is not something a Homestead permit governs at all. Instead, that activity is subject to the county's own wetlands permitting requirements under Article II of Chapter 24 of the Miami-Dade County Code of Ordinances, wherever the mangrove sits within city limits, not only inside a mapped wetland.

This mirrors Section 29-62(a)(1), which directs Development Services to refer any site containing a portion of a Miami-Dade County-designated natural forest community to the county rather than process it under the city's own specimen-tree standards, and lets a property owner request that Miami-Dade DERM verify or adjust the boundaries of a designated natural forest community site. Together these provisions mean Homestead defers entirely to county wetlands and habitat jurisdiction for mangroves and wetland vegetation rather than layering its own removal permit on top.