Port St. Lucie requires a tree removal permit before cutting down, moving, or destroying a protected tree, with replacement often required. Florida Statute 163.045 exempts homeowners who hold arborist documentation that a residential tree is dangerous.
Under Port St. Lucie's Landscape and Land Clearing Code, Section 154.14, no person may cut down, substantially alter, destroy, remove, relocate, or damage a protected tree within the city without first obtaining a tree removal permit; a separate land clearing permit governs clearing larger or environmentally sensitive parcels, and tree preservation or mitigation plans can be required. Unincorporated St. Lucie County applies its own Land Development Code tree protections. Statewide, Florida Statute 163.045 removes the permit, fee, and mitigation requirement for a residential tree when the owner holds documentation from an ISA-certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree is an unacceptable risk.
Removing a protected tree without a required permit exposes the owner to code enforcement fines and mandatory replacement or mitigation (often measured per inch of trunk diameter) under the city landscape code.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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St. Lucie County and Port St. Lucie have no ordinance banning backyard composting. Home compost piles are allowed but must not become a nuisance by attractin...
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Artificial turf is not banned outright, but Port St. Lucie's landscape code prohibits using synthetic or artificial material, including artificial turf, in p...
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Florida law protects your right to plant native, drought-tolerant, Florida-Friendly landscaping: a local ordinance may not prohibit any owner from implementi...
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St. Lucie County and its cities have no ordinance banning residential rain barrels or cisterns. Collecting rooftop rainwater for landscape use is legal and e...
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St. Lucie County follows the South Florida Water Management District year-round landscape irrigation rule. Odd-numbered addresses water Wednesday and Saturda...
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Port St. Lucie forbids owners of unimproved (vacant) property from letting weeds, grass, and undergrowth exceed twenty-four inches within fifteen feet of a r...
See how St. Lucie County's tree removal permits rules stack up against other locations.
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