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Tree Removal Permits in Tarpon Springs, FL
Tarpon Springs tree permit requirements plus the extra review that can apply to properties inside the historic district.
“Happy trees did an amazing job cutting my trees and providing information. Steve was really nice and knowledgeable. Great communication and pricing. Definitely will be using their service again!!”
- 462 Google reviews
- Licensed & Insured
- ISA Certified Arborist on staff
- Pinellas since 1989
Of every jurisdiction we work in, Tarpon Springs has the least forgiving tree code and the widest gap between what the ordinance says and what the state statute says. Both facts matter, and getting either wrong here is expensive: unpermitted removal is charged at four times the permit and replacement fees, each tree is a separate offense, and the City can recover its attorney’s fees.
The rules are Appendix A, Article X, §§ 133.00 through 133.10. (Chapter 19 of the Code is titled "Trees" and is empty, a repealed shell. Do not use it.) Planning & Zoning, 324 E. Pine Street, (727) 938-3711.
What is protected: three things wider than most codes
§ 133.02(D), the core prohibition:
…it shall be unlawful for any person to cut down, damage, top, poison or in any manner destroy or cause to be destroyed any tree regardless of condition with a DBH of 4 inches or more without a permit. Not more than one-third of the tree canopy shall be trimmed or pruned in any year unless it is dead. There shall be no "topping" of any trees.
"Regardless of condition" is doing real work in that sentence. A dead, declining or hazardous tree is still covered. Condition is a permit criterion under § 133.05 and a replacement waiver under § 133.06(F), it is never a permit exemption.
Then § 133.04(A) extends it: a permit is required to remove any mangrove variety, Cabbage Palm, or Sabal Palm no matter what size.
And the DBH arithmetic catches multi-stem trees (§ 133.01(E)): if the tree forks below two feet it is a multi-trunk tree, and DBH is the sum of the four largest trunks measured above the fork. A multi-stem ligustrum or crape myrtle that nobody would call a four-inch tree clears the threshold easily. This is the most commonly missed provision in the Tarpon code.
One more that surprises people, "Tree Removal" is defined at § 133.01(S) as any act which causes a tree to die within a period of two years, expressly including root damage from machinery, soil compaction, storage of materials, grade changes and paving near the root zone. A tree that dies eighteen months after a driveway pour can be charged as an unpermitted removal.
Mangroves are not merely permitted, they are prohibited. § 133.02(E): "in so far as the City can regulate mangroves then the trimming, cutting or Removal of mangroves is hereby prohibited." State authority over mangroves is delegated to Pinellas County.
What is exempt
§ 133.03 exempts trees under 4" DBH; transplanting on a platted lot under an acre with a valid CO; normal-maintenance trimming that does not mutilate, kill or effectively remove the tree; and a list of exotic species, acacia, Australian pine, avocado, Brazilian pepper, cherry laurel, chinaberry, Chinese tallow, citrus, ear, eucalyptus (except silver dollar), ficus (except banyan), Italian cypress, jacaranda, Jerusalem thorn, loquat, mango, monkey puzzle, Norfolk Island pine, orchid tree, poinciana, punk, silk oak, toog and woman’s tongue. That citrus, mango, avocado and loquat are exempt is genuinely useful and rarely known.
The palm lines contradict each other. The list exempts "Palms, except Cabbage Palm, Sabal Palm, Palmetto, and Royal Palm", Royal Palm not exempt, and on the very next line exempts "Palm, Roystonea spp.", which is the Royal Palm genus. The published code does not resolve it and no City interpretation was found. Confirm Royal Palm status with the City before anyone quotes a job.
There is no general storm exemption. The only emergency language, repeated in § 133.02(D) and § 133.04(A), requires (a) a declared state of emergency and (b) that the topping or excessive pruning be by or at the direction of a governmental agency, and on its face it addresses pruning, not removal. Storm damage instead appears as a permit criterion at § 133.05(A)(2) and as a replacement waiver.
The historic district
Tarpon Springs has the oldest continuously built streets in north Pinellas, and property inside the historic district can carry review requirements beyond the tree ordinance. We flag it here because the consequence of guessing is a violation rather than a delay: the tree sections at §§ 133.00–133.10 do not themselves impose a historic-district review, and the city does not publish whether its Heritage Preservation Board’s certificate-of-appropriateness process reaches tree work. If your property is a contributing structure or sits inside the district, ask Planning & Zoning at (727) 938-3711 whether anything applies on top of the tree permit. We ask on our customers' behalf, and we do not schedule the crew until we have the answer.
Start here
Send us a photo of the tree.
You do not have to know whether it needs to come down. That is the part we are for.
- One photo, whole tree in frameTrunk base to top. A close-up of anything that looks wrong helps.
- Text us the photoThe text button below opens the right thread. Add your street and city.
- We come out and lookEvery estimate is in person, free, sometimes the answer is that it needs nothing.
Replacement, inch for inch, with a published fee table
§ 133.06(E): one DBH inch for each DBH inch removed, or a fee in lieu. The rates, for an individual single-family residential lot presently occupied by the owner:
| DBH of tree removed | Fee in lieu |
|---|---|
| 4" to under 10" | $10.00 per inch |
| 10" to under 20" | $20.00 per inch |
| 20" to under 30" | $40.00 per inch |
| 30" and greater | $50.00 per inch |
All other developments or properties: $25, $50, $75 and $100 per inch by size band. Cabbage/Sabal Palm: $10.00 per DBH inch, or like-for-like, or one shade-tree inch per three palm inches.
The rate applies to every inch at the band the tree falls in. A 24-inch live oak on an owner-occupied lot sits in the 20"–under-30" band at $40 an inch: 24 × $40 = $960 in lieu of planting 24 inches of replacement.
Replacement is waived, mandatorily, "shall waive", under § 133.06(F) where the City finds the tree is dying with no reasonable remedy, in immediate danger of falling, significantly endangering structures, endangering pavement or utilities in a way that threatens property or life, or creating unsafe visibility pruning cannot fix. Subsection (7) adds a specific one: a tree or cluster under 19" DBH inside the primary building pad, foundation line, pool or pool patio pad, or within 15 feet of a garage or carport entrance, where those structures cannot be relocated. In every case the permit is still required and the application fee is still due, only the replacement goes away.
Applying, and the 4× penalty
For an existing house with no construction, § 133.04(C) is light: a drawing with the lot shape and dimensions, existing structures, the trees to be removed identified by name with DBH, any replacement proposal, and a written statement of why. The form’s basic site-plan box satisfies it. Where a development permit is involved, § 133.04(D) requires a signed and sealed topographic survey and a Tree Survey signed by an ISA certified arborist.
Application fees from the form: $50.00 each for an existing single-family or two-family residence, multifamily, commercial or land clearing; $100.00 each for new construction; initial inspection free; reinspection $40. **The word "each" is not defined on the form and the code does not say whether that is per application or per tree, one question to the city settles it on a multi-tree job. The form is blunt about sequencing: "No trees shall be removed until a tree removal permit has been issued" and "Payment of the application fee does not constitute approval to remove any tree." Permits expire in six months.
We do not publish a turnaround time. § 133.04(F) requires an on-site inspection before issuance but sets no clock.
Then § 133.09:
(D)
willful removal in violation is charged at 4 times the permit and replacement fees. Worked from the code’s own tables, a 24" oak on an owner-occupied lot: 4 × ($960 + $50) = $4,040 for one tree.
(E)
each tree removed is a separate offense, and mitigation is required regardless.
(F)
mangrove violations add 1:1 wetland mitigation on top.
(G)
the City may seek injunctive relief and is entitled to its attorney’s fees.
(B)(2)
a Stop Work Order is directed not only at the landowner but at "the person or firm actually performing the physical labors."
That last one is why our crews do not put a saw in a Tarpon Springs tree before the permit is on site.
The City’s ISA arborist, and where the statute fits
Tarpon Springs' code has never been amended to reflect Florida Statute § 163.045, the sections were last touched in 2015, four years before the statute existed, and a full-text search returns zero hits for it. The City reconciles the gap on its website instead, and it offers something no other city here does:
The city will continue to assist our residents by having an ISA Certified Arborist on staff conducting the required inspection for hazardous trees… A record of the inspection and a report will be generated and kept on file within the Building Department. The fee for residents is currently $50.
Two cautions. The City’s page states the statute’s 2019 "presents a danger" wording in its first paragraph before separately noting the 2022 revision; the controlling standard today is unacceptable risk. And The published code does not confirm that the City’s $50 inspection produces documentation in the form the statute requires, the page does not say the report is issued as an ISA Tree Risk Assessment BMP, 2nd Edition assessment signed by the certified arborist. Ask Building Development before assuming the City inspection alone satisfies the statute. The statute is explained in full here.
Frequently asked questions
My cabbage palm has to come out. Do I need a permit? Yes. Cabbage Palms and Sabal Palms are protected at any size in Tarpon Springs, one of very few places in Florida where that is true.
Can I trim my oak back hard before hurricane season? Not more than one-third of the canopy in a calendar year. Beyond that it is "topping," which is prohibited outright, and topped trees have to be replaced with the same species at a number of trees equivalent to the total DBH inches destroyed.
The tree is dead. Surely that is exempt? No. § 133.02(D) says "any tree regardless of condition." Condition can waive the replacement under § 133.06(F), mandatorily, but never the permit.
Does the county’s 24-inch homesteaded threshold help me? No. That is a Pinellas County rule for unincorporated property. Tarpon Springs is dramatically stricter, and by the county’s own conflict rule the city ordinance governs inside city limits.
Verified against the Tarpon Springs Code, Appendix A, Art. X §§ 133.00–133.10 (Supp. No. 2026 S-60) and the City’s published Tree & Site Information page as of July 2026. Ordinances change, if a detail matters to your decision, confirm the current text with the city first.
Call (727) 365-1803. See also tree service in Tarpon Springs and tree removal in Tarpon Springs.
Google reviews
Rated 4.9 by 462 of your neighbors.
Reviews · Tree Removal Permits in Tarpon Springs, FL
4.9
462 reviews on Google, the count on our public Google listing
“This was the second time I'd hired Happy's to take down some dead trees and I couldn't be happier with the job they did. First off they gave me a great price for the amount of work I needed done.”
“We were looking for a tree service with a certified arborist. We got just what we needed with Happy Tree Service. Steve gave an estimate and knowledgeable advice. They arrived on time did an excellent job and cleaned up all debris. We recommend them and will use them again.”
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