4.9 · 462 Google reviews · Licensed & Insured
Tree Service in Clearwater, FL
Clearwater tree removal, trimming and stump grinding from a crew that has worked this city since 1989. ISA Certified Arborist. (727) 365-1803.
“Fast quote and when we decided it was time to remove our Oak, they were there on time and ready to get to work. They have all the equipment necessary for this huge job and work very efficiently.”
- 462 Google reviews
- Licensed & Insured
- ISA Certified Arborist on staff
- Pinellas since 1989
Clearwater is where Happy’s started in 1989 and it is still where most of our work happens. Thirty-seven years in one city means we have worked the same yards twice, the oak that was pruned in 1998 and removed in 2023, the palms replanted after one storm and cleaned up after the next.
One city, two completely different jobs
Clearwater is unusual among Pinellas cities because it owns ground on both sides of the intracoastal, and the tree work on each side has almost nothing in common.
East of the water, Countryside, Coachman Ridge, Skycrest, the streets running off Druid Road and either side of Ft. Harrison, is inland canopy: live oaks, laurel oaks, camphors and pines, on lots that were platted before anyone owned a bucket truck. Decay, root conflict with slabs and driveways, and end-weight on long horizontal limbs are the recurring problems.
West of the causeway, Clearwater Beach, Sand Key, Island Estates, is a salt environment: sabal and queen palms, sea grape, sand with almost no water-holding capacity, and lot frontages narrow enough that access decides the method before anyone looks at the tree. That side has its own page, because it deserves one.
Most tree companies quoting in this city are good at one of those two and guess at the other.
What we run here
We bring the machine the tree needs: a spider lift where a side yard is tight, bucket trucks and grapple trucks for the wood and the brush, and a crane on the picks that call for one. That matters in Clearwater specifically for two reasons: the older platted neighborhoods leave no drop zone, so the honest answer to a back-corner oak is usually a crane pick rather than a felling cut; and the method gets chosen for the lot rather than for convenience. Our estimate is true and honest: no hidden costs, no extras, no add-ons and no surprises.
Across the city we handle removal, pruning, palm work, stump grinding, cabling and bracing, storm response and haul-away, and an ISA Certified Arborist on staff looks at the tree before we quote a number.
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.
The permits: Clearwater writes its own rules
This is the part that catches people. The City of Clearwater runs its own tree code, and it is stricter than the county’s on the small end: a shade tree is protected from four inches DBH, and an accent tree from two inches. There is no homestead exemption and no 24-inch residential threshold here, that number belongs to unincorporated Pinellas County and does not reach city limits.
Clearwater does have unusually strong hazardous-tree relief, because its definition of "protected tree" excludes hazardous trees and its definition of hazardous expressly covers dead, diseased, broken, split, cracked, leaning and uprooted trees. But the code sets out no process for establishing that a tree qualifies, so we confirm with Planning & Development rather than assume. The full picture, with citations, is on the Clearwater tree permit page, including the reason Clearwater Beach and Island Estates are governed by it too.
Start here
- Tree removal in Clearwater, when a tree has to come out
- Tree trimming in Clearwater, pruning done to standard, not topped
- Clearwater tree permits, thresholds, fees, penalties
- Nearby: Clearwater Beach · Largo · Dunedin · all of Pinellas County
Frequently asked questions
Do you charge for an estimate? No. An estimate in Clearwater is free, and an ISA Certified Arborist looks at the tree, sometimes the answer is that it does not need to come down.
How fast can you get here? Working out of Clearwater means we are not routing from another county. Call for current scheduling, and say so if the tree is already failing.
Can you reach a tree in my back yard? Almost always. Between the crane, the spider lift and rope access, the constraint in Clearwater is usually staging room on the street rather than the tree itself.
Do you handle the permit? Yes. We check the parcel, file the application and schedule the crew around the approval.
Call (727) 365-1803 for a free estimate anywhere in Clearwater.
Google reviews
Rated 4.9 by 462 of your neighbors.
Reviews · Tree Service in Clearwater, 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.”
Every one of these lives on our public Google listing, where we cannot edit or delete a word. Read them all on Google →
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