4.9 · 462 Google reviews · Licensed & Insured
Tree Service in Dunedin, FL
Dunedin tree service with the city's tree rules handled up front - removal, pruning, palms and stumps. ISA Certified Arborist on staff. (727) 365-1803.
“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
In most Pinellas cities the tree is the problem and the paperwork is an afterthought. In Dunedin it is the other way round, and a homeowner who does not know that finds out in the middle of a project.
Dunedin requires a permit to remove any protected tree, the code says "including dead trees", and it requires a permit to prune a Grand Tree. The fine for getting it wrong is twice the permit rate, which the City publishes as $120 per DBH inch on an existing single-family home and $240 per inch on anything else, and unpaid sums become a lien on the property. So the first thing we do on a Dunedin job is establish what the tree is.
What that means in practice
A protected tree here is anything four inches or greater in trunk diameter at 4.5 feet, other than nineteen exempt species. A Grand Tree has to clear a species-and-size table, 36" DBH for live oak and laurel oak, 30" for American elm and sand live oak, 28" for the cypresses, pines, magnolias, hickory and red cedar, and score at least 4.0 on the City’s own condition rating.
Grand Tree pruning has to be done by or under the direct supervision of an "Approved Arborist," which Dunedin’s code defines as ISA Certified or an ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist. That is not a marketing distinction here; it is a condition of doing the work legally. We have an ISA Certified Arborist on staff and we are an ISA member company.
Dunedin also sets a hard insurance floor for anyone doing paid tree work in the city: a current City occupational license, workers' compensation, and general liability of at least $500,000 written specifically for a tree service company, the code says landscape or lawn maintenance liability does not qualify. It is worth asking every bidder for that certificate, not just us. And a paid crew may not leave tree debris at the curb for City pickup; it has to be hauled off. Ours goes with us.
Full rules with citations on the Dunedin tree permit page.
Two climates, two miles apart
Dunedin is narrow, and the tree stock changes fast across it. The Edgewater Drive and Causeway strip is salt-exposed and wind-scoured, palms, sea grape, salt-tolerant natives, with the same aerosol burn you see on the barrier islands. Two miles inland along Curlew and Patricia, and around the Hammock Park side, the ground supports a proper inland hammock: live oaks, laurel oaks, cabbage palms, hickory. The same species behaves differently on either side of that line, and so does the right treatment.
Running through the middle of it is the Pinellas Trail, which changes access on a lot of the older blocks, 50-foot lots, a house, a trail corridor and no rear approach.
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.
What we run here
The equipment is chosen for the tree rather than the other way round: a spider lift for a tight side yard, bucket trucks and grapple trucks for the wood and brush, a crane on the technical picks. On Dunedin’s older grid a crane is often the only way to take a stem out without touching a neighbor’s roof.
Removals, ANSI-standard pruning, Grand Tree work under our arborist, palm maintenance, stump grinding, cabling and bracing, storm response.
Where to go next
- Tree removal in Dunedin, oaks older than the houses, on 50-foot lots
- Tree trimming in Dunedin, the 25% rule, and why topping is unlawful here
- Dunedin tree permits, thresholds, Grand Trees, tree bank rates, penalties
- Nearby: Clearwater · Palm Harbor · Safety Harbor · all of Pinellas County
Frequently asked questions
My tree is dead. Do I still need a permit in Dunedin? On the face of the code, yes, § 105-35.9 says so in parentheses. Anyone telling you otherwise is describing a different city.
How much of my oak can I have taken off? No more than 25% of live foliage in any twelve-month period, and topping is unlawful outright. If it is a Grand Tree, the pruning itself needs a permit.
Does the county’s 24-inch homesteaded threshold apply? No. That is a Pinellas County rule for unincorporated property. Dunedin protects everything from four inches, dead trees included, and being stricter it is what governs inside city limits.
Is it worth having the tree looked at before I decide? In Dunedin especially, yes. Removal here is expensive in fees and mitigation, and the City will deny a permit for a tree with sufficient health and structure to warrant preservation. Knowing which category yours is in changes the whole conversation.
Call (727) 365-1803 for a free estimate anywhere in Dunedin.
Google reviews
Rated 4.9 by 462 of your neighbors.
Reviews · Tree Service in Dunedin, FL
4.9
462 reviews on Google, the count on our public Google listing
“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.”
“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!!”
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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