What does the Biscayne Park tree provision cover?

Section 16.10 makes it unlawful for any person, unless otherwise permitted by the terms of the Miami-Dade County Code, as may be amended, to do tree removal work or to effectively destroy any tree without first obtaining a permit from the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources. Tree removal work and effectively destroy are both named, so the prohibition reaches damage as well as removal. The section at 16.10.1 is headed as a permit required for removal of nonexempt trees.

What does a tree removal permit cost in Biscayne Park?

The larger number is decided at the county level. Miami-Dade tree permit fees are set by separate administrative order approved by the Board of County Commissioners under Section 24-49.8 rather than printed in the code, so the figure is obtained from the county for the trees actually in scope. The village tree removal permit under Section 16.10 is a second amount, and TWQ Landscaping confirms it with the Village before quoting.

Which plants can be used for replanting in Biscayne Park?

The lists are set by the county. Lists of approved trees, shrubs and hedges, groundcovers and lawn grass, as well as prohibited plants, are designated in the Miami-Dade County Code and are incorporated by reference into the village code. All landscaping of residential lots shall conform to the minimum requirements of chapter 18A, Code of Miami-Dade County Landscaping Ordinance. Native species are preferred by design principle, on the stated ground that they need less water, fertilizer, and pesticides.

Tree Removal Permits in Biscayne Park

Q: Which permit comes first in Biscayne Park, the village one or the county one?

The county one. Section 16.10.1 of the village code provides that a village tree removal permit shall be issued provided a Metro-Dade County tree removal permit has been issued previously for the same tree. Prior county issuance for that specific tree is the express condition of village issuance, so the county timeline has to be built into the schedule before a start date is promised.

In Biscayne Park the village permit is sequenced behind the county one. Section 16.10.1 provides that a village tree removal permit shall be issued provided a Metro-Dade County tree removal permit has been issued previously for the same tree. The county permit has to be in hand first, for that specific tree, so the county timeline decides the start date. TWQ Landscaping prepares and files these applications, and our ISA Certified Arborist (NY-6948A) produces the supporting report where one is required.

Does This Apply to Your Property?

Section 16.10 is written about the act and the tree rather than about the owner. It makes it unlawful for any person to do tree removal work or to effectively destroy any tree without first obtaining a permit from the county. A commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel, a hotel or an institutional campus is read against that same sentence. Both verbs matter, because the prohibition reaches damage as well as removal.

The residential position runs through the county. Miami-Dade Section 24-49(4)(a) exempts trees in the yard area of an existing single-family residence. The exemption applies where the tree is not a specimen, is not in a natural forest community, and is not in the county right of way. A municipality is entitled to be stricter than the county, so the Village is worth a call before that exemption is relied on for a house. The village landscaping provisions separately require all landscaping of residential lots to conform to the minimum requirements of chapter 18A of the Miami-Dade County Code.

What Needs a Permit

Section 16.10.1 is headed as a permit required for removal of nonexempt trees, and its operative words are a sequence. A village tree removal permit shall be issued provided a Metro-Dade County tree removal permit has been issued previously for the same tree. Prior county issuance is the express condition of village issuance, and it attaches tree by tree. The condition has to be satisfied for every tree on the application.

Miami-Dade County runs the tree removal permit that the village sequences behind, and our Miami-Dade County guide sets out that layer. The village code names the county permitting office as the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources. Ask for the county tree permit by function rather than by department name, and confirm the current office before an application goes in.

The prohibition itself is drawn wide. It is unlawful for any person to do tree removal work, or to effectively destroy any tree, without first obtaining that county permit. The section qualifies that with the phrase unless otherwise permitted by the terms of the Miami-Dade County Code, as may be amended. Which trees fall outside the prohibition is therefore settled against the county code, since that is where the village points. We settle that question with both offices before a scope is priced.

What It Costs

The larger number is decided at the county level, so budget the county side first. Miami-Dade tree permit fees are set by separate administrative order approved by the Board of County Commissioners under Section 24-49.8, rather than printed in the code. That means the figure has to be obtained from the county for the trees actually in scope, on the day the application is prepared. We take it from the county rather than from a schedule published somewhere else.

The village tree removal permit under Section 16.10 is the second amount to settle. We confirm what the Village charges for it with Village Hall before quoting, rather than estimating it into a proposal. A board sizing this work should treat the county permit and its conditions as the number that moves the total. The village charge is carried as a confirmed addition on top of it.

What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit

The village states the prohibition, and the penalty and the cost sit with the county. Work done in breach of Section 16.10 is work done without the county permit that the section requires first. The exposure is therefore measured under the county regime rather than at the village counter. We confirm the current position with the county before any tree in scope is touched, and we put that in writing with the proposal.

The order of the paperwork is part of compliance here rather than a scheduling preference. Because Section 16.10.1 conditions village issuance on prior county issuance for the same tree, a village permit dated ahead of the county one is worth asking about. Two dates should appear in that order for every tree on the application, and a board reviewing a contractor's file can check that directly.

What to Check With Your Contractor

Ask to see the county tree removal permit for each specific tree before the crew is scheduled, and the village permit that followed it. Ask which office issued the county permit, since the village code names the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources and the current office is worth confirming. Then ask what the contractor has been told the county fee will be, and where that figure came from.

Replanting is not a free choice of species. The village landscaping and landscape design provisions, at Sections 8.3 and 10.5, take the plant lists from the county. Lists of approved trees, shrubs and hedges, groundcovers and lawn grass, as well as prohibited plants, are designated in the Miami-Dade County Code and are incorporated by reference into the village code. Native species are preferred by design principle, on the stated ground that they need less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. Public area landscaping should preserve native vegetation, stabilize soil against erosion, and maximize the shading of streets and vehicle use areas.

What to Do Next

Three things are worth settling before tree work is scheduled in Biscayne Park. Whether each tree in scope is exempt, which is answered against the county code the village points to. How long the county permit will take, since village issuance waits on it tree by tree. And what the two amounts are, the county fee under the administrative order and the village permit charge, each confirmed with the office that sets it.

We settle all three before quoting. We inspect the trees, document species, size and condition, prepare the arborist report where the application calls for one, file the county permit first and the village permit behind it, and plan replanting off the county lists. TWQ Landscaping handles tree permitting for the properties we maintain across Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade: community associations and condominiums, commercial and industrial sites, medical and senior living campuses, schools, religious campuses, hotels, multifamily rental, self-storage, dealerships, retail outparcels, marinas, mobile home communities, municipal grounds and mixed-use. Call (954) 583-4752 or request a proposal.

TWQ Landscaping maintains commercial and community association property in Biscayne Park. See landscaping services in Biscayne Park.

The information presented on this page was accurate as of 24 August 2026.

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