Tree Removal Permits in Boynton Beach

Boynton Beach writes its tree permit around four verbs and one measurement. Removal, relocation, replacement or substantial alteration of a tree with a caliper of three inches or greater, and of a palm carrying six feet or more of clear wood, requires a Landscape Permit under Chapter 2, Article II, Section 5.C of the Land Development Regulations. Caliper is measured six inches from the ground. 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?

Chapter 4, Article I carries the short title City Tree Preservation Ordinance, and it applies to real property intended for development or redevelopment and to removal activity initiated by the property owner or an agent of the owner. The Landscape Permit standard is written around the tree and the palm rather than around the property class, so a commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel and an institutional campus meet the same two measurements.

The two Palm Beach County articles we read do not create a general permit to remove an ordinary tree, so on a removal in Boynton Beach the city rule is the one that governs. A separate county obligation does reach inside city limits: the countywide invasive non-native vegetation ordinance applies in incorporated areas except where a municipal ordinance conflicts, and our Palm Beach County guide sets out what it requires. The exemption list at Section 5.C.2 names individually platted lots with single-family homes or duplexes in residential zoning districts, provided they do not have a plan approved under Chapter 4, Articles I and II, or they do not contain specimen trees. The Director of Planning and Zoning may also waive the article during a hurricane or flood.

What Needs a Permit

Chapter 4, Article I, Section 2 states that no plant material or vegetation shall be cut down, moved or removed, destroyed or effectively damaged without first securing the necessary city approvals, then names the routes to it: site plan review, a land development permit, a Landscape Permit and a right-of-way permit. Effectively damaged sits beside removed in that sentence, which reaches work that leaves a tree damaged without the tree coming down.

Work in a right-of-way runs on a separate permit. Chapter 2, Article III, Section 4 applies it to ancillary activities including installing new plant material and removing, destroying, pruning or cutting any existing tree, shrub or similar plant. Chapter 4, Article II, Section 4.A.11 repeats that for any tree on a street or alley or on city property, and puts planting there under the Forestry and Grounds Manager.

Two categories move on tracks of their own. Hazardous and diseased trees and palms may be removed under the supervision of an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a Florida licensed landscape architect, who notifies the Director with a condition assessment report and photos before removal, with comparable replacement tree-for-tree unless the Director waives it. Category I species on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council list are prohibited within the city, and a Landscape Permit still approves their removal.

What It Costs

The number that decides a budget here is caliper inches rather than the permit fee, because the code publishes the replacement standard and leaves fees to a schedule the City Commission approves. Chapter 4, Article I, Section 4 requires that all existing trees and palms not preserved in place or relocated on site be mitigated by replacement on site or by payment in lieu of replacement.

The replacement table in that section sets the exchange rate. The cumulative caliper inches of existing trees to be removed are replaced on site with an equal or greater number of caliper inches of replacement trees. Trees rated poor are replaced tree-for-tree. Palms are replaced palm-for-palm, comparable or the same species to the extent possible. Replacement trees for mitigation may not be substituted by palms, while replacement of palms may be substituted by trees.

Condition rating moves a tree between those rows, and the code requires it to be determined by an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a Florida licensed landscape architect. Payment in lieu becomes available where the Director determines that replacement is not feasible for lack of available planting space, and that money goes to the Tree Canopy Trust Fund at a schedule the City Commission sets by resolution.

What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit

Taking the tree out first does not take away the measurement. Where trees or palms are removed before a Landscape Permit is approved and the calipers cannot be determined from any remnants, Chapter 4, Article I, Section 4 has the city calculate replacement from the canopy area removed in square feet, established by aerial photography, by photos, or by review of a tree survey. Replacement canopy credit then equals the canopy area removed.

Table 4-1-b sets what each replacement earns against that area. A tree that spreads at least 30 feet in diameter at maturity is credited 200 square feet, a tree spreading less than 30 feet is credited 120 square feet, a large canopy palm 100 square feet and a small canopy palm 60 square feet.

Chapter 4, Article I, Section 9 hands enforcement to Chapter 1, Article I, Section 7 of the Land Development Regulations. Where no specific penalty is provided, the maximum is a fine not exceeding $500.00 or imprisonment not in excess of 60 days, or both, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. The city may also bring a civil action in circuit court and may order work stopped. On right-of-way work started without a valid permit, 100 percent of a permit fee is assessed.

What to Check With Your Contractor

Boynton Beach polices the cut as well as the removal. Chapter 4, Article II, Section 4.A.13 requires existing and newly installed trees to be trimmed under the supervision of a certified arborist to International Arborist Association standards. Material not pruned to those standards must be removed and replaced on the site, and the total diameter inches of the new trees must equal the total diameter inches of the improperly pruned trees. During clearing and construction, protective barriers go around the trees to be kept, and equipment, materials, debris and fill stay outside them.

What to Do Next

Three things are worth settling before tree work is scheduled in Boynton Beach. Whether the trees and palms in scope cross three inches of caliper or six feet of clear wood, measured where the code says to measure. What the replacement obligation comes to in caliper inches once condition has been rated. And whether any tree stands in a right-of-way or has been designated a specimen tree, because both change which permit runs.

We settle those before quoting. We inspect the trees and palms, record species, size and condition, prepare the arborist report where the application calls for one, file the permit, install protection barriers, and handle replacement planting or the payment in lieu where mitigation applies. 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, 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 Boynton Beach. See landscaping services in Boynton Beach.

The information presented on this page was accurate as of 9 September 2026.

Related Services

• Tree Care (Overview)
• Tree Trimming & Pruning
• Root Pruning
• Palm Tree Care
• Palm Tree Strapping
• Tree Removal
• Invasive Tree Species Removal
• Emergency Tree Services
• Tree Health & Risk Assessments
• Tree Inventory & Management Plans