Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Hallandale Beach?

Section 29-4(a) of the Hallandale Beach Code of Ordinances provides that no person shall directly or indirectly cut down, destroy, remove or move, or effectively destroy through damaging, or authorize any of those acts, on any trees situated on property described in the chapter, without a permit. Because authorizing the work is named alongside doing it, a board that approves a scope of work sits inside the section alongside the contractor.

Can I remove the tree if Hallandale Beach misses the 30 day review deadline?

Section 29-4 directs the department of development services to take all steps to ensure a decision on the application within 30 days, and provides that where more time is required a request in writing stating a specified extension of time shall be made to the applicant. The same provision states that expiration of the review time does not entitle the applicant to remove the trees which are subject to the application.

What does tree replacement cost in Hallandale Beach?

For payment in lieu, the applicant submits three cost estimates prepared by a licensed nursery reflecting the dollar value of the trees being removed, based on species, height, diameter and maturity. The city determines the accuracy of the estimates. The applicant pays the accepted estimate plus installation, and installation costs are equal to twice the cost of the trees. Specimen trees are appraised by the city instead, under the Guide for Plant Appraisal, Eighth Edition, as amended by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers.

What is the penalty for removing a tree without a permit in Hallandale Beach?

Section 29-10(a) provides that on conviction a violator of any provision of the chapter is punished in accordance with the penalties provided by Section 1-8, and that each tree cut down, destroyed, removed or moved in violation of the chapter is a separate violation. Where the natural habit of growth of a tree is destroyed the violator installs a replacement tree, and the abused tree is removed if it threatens public safety or property. Remedial actions and replacement are completed within 60 days of notice from the city.

Tree Removal Permits in Hallandale Beach

The department of development services is directed to take all steps to ensure a decision on a tree permit application within 30 days. Section 29-4 then adds a line worth reading twice: expiration of the review time does not entitle the applicant to remove the trees which are subject to the application. The clock running out creates no right to cut, so it is the permit that releases a crew, not the 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?

Hallandale Beach holds a certified tree ordinance and enforces it in lieu of county enforcement, so the city is the counterparty on a permit rather than the county. That certification is not permanent. Section 29-4(a) reaches any trees situated on property described in the chapter. A commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel, a hotel and an institutional campus are read against the same words.

The residential position runs through the county. Broward County Section 27-408(a)(3)(c) exempts removal of any tree on owner-occupied residential property of one acre or less developed for detached single-family or duplex use. Previously preserved or replaced trees sit outside that exemption, as do historical and specimen trees. Certified municipalities administer their own program and may be stricter than the county, so which one governs a house is worth confirming with the city.

What Needs a Permit

Section 29-4(a) bars any person from cutting down, destroying, removing or moving a tree without a permit, directly or indirectly. The same sentence reaches effectively destroying a tree through damaging it, and it reaches authorizing any of those acts. The rule binds whoever authorizes the work as well as whoever does it, so a board that approves a scope of work sits inside the section alongside the crew. No city official may issue a permit in violation of the chapter.

Dead and terminally diseased trees carry a duty and a permit at once. Section 29-9(a) makes all owners of real property in the city responsible for removing dead or terminally diseased trees from their property. Except as otherwise stated in the chapter, that removal shall require a permit. The owner has to take the tree down and cannot act on that duty without filing first.

Section 29-5 exempts the city's list of prohibited trees and noncredit species from the chapter, other than under Sections 29-4(d) and 29-9. A further exception covers a tree that will cause a continual disruption of service, and specimen palms may be removed under it. The section also lets municipal or franchised utilities, water control districts and their authorized agents prune in a manner that would otherwise be tree abuse. It covers pruning that prevents service interruptions or restores interrupted service, and runs to those parties rather than to a tree service working for a property owner.

What It Costs

The permit fee is not the number that decides a budget here, and it is not in the code either. Section 29-4(b) sets it by resolution, so the amount comes from the department of development services rather than the codified text, and we confirm it there before quoting. Governmental agencies are expressly exempted from permit fees. A certified tree survey is required when the property contains five or more trees, which is a cost to plan for before filing.

Payment in lieu has a published formula, and it triples the value of the tree. The applicant submits three cost estimates reflecting the dollar value of the trees being removed, based on species, height, diameter and maturity, and prepared by a licensed nursery. The city determines their accuracy. The applicant pays the accepted estimate plus installation, and installation costs are equal to twice the cost of the trees. Three nursery estimates take lead time, so this is not a counter transaction.

Specimen trees are priced by appraisal instead. Section 29-4(j) has the city appraise any specimen tree approved for removal, under the Guide for Plant Appraisal, Eighth Edition, as amended by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers. Section 29-4(f)(2) computes relocation bonds on a different benchmark, the most current version of the ISA Guide for Plant Appraisal. Two benchmarks in one section will not produce the same number, so settle which edition the reviewer applies. A relocation bond is drawn if the tree is effectively destroyed within one year of relocation.

Replacement stock is specified. Trees shall be Florida No. 1 quality or better, with a diameter equal to or greater than the diameter of the tree removed. More than one tree may be used where the diameters add up. Native trees must replace native canopy, and replacement canopy must at least equal what came out. Trees taken from the buildable area under Section 29-4(d)(1) carry an additional 50 percent replacement. Species diversity scales with the count, from one species at one to five replacement trees up to five at fifty-one or more.

What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit

Section 29-10(a) punishes a violator of any provision of the chapter, on conviction, under the penalties provided by Section 1-8. Each tree cut down, destroyed, removed or moved in violation of the chapter is a separate violation. Counting by tree is what changes the exposure on a common area job. Section 29-10(c) adds that where the natural habit of growth of a tree is destroyed, the violator installs a replacement tree. The abused tree is removed if it threatens public safety or property.

Remedial action and replacement are completed within 60 days of notice from the city. Sections 29-4(i) to (k) put a matching obligation on tree abuse. The city determines the remedial action, which can include the removal of severely abused trees to protect public safety and property. Corrective pruning to improve the health and form of affected trees is named too. Where the abused tree's natural habit of growth is destroyed, replacement is owed under Section 32-385.

What to Check With Your Contractor

The duty to put things right falls on the violator, which on a contracted job can be the contractor. The code also names a material it will not accept. Protective barriers shall be constructed of sturdy material, not flagging or ribbons. Inside the dripline, no material or equipment may be stored or used, and no paint, oil, solvent, petroleum product, asphalt, concrete or mortar may be discharged.

Clearing inside the dripline is by hand or light rubber-wheeled equipment only, and retaining walls and drywells go in where a severe grade change requires them. No grade change above the root system is allowed unless it is shown to be harmless, and any preserved tree damaged during construction is repaired promptly. Pruning of preserved trees follows National Arborist Association standards, and palms follow Harris, Arboriculture Second Edition.

What to Do Next

Three things are worth settling before work is scheduled in Hallandale Beach. Whether any tree in scope is a specimen, since that moves the price from a nursery estimate to a city appraisal. Which edition of the appraisal guide the reviewer is applying. And when the application goes in, since the 30 day window is a target rather than a deadline that releases the tree. The site plan itself goes in four copies, with a legend giving the reason for each removal and the starting date and duration of the activity.

We settle those before quoting. We inspect the trees, record species, size and condition, prepare the arborist report where one is called for, file the permit, and handle replacement planting or the payment in lieu. TWQ Landscaping handles tree permitting for the properties we maintain across Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade: community associations and condominiums, cooperative and master associations, commercial and industrial sites, medical and senior living campuses, schools, religious campuses, hotels, multifamily rental, self-storage, dealerships, retail outparcels, marinas, mobile home and RV parks, cemeteries, municipal grounds and mixed-use. Call (954) 583-4752 or request a proposal.

TWQ Landscaping maintains commercial and community association property in Hallandale Beach. See landscaping services in Hallandale Beach.

The information presented on this page was accurate as of 23 August 2026.

Related Services

Request a Proposal

Need a Tree Removal Permit in Hallandale Beach?

Serving Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties

Get in Touch