Tree Removal Permits in Margate
Margate names three permits in one sentence: irrigation systems, tree removal, and the planting of trees in a swale. Planting is permit work there, not only removal, and that sentence sits in the landscaping section of the Land Development Code rather than in a tree chapter. Permits may also be required by the city in conjunction with expansion work. 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 22 of the Code of Ordinances, titled Land Clearance, is written by land rather than by property type. Its prohibition binds any person owning or having possession of any land within the city. A commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel, an industrial yard and an institutional campus are read against the same text. The city holds a certified tree ordinance and enforces it in lieu of county enforcement, so the city is the enforcing body for tree work. That certification is not permanent.
Chapter 22 also runs in the direction of requiring work rather than restricting it. Section 22-1 makes it unlawful to permit, maintain or allow to remain any accumulation of undergrowth, rubbish, debris, bush or brush and unsightly and unsanitary matters, including dangerous trees. It adds that no person owning or having possession of any land within the city shall allow the development of a dense growth of trees, vines or underbrush. A dangerous tree is a code nuisance in Margate, and so is letting a dense growth develop.
The same section carries numbers that decide when growth counts as excessive. It is unlawful to allow grass or weeds to grow to a height in excess of six inches on any improved property. On any other property within the city the limit is twelve inches. Six inches on improved property and twelve inches elsewhere is a direct constraint on how long a mowing interval can run. It is also the growth standard the abatement route measures against.
One narrow relief for single-family homes is stated in the Land Development Code. A single-family home undergoing driveway expansion or repave shall not be required to install new landscaping at the time of permitting. That relief is written for landscaping installation at the time of permitting rather than for tree work. Anything further on the residential position is settled with the Development Services Department.
What Needs a Permit
Section 40.704 of the Land Development Code states that applicable permits for irrigation systems, tree removal, and the planting of trees in a swale must be obtained. It adds that permits may be required by the city in conjunction with expansion work. A crew scheduled to plant a replacement street tree in a swale is inside the same permit sentence as a crew scheduled to take one out. The requirement sits in the landscaping section.
Two further points sit with it. Substitutions of comparable plant material are permitted only if first approved by the Development Services Department, so a species swap made in the field needs approval before it goes in the ground. What the sections cited here establish is that the removal permit must be obtained. The threshold that triggers it, and what the application has to include, are settled with the department before work is scheduled.
What It Costs
The figure that decides a budget in Margate is a replacement obligation rather than a citation amount. The citation fine schedule at Section 1-8 sets tree abuse at $150.00 per incident, or replacement of the abused trees with a per incident equivalent. The second limb of that choice is an obligation to replace rather than a fixed sum, so it moves with the size and the number of the trees involved.
The other open number is what the city charges back when it abates a nuisance itself. Under Chapter 22 the cost of that work, plus interest calculated at the rate tabulated for in Florida Statutes Section 170.09, is assessed against the lot. That amount is the city's cost of doing the work rather than a scheduled fine. On an action to foreclose the assessment, the city receives all costs including reasonable attorney fees.
The citation figures themselves are fixed. Tree abuse is $150.00 per incident, and the schedule records no daily fee for it, so it does not compound day by day. Landscaping violations escalate on a separate line: $25.00 for a first offense, $75.00 for a second, $150.00 for a third, and $150.00 to $500.00 on the fourth. Every citation carries an additional $5.00 technology fee. Contesting a citation exposes the violator to a maximum civil penalty of $500.00.
The amount charged for the tree removal permit is not among the figures in the sections cited here. We confirm it with the Development Services Department before quoting, along with the current form of the city's tree ordinance, rather than carrying an estimate into a board budget. That call is made once, before the scope is priced.
What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit
Two routes run from tree work that breaches the code. The first is a citation under Section 1-8, where tree abuse is charged per incident, with replacement of the abused trees with an equivalent as the stated alternative. The second is abatement, and it answers the nuisance conditions in Chapter 22 rather than a permit breach: dangerous trees, a dense growth of trees, vines or underbrush, and excessive growth on the lot.
Abatement starts with a notice and a ten day period. The duty in that window is to abate the nuisance, mow and clear the lot of any excessive growth. If the owner or occupant fails, refuses or neglects to do so, the city may undertake the work. Section 22-3 lets the city act through its own personnel or a private contractor. Emergency conditions allow the city to act immediately, without waiting out the ten days.
The bill then attaches to the property. The assessment is a lien on the land, assessed as a special assessment and foreclosed in the same manner as any other special assessment lien. Chapter 22 states that the liens provided there shall be prior to all other liens on the lands liened, except those for state, county, municipal or other governmental taxes. That priority is the part to flag to a board, a lender or a buyer.
What to Do Next
Settle three things before tree work is scheduled in Margate. Whether the scope includes planting in a swale or an irrigation change, because each is named in the same permit sentence as removal. What the Development Services Department requires for the removal permit on your property. And whether anything on the site already reads as a nuisance under Chapter 22. A dangerous tree, or a dense growth of trees, vines or underbrush, is enforceable whether or not work is planned.
We settle those before quoting. We inspect the trees, record species, size and condition, prepare the arborist report where the application calls for one, file the permit, and handle replacement planting where a replacement obligation applies. 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, marinas, mobile home and RV parks, municipal grounds and mixed-use. Call (954) 583-4752 or request a proposal.
TWQ Landscaping maintains commercial and community association property in Margate. See landscaping services in Margate.
The information presented on this page was accurate as of 23 August 2026.
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