Tree Removal Permits in Miami Beach

In Miami Beach the permit is a tree work permit, and on a heritage tree it reaches pruning. Section 46-63 provides that no tree work permit shall be issued for removal, relocation or pruning of a heritage tree without a written evaluation by an ISA certified arborist or an ASCA registered consulting arborist. The same section gives private property owners of heritage trees a pruning allowance not exceeding $750.00 per four-year maintenance cycle, reimbursed after inspection and approval. 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 46-58 makes it unlawful for any person to perform any tree or palm removal work, or to effectively destroy any non-specimen tree, specimen tree, heritage tree or prohibited species located within the boundaries of the city, on either public or private property, without first obtaining a tree work permit. That language covers a commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel, a hotel and a municipal property, and it names palms and prohibited species alongside trees.

A heritage tree is a specimen tree or grouping designated by the environment and sustainability director as being of unique or intrinsic value, and palms are expressly excluded. Designation requires an evaluation by an ISA certified arborist or ASCA registered consulting arborist finding the tree in good health and structural integrity as defined by the latest version of ANSI A300 part 9, and anyone may initiate a designation with the written consent of the property owner.

What Needs a Permit

Section 46-58 carries three exemptions, each with a condition. The first is removal of a non-specimen prohibited tree species. The second is removal of dead trees or trees destroyed by an act of God, which does not reach trees or palms that died as a result of violations of the division, so a tree killed by root damage or over-pruning cannot then be removed as a dead tree. The third covers a tree posing imminent danger to health, safety or property, and holds only where the owner establishes with documentation that the hazardous condition existed prior to the removal.

Section 46-60 sets the grounds on which a non-specimen tree may come out: it sits in the proposed building footprint or a yard area where a structure or improvement may be placed and unreasonably restricts the permitted use of the property; it is diseased, damaged or in danger of falling; it interferes with utility service; or it creates unsafe vision clearance that cannot be corrected through pruning without effectively destroying the tree. A non-specimen tree in the property frontage, within the city's required setback, shall not be considered to be located within the building footprint or yard.

For a heritage tree removal, the written evaluation must demonstrate an immediate peril to life or property, or that the tree is dead, non-viable or deteriorated to the point that removal is warranted, and separately that relocation is not viable. The director then evaluates the tree personally and approves removal and replacement after consultation with the urban forester.

What It Costs

The number that decides a budget here is the tree preservation trust fund contribution, not the permit fee. Section 46-61 provides that where approved alternate locations are on publicly owned land or a publicly accessible parcel, the applicant shall contribute to the city's tree preservation trust fund in accordance with the required contributions established by resolution of the city commission. The amount sits in that resolution rather than in the code, so we confirm it with the city before quoting.

Palm work is treated separately. Palm trees, including palms identified in landscape neighborhood overlays, may be replaced with the same species tree at the same location with no additional mitigation requirement that would otherwise apply under Section 46-61. Replacement stock has to suit the region, which the section defines as the southern tip of Florida south of Lake Okeechobee, including hardiness zones 10 and 11.

On heritage trees the money runs the other way. Tree work permit application fees are waived for maintenance activities, and the application should include a pruning plan prepared by an ISA certified arborist or ASCA registered consulting arborist. The pruning allowance, which shall not exceed $750.00 per a four-year maintenance cycle, is set by the environment and sustainability department against the invoices submitted after the work, so the job is paid for in the normal way and the owner recovers the allowance.

What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit

Section 46-67 runs two fine ladders, and the heavier one is charged per tree. For failing to obtain a tree work permit under Section 46-59, or for effectively destroying a tree under Section 46-56, a first offense within a twelve month period is a warning, a second is $2,000.00 per tree, a third is $3,000.00 per tree, and a fourth or later offense is $4,000.00 per tree.

The warning is a procedural protection with a limit on it. A code inspector shall first issue a written warning to immediately cease the violation prior to issuing a notice of violation, unless one written warning has been issued in the twelve months preceding the date of violation, and there are sixty days to correct after one. A second incident inside twelve months removes that step. Any other violation of the division runs $500.00, then $1,000.00, then $1,500.00, and each day the violation is permitted to exist is a separate offense carrying a separate fine.

A notice of violation may be appealed by requesting an administrative hearing within ten days after service, and failure to appeal within those ten days constitutes an admission of the violation and a waiver of the right to a hearing. A certified copy of an order imposing a fine may be recorded in the public records, where it constitutes a lien upon any real or personal property owned by the violator, enforceable in the same manner as a court judgment.

What to Check With Your Contractor

Under Section 46-62, cutting roots two inches in diameter or larger is prohibited unless there is no feasible alternative, as determined by the environment and sustainability director or a designee. Root cuts shall be made at minimum a distance from the trunk equivalent to three times the trunk diameter measured at four and a half feet above ground, unless unavoidable because of sidewalks, pavement or other infrastructure. Around a heritage tree, Section 46-63 places root cutting and tree relocations a minimum of fifteen feet from the trunk or at the drip line, whichever is greater.

Where tunneling or otherwise avoiding roots is not possible, the trench shall be carefully excavated by hand or machine, and a root of two inches or greater gets a final clean cut with a saw. Before any root pruning or transplanting, tree maintenance measures must be defined in the general notes of the approved construction plans or in a report from an ISA certified arborist or ASCA registered consulting arborist, and the city department may require arborist monitoring during construction.

What to Do Next

Three questions settle a Miami Beach job before it is scheduled. Whether any tree in scope is a heritage tree, because that changes the permit, the evaluation and the protection distance. Whether the work reaches a street, parkway, park or other public place, where Section 46-31 requires written permission from the city urban forester or the engineer before anything is cut down, dug up or relocated. And what the trust fund contribution will be at the amount the city commission has set by resolution.

We inspect the trees, document species, size and condition, prepare the arborist evaluation the application calls for, file the tree work permit, set protection to the distances the code states, and handle replacement planting where mitigation 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, hospital and senior living campuses, schools, religious campuses, hotels, multifamily rental, self-storage, dealerships, retail outparcels, marinas, cemeteries, mobile home and RV parks, municipal grounds and mixed-use. Call (954) 583-4752 or request a proposal.

The information presented on this page was accurate as of 29 August 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