What is the fine for an uncorrectable tree violation in Miami Springs?

Section 54-12 provides that upon a finding by the special magistrate that a tree removal violation is an uncorrectable violation that is irreparable or irreversible in nature, the special magistrate shall impose a fine of up to $5,000.00 per tree, in addition to requiring the violator to obtain an after-the-fact tree removal permit and replace any damaged trees. The uncorrectable finding runs through Section 32-67 of the City Code and Florida Statutes Section 162.09(2).

What counts as tree abuse in Miami Springs?

Section 54-07 defines tree abuse with ten numbered acts. They include damage to any part of a tree including its root system by machinery, soil compaction, excavation, chemical applications or changes to the natural grade; cutting upon any tree which destroys its natural shape; topping and hatracking; girdling or bark removal of more than one third of the DBH; tearing and splitting of limb ends; any pruning in violation of the practices established by the ANSI Standards; and any act that would cause a tree to become nonviable. Subsection (B) provides that an act of tree abuse rendering a protected or specimen tree nonviable or effectively destroyed constitutes effective removal and requires full compliance with Section 54-06.

Tree Removal Permits in Miami Springs

Q: What happens if a tree is removed without a permit in Miami Springs?

Under Section 54-12 of the Miami Springs Code, failure to obtain a tree removal permit prior to removing or relocating a tree constitutes a continuing violation until a complete after-the-fact tree removal permit application is obtained and submitted to the Department for each tree removed or relocated. If the submitted application is denied, fines continue to accrue from the date of denial until a revised or corrected application is submitted.

Q: Can climbing spikes be used on a tree in Miami Springs?

Item seven of the Section 54-07 tree abuse list names use of climbing spikes, and states the two circumstances in which they may be used: where the tree is being legally removed, or in order to address an emergency rescue situation. Outside those two circumstances the use of spikes is an act of tree abuse under the section.

In Miami Springs the clock on an unpermitted removal does not stop when the work stops. Section 54-12 treats failure to obtain a tree removal permit before removing or relocating a tree as a continuing violation. It runs until a complete after-the-fact application is obtained and submitted to the Department for each tree. If that application is denied, fines continue to accrue from the date of denial until a revised or corrected one is submitted. 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 54-07 is written against a tree rather than against a category of property. A commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel, a hotel or an institutional campus sits inside it on the general terms. The section reaches how work is carried out as well as whether it was permitted, so a maintenance visit and a hardscape job can fall under it too.

Miami Springs sits inside Miami-Dade County, and the county tree rules run alongside the city's, which our Miami-Dade County tree removal permit guide sets out. For an existing single-family residence the starting point is Miami-Dade Section 24-49(4)(a), which exempts ordinary yard trees on conditions that guide covers. A municipality is entitled to be stricter than the county, so confirm the position with the city before a removal at a house.

What Needs a Permit

Section 54-12 states the obligation from the enforcement side. A tree removal permit is to be obtained before a tree is removed or relocated, and failing to obtain one is what the section treats as a continuing violation. The code points to Section 54-06 for what compliance requires once a tree has come out, and for the mitigation that follows. We settle those terms with the Department before a job is scheduled.

Section 54-07 then prohibits tree abuse in its own right, and defines it with ten numbered acts. Cutting upon any tree which destroys its natural shape is one. So is girdling, or bark removal of more than one third of the DBH of a tree. So is any act that would cause a tree to become nonviable. These are prohibitions on the work itself, and they do not wait for a removal to be proposed.

Subsection (B) is where the two sections meet. Any act of tree abuse that renders a protected or specimen tree nonviable or effectively destroyed constitutes effective removal and requires full compliance with Section 54-06. A trim that goes badly wrong on a protected tree is not handled as a pruning question. It is handled as a removal, whether or not anyone intended to take the tree down.

What It Costs

The number that decides a budget here is not the charge for the application. It is what follows a removal. Section 54-12 makes removal without a permit subject to mitigation up to twice the tree coverage under Section 54-06. The exposure therefore scales with the canopy that came down rather than with the count of permits. What the tree coverage requirement amounts to on a particular property is set by Section 54-06, which we confirm with the Department before quoting.

The heavier route is the uncorrectable finding. Upon a finding by the special magistrate that a tree removal violation is an uncorrectable violation that is irreparable or irreversible in nature, the magistrate shall impose a fine of up to $5,000.00 per tree. That is in addition to requiring the violator to obtain an after-the-fact tree removal permit and replace any damaged trees. The finding runs through Section 32-67 of the City Code and Florida Statutes Section 162.09(2).

The third cost grows while a file sits, because the fine accrues for as long as the violation continues. That amount is set by the city rather than stated in the enforcement section, and the same is true of any charge for the application itself. We confirm both with the Department before quoting and put no figure for either on this page.

What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit

Under Section 54-12 the violation does not close when the tree is gone. Failure to obtain a permit prior to removing or relocating a tree constitutes a continuing violation until a complete after-the-fact tree removal permit application is obtained and submitted to the Department for each tree removed or relocated. One complete application per tree is what closes it.

A denial stops nothing. If the submitted application for a tree removal permit is denied, fines continue to accrue from the date of denial until a revised or corrected application is submitted. Filing something thin to stop the clock does not work, so the arborist documentation is worth assembling before the application goes in.

Two further routes reach work that was never framed as a removal. An act of tree abuse that renders a protected or specimen tree nonviable or effectively destroyed is treated as effective removal under Section 54-07(B), requiring full compliance with Section 54-06. Separately, persons who damage trees during construction are subject to the Code's penalties under Section 54-11, which reaches a site where the trees were meant to stay.

What to Check With Your Contractor

Section 54-07 reaches ground work as well as tree work. Damage inflicted upon any part of a tree, including its root system, by machinery, mechanical devices, soil compaction, excavation, vehicle accidents, chemical applications, changes to the natural grade, fire, or storage or disposal of toxic or hazardous substances is tree abuse. So is damage inflicted to or cutting upon a tree which permits infection or pest infestation. A paving crew, an irrigation trench or a stockpile inside a root zone can put a property inside the section with no branch cut.

Climbing spikes are addressed directly. Item seven names use of climbing spikes, and states the two circumstances in which they may be used: where the tree is being legally removed, or in order to address an emergency rescue situation. Ask a climbing crew which of the two it relies on before it goes up a tree that is meant to stay standing.

Item eight is the one to settle in advance. It prohibits fastening any sign, rope, wire or object by nail, staple, chemical substance, or other adhesive means to, through or around any tree. Whether a rigging line taken around a trunk without any fastening falls inside that wording is not settled by the text. Ask the city before rigging off a protected tree in Miami Springs.

Get the pruning specification in writing. Item nine makes any pruning in violation of the practices established by the ANSI Standards an act of tree abuse, so the standard a crew works to is a compliance term. Item four names topping and hatracking. Item six names tearing and splitting of limb ends, and peeling and stripping of bark. Those are outcomes of technique rather than of scope.

What to Do Next

Before tree work is scheduled in Miami Springs, three things are worth settling. What Section 54-06 requires for the trees in question, since that is the section the code points to for compliance and for mitigation. Whether any tree in scope is protected or specimen, because that is what converts an act of abuse into effective removal. And what the city's own amounts are, for the application and for an accruing fine.

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 permit, and handle replacement planting where mitigation applies. Where a removal has already happened, we assemble a complete after-the-fact application for each tree rather than a partial one, because a denial leaves the fine running. 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 Miami Springs. See landscaping services in Miami Springs.

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

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