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Tree Removal Permits in Sea Ranch Lakes

In Sea Ranch Lakes the tree removal permit starts at a caliper of one and one-half inches on developed property. A monocot reaches it at a height of eight feet to the terminal bud. The permit is issued by the Village Council itself rather than by staff, so the lead time is a council meeting cycle. 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 4.01.06 is written by the condition of the land rather than by the type of owner. A commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel and an institutional campus are read against the same text. The village holds a certified tree ordinance and enforces it in lieu of county enforcement, so the village issues and enforces the permit. That certification is not permanent.

One duty runs whether or not work is planned. Section 4.01.10 requires the removal of any tree that is dead or severely diseased or damaged by lightning or other causes. The duty attaches where the tree stands within a distance equal to its own height of an adjacent property line, a utility easement or a public right-of-way. A tree known to have died from a contagious plant pest or pathogen must be disposed of within forty-five calendar days of the Council's approval. Diseased trees include palms clearly showing symptoms of lethal yellowing.

Coconut palms carry an obligation of their own under Section 16-8. All property owners shall remove coconuts from coconut trees at least once annually in the month of May. Between June 1 and November 1 it is unlawful to maintain a coconut palm carrying coconuts that exceed two inches in diameter. At any time of year it is unlawful to maintain one carrying coconuts that exceed six inches. That is a recurring May service with a code deadline behind it.

Section 4.01.04 sets minimum tree standards for single-family lots, on three triggers. One is a request to remove specimen trees of eighteen-inch caliper or larger at a single-family residence not requiring site plan approval. Another is new construction, a modification or a renovation, not including re-roofing, that exceeds fifteen percent of the Just/Market Value. The third is all residential lots within the Village by July 1, 2025. That trigger carries no condition and its date has passed, so on the face of the code every residential lot is inside those standards. Confirm it with the Village.

What Needs a Permit

Section 4.01.06(2) makes it unlawful to remove three kinds of tree on developed property without a tree removal permit from the Village Council. The first is any dicot or conifer tree with a caliper of one and one-half inches or more. The second is a monocot with a height of eight or more feet to the terminal bud. The third is any tree required by code or as a condition of a site plan. On undeveloped property the caliper figure is two inches and the monocot height is eight feet.

Size is not the only trigger. A tree that makes up part of a lot's required minimum needs a permit regardless of its caliper. Monocots need one at an overall height of eight or more feet to the terminal bud, or at a caliper of six inches or greater. Moving a tree from one location to another in the Village will not be considered removal, and a permit is required for that as well. The ordinance exempts four species by name from the removal permit: Australian Pines, Melaleuca, Florida Holly and Poisonwood.

The application is made to the Village Council. On receipt, the Village Council determines the species, size, condition and replacement requirement, so the replacement obligation is set on the application itself. The lead time is a council meeting cycle. A denial is appealable to the court in and for Broward County. The property owner then has ninety calendar days to exercise the rights under the permit or Development Order, unless the Village Council extends it.

What It Costs

The number that decides a budget here is the replacement requirement. The Village Council determines the species, size, condition and replacement requirement when it receives the application. That determination is made on the application itself, so the obligation is fixed there. The permit fee is charged for each tree sought to be removed or relocated, so several trees multiply it. The amount of that per tree fee is not among the figures in the sections cited here, and we confirm it with the village before quoting.

One figure is stated in the ordinance itself, and it attaches to abuse rather than to ordinary removal. An application for a permit to remediate tree abuse or hat racking must be accompanied by a violation fine for each tree abused or hat racked. The ordinance sets that fine at $500.00 per tree, counted tree by tree rather than by application. Abused trees may not be counted toward fulfilling landscape requirements, and may be required to be replaced.

What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit

Tree abuse is prohibited in its own right under Section 4.01.08, and the code routes the remedy back through a permit. An application to remediate tree abuse or hat racking carries the $500.00 per tree fine. What the sections cited here establish about an unpermitted removal is the permit requirement itself and the Council's role in setting replacement. What follows a removal made without one is settled with the village.

The coconut article publishes its own penalty schedule, and it runs by the day. Each day of violation from day 1 to day 30 is $50.00, day 31 to day 60 is $100.00, and day 61 or greater is $500.00. Each calendar day on which a violation exists counts as a separate violation for the purpose of determining the fine. Enforcement is not left to the village alone. A violation may be prosecuted as a nuisance, and any affected citizen may bring suit against the owner or agent of the property on which it exists.

What to Check With Your Contractor

The abuse definition reaches work at ground level. Section 4.01.08(6) covers stem base or root damage in the bottom four feet of the trunk. It also covers damage in the root zone area, which extends from the trunk to ten feet outside the dripline. Named within it are excessive soil compaction, excessive soil or mulch covering surface roots, and root restriction. Mulch piled over a root flare sits inside that definition.

Two further limbs of the definition name equipment. Girdling a tree with the use of mechanical or manual equipment is abuse, and the code gives a weedeater and a mower as its examples. So is the use of climbing spikes on any species of tree, for any purpose other than total tree removal. That risk is carried by the crew that mows rather than the crew that climbs, so ask who holds it.

What to Do Next

Three things are worth settling before tree work is scheduled in Sea Ranch Lakes. Whether anything in scope reaches one and one-half inches of caliper on developed property, or two inches on undeveloped property. Whether any tree in scope counts toward a required minimum, since those need a permit at any caliper. And when the Village Council next meets, because the Council issues the permit and the rights under it run for ninety calendar days.

We settle those before quoting: we inspect the trees, record species, size and condition, and prepare the arborist report where the application calls for one. We file the permit with the Village Council and handle replacement planting where it 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, 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 23 August 2026.

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