Tree Removal Permits in Wellington

In Wellington the permit reaches all vegetation, not only trees. A vegetation removal permit is required for the removal of all vegetation within Wellington, unless the Land Development Regulations specifically exempt it. Vegetation is defined there to include trees, palms, shrubs, hedges, groundcover and sod varieties. 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?

The requirement is written by material and by geography, not by property type. A commercial site, an association common area, a condominium parcel and an industrial yard are read against the same definition. The two Palm Beach County articles we read do not create a general permit to remove an ordinary tree, so on a removal in Wellington the village rule is the one that governs. A separate county obligation does reach inside city limits: the countywide invasive non-native vegetation ordinance applies in incorporated areas except where a municipal ordinance conflicts, and our Palm Beach County guide sets out what it requires.

What Needs a Permit

Because the definition names hedges, groundcover and sod alongside trees and palms, work that reads as landscape renovation is inside the permit requirement on the face of the code. Confirm with Wellington how that scope is applied before quoting a job of that kind. Changing or removing more than 30 percent of required parcel vegetation, or more than ten percent of required buffer vegetation, also pulls in a landscape plan. Speculative clearing and grubbing of a site is prohibited.

There is also a point where the paperwork changes. An application proposing to remove more than five trees must include a tree survey as defined in Article 3 of the Land Development Regulations. Where the trees cannot be incorporated into the site plan design, the applicant also submits a modified tree survey, showing their location and the proposed method of mitigation. Six trees is the line.

A permit shall be issued on stated grounds, and one or more has to apply. That the vegetation is irreparably damaged, dead or diseased through natural circumstances. That it is in danger of falling, or stands in dangerous proximity to a structure that may be damaged. That it interferes with utility services, or creates an unsafe visual clearance for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Or that it sits in the buildable area and unreasonably restricts the permitted use.

Pruning carries its own limits. A maximum of 25 percent of tree canopy may be removed within a one year period, and all pruning must comply with the American National Standards Institute ANSI 300 standards. Large and medium shade trees have to reach a minimum 20 foot canopy spread before initial pruning. In no case may canopy spread be reduced to less than 20 feet in width, so a request to keep a shade tree small cannot be met here.

What It Costs

The figure that decides a budget here is what replaces the vegetation. On lots other than existing single-family, a payment in lieu of $600.00 per tree lets up to 25 percent of the mitigation tree credit count toward the required landscape minimum. The tree board may authorize a payment above that share where physical site constraints justify it. The eligible tree count is rounded down to the nearest whole number.

Staff review those amounts every three years, so confirm them with Wellington before they go into a budget. On an existing single-family lot the payment in lieu is $100.00 per tree, at the discretion of the PZB director.

Replacement is set by ratio, and what was removed decides the ratio. A non-specimen tree on a use other than single-family is replaced by one non-specimen tree or three palms. A specimen tree is replaced by one specimen tree, two non-specimen trees or five palms. Mitigation trees go in at a minimum two inch DBH and ten feet in height, spaced a minimum of 20 feet on center.

Specimen status is set species by species, and the thresholds are not uniform. Seagrape reaches it at 10 inches DBH, Slash Pine at 14 inches, Laurel Oak at 17, Live Oak at 22 and Florida Strangler Fig at 25. A catch-all covers the rest: any species other than an invasive species or a fruit tree becomes a specimen at 25 inches DBH. Identify and measure before applying the ratio, because specimen status multiplies the replacement.

A bond may be required where trees are protected through construction, and its amount is based on the equivalent value of the trees to be protected. Any bond required for a protected tree is four times that equivalent value. Preserving a tree also earns credit against required planting, and that credit is refused where the tree is not properly protected from damage during construction.

What Happens If It Is Done Without a Permit

Two paths run from an unpermitted removal. Where the tree removed was an invasive or a dead tree, the owner is advised in writing of the requirement to obtain a permit. Repeated unauthorized removal may bring fines for each occurrence. For all other trees a fine of up to $100.00 per day, per tree removed, may be imposed.

The exposure is not limited to the fine. Wellington may suspend issuance of permits, inspections and occupational licenses while the violation is pending, which reaches every other trade on the property. Where a restoration plan has not been submitted, Wellington may place a lien for accumulated and ongoing unpaid fines, together with the reasonable cost of repairing the damage. Where viable restoration on site is not possible, off-site mitigation runs at three times the land area to be restored.

What to Check With Your Contractor

Wellington specifies the work, not only the paperwork. Minimum tree protection is two inch by four inch wood posts at 48 inches in height, with two inch by four inch cross rails. Root barriers are required for trees near utility lines and public facilities including sidewalks. Installed trees and palms are guyed and staked for a year after planting, and nails, wire and rope are prohibited. On palms, no more than 33 percent of fronds may be removed, and none above the horizon line, from three o'clock to nine o'clock, other than dead or diseased fronds.

What to Do Next

Settle four things before work is scheduled in Wellington. Whether the scope touches hedges, groundcover or sod, and how Wellington applies that scope to your job. Whether it crosses five trees and pulls in a survey. Whether any tree in scope reaches the specimen threshold for its species. And which of the stated grounds the application will rest on, since those grounds are what a permit issues against.

We settle those before quoting. We inspect and identify the vegetation, record species and size, prepare the arborist report where one is called for, file the permit, and handle replacement planting or the payment in lieu 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 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 Wellington. See landscaping services in Wellington.

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