Clearwater: cheap permits, uncuttable specimens.
Clearwater is friendly at the checkout — $15 covers up to five trees — and absolute at the top: a designated specimen tree cannot be permitted for removal, period. Worth knowing before anyone falls in love with a plan.
Clearwater permits removal of protected trees — shade species at 4 inches DBH, accent species at 2 — and any palm with ten feet of clear, straight trunk. Citrus is exempt by name; the prohibited list (punk, Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, Chinese tallow) needs no permit; hazardous trees (dead, split, cracked, leaning, uprooted) sit outside the “protected” definition itself. Code: CDC §3-1205 and §§4-1201–4-1205.
The absolute ceiling
A designated specimen tree cannot be permitted for removal at all — the code flatly forbids granting one, and prices the violation as “irreparable”: up to ,000, versus up to ,000 (at per DBH inch) for ordinary protected trees. If a tree on your lot carries the designation, the conversation is about care, not removal, and we’ll have it honestly.
Process, fees, mitigation
Apply through the city’s ePermit portal (permit type TRE) — the published fee is for one to five trees, per additional; permits run six months with one fee-waived 30-day re-issue. Mitigation is where the real money lives: removed DBH is replaced inch-for-inch, or per inch into the tree bank on single-family lots, with lot-size minimum tree counts (two to eight trees) underneath it all. Also easy to trip over: removing more than 30% of a protected tree’s foliage in a year is a violation, and topping requires its own permit — worth asking about before hiring anyone with a strong opinion and a bucket truck. Department: Planning & Development, 100 S. Myrtle Ave — confirm current contact details when you apply.
Verified 2026-07-14 against the current municipal code and official city materials; ordinances change — confirm current rules with the city before cutting. This is plain-language guidance from a tree service, not legal advice. Weave's handles permit questions as part of every removal quote.
Questions Cody hears every week.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Clearwater?
For any protected tree — shade species 4 inches DBH and up, accent species at 2 inches — or any palm with 10 feet of clear straight trunk, yes. Citrus is exempt by name, and the prohibited list (punk, Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, Chinese tallow) needs no permit.
What does it cost?
The published schedule: $15 for one to five trees, $3 per tree beyond that. Mitigation is the real economics: removed inches are replaced inch-for-inch, or $48 per inch into the city tree bank on single-family lots.
What's the catch?
Two: specimen and historic trees are un-permittable outright (up to $15,000 for removing one illegally), and the city limits pruning too — taking more than 30% of a protected tree’s foliage in a year is a violation, and topping needs its own permit.
Tell Cody about your tree.
Three fields. He answers his own phone — you’ll hear back fast.
Faster: text a photo of the tree to (727) 761-8618.