Gulfport: the free permit with the highest bar.
Gulfport wrote the most homeowner-shaped code in the county: no fee, a 6-inch trigger, palms entirely exempt — balanced by real mangrove protection and an inch-for-inch penalty if you skip the (free) paperwork. So don’t skip it.
Gulfport’s tree permit is free, starts at 6 inches DBH — the highest trigger in Pinellas — and ignores palms entirely. Residential applicants file a simple sketch showing the trees with Community Development (727-893-1024). The undesirable-species list (Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, ficus short of banyan scale, and company) qualifies for approval with no replacement, as do dead and hazardous trees. Code: Ch. 22, Art. XX.
The mangrove exception
Where Gulfport gets serious is the waterfront: even trimming a mangrove — red, black, white or buttonwood, any size — requires a city permit, layered on top of the state Mangrove Act’s height-tier rules. On a Boca Ciega shoreline lot, assume every mangrove touch is regulated twice and plan accordingly; it’s paperwork we know cold.
What the free permit buys you
Not filing costs real money: unpermitted removal of a qualifying tree runs inch-for-inch replacement (2-inch, 8-foot approved species) or $125 per DBH inch to the tree bank when planting is impractical, plus $100 per tree, with the after-the-fact permit itself at $100. The code also counts slow kills: poisoning, girdling, or stripping more than half a tree’s canopy in a year (or all of it ever) equals removal. And uniquely in Pinellas, enforcement is shared between Community Development and the police division — a detail worth knowing before the weekend chainsaw plan firms up.
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 Gulfport?
For any tree with a trunk 6 inches DBH or larger — the highest trigger in Pinellas — yes, and the permit is free. Residential applicants just file a sketch showing the trees. All palms are fully exempt; the undesirable list (Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, ficus and company) qualifies for approval with no replacement.
What's the mangrove rule?
Stricter than most cities: in Gulfport, even TRIMMING a mangrove — red, black, white, or buttonwood, any size — requires a city permit, layered on top of the state Mangrove Act’s height tiers. Waterfront owners should treat every mangrove touch as regulated.
What does skipping the free permit cost?
Inch-for-inch replacement of what you removed (or $125 per inch into the tree bank when planting is impractical) plus $100 per tree, and an after-the-fact permit at $100. Also worth knowing: killing a 6-inch tree by any means, or removing more than half its canopy in a year, counts the same as removal.
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.