Largo: everything gets a permit — even the dead ones.
Largo is my home turf, and it runs the broadest permit rule in the county: protected trees need a permit on every property class — dead ones included. Their fee is waived; the paperwork isn’t.
Largo — a Tree City USA since 1990 — runs the broadest permit requirement in Pinellas: removal or alteration of any protected tree (4 inches caliper and up, palms with 4½ feet of clear trunk) needs a permit on any property in the city, public or private, whatever the land use. Even dead, dying or diseased trees take the permit — the city waives their fee and replacement, not the paperwork. Code: CDC §10.7.2.
The money mechanics
Fees are simple and cumulative: $20 per permit per property, plus $25 per caliper inch removed (paid to the city’s Tree Fund when replanting isn’t practical). Replacement scales against you as trees get bigger: inch-for-inch at 4–15 inches, two inches per inch at 16–30, three per inch above 30 — Largo makes removing a big healthy tree deliberately expensive. The local footnote: laurel oaks replace at flat 1:1, the code’s polite acknowledgment of the species’ lifespan. FLEPPC-listed invasives skip fees and replacement entirely.
Mercies and process
Two homeowner-friendly clauses: a tree whose trunk or major limb is in contact with a permanent living structure permits with no fee and no replacement, and the development coordinator can authorize immediate removal of a genuinely dangerous tree before any application. Applications go to Community Development (Planning Division, 727-587-6749 ext. 7301) on city forms — a tree service holding a current Largo business tax receipt can file for you, which we do — and the City Arborist field-checks. Residential lots also carry minimum tree counts by lot size (two to six-plus), which is what your replacement duty is measured against.
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 Largo?
For any tree 4 inches caliper or larger, or a palm with 4½ feet of clear trunk — yes, on any property in the city. Dead, dying or diseased trees still take a permit, but the city waives both the fee and the replacement for them. FLEPPC-listed invasives are likewise fee-and-replacement exempt.
What does a Largo removal really cost in fees?
The permit is $20 per property, plus a removal fee of $25 per caliper inch. Then replacement: inch-for-inch for trees 4-15 inches, but 2:1 for 16-30 inch trees and 3:1 above 30 — Largo makes big-tree removal genuinely expensive by design. One local wrinkle: laurel oaks replace at a flat 1:1.
A tree limb is resting on my roof — special case?
Yes, and a merciful one: a tree with a trunk or major limb in contact with a permanent living structure takes a permit but no fee and no replacement. And the city’s development officer can green-light emergency removal of a genuinely dangerous tree before the paperwork.
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.