Pinellas Park: the code with teeth (and an understory clause).
Pinellas Park is the only city in the county that regulates native understory alongside the trees — and the only one whose tree code carries jail time on paper. It also has the friendliest documented-hazard pathway in Pinellas, which matters when a tree is genuinely dangerous.
Pinellas Park permits removal of any tree 4½ inches DBH or larger — and it counts cabbage palms as trees, an inversion of most cities’ palm indifference. It’s also the county’s only code regulating native understory vegetation and land clearing/grubbing alongside trees, and mangroves of any size are permit territory. Exempt: all other palms, citrus, and the usual invasive roster. Code: LDC Ch. 18, Art. 4 (rewritten 2022).
The documented-hazard fast lane
Pinellas Park wrote the cleanest hazard pathway in the county: trees determined hazardous or diseased by an ISA-certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect are exempt from permitting when removal is ordered or required, dead/hazard documentation waives fees, and documented residential dead/hazard trees skip replacement too. The one iron rule: the documentation must be on-site and producible before the saw starts — the code makes cutting-then-finding-paperwork its own violation. We stage jobs accordingly.
Fees, process, and the teeth
$20 on a single-family or duplex lot, filed as a Landscape Application with Building Development (6051 78th Ave N, 727-369-5647); permits run six months with one extension. The enforcement end is the sternest on paper in Pinellas: up to $500 per tree and/or 60 days, each tree a separate offense, plus restoration on a sliding scale that reaches full inch-for-inch replacement or the tree’s appraised value in cash. And four invasives — Australian pine, Brazilian pepper, Chinese tallow, punk — aren’t just exempt from protection; the city can order them removed on 15 days’ notice.
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 Pinellas Park?
For any tree 4½ inches DBH or larger — including cabbage palms, which this city counts as trees — yes ($20 on a single-family lot). Exempt: all other palms, citrus, and the invasive list. Mangroves of any size are permit territory.
What's the hazard-tree shortcut?
The city’s own code exempts hazardous or diseased trees from permitting when documented by an ISA-certified arborist or licensed landscape architect — and waives fees for documented dead/hazard trees. One hard rule: that documentation must be ON-SITE and producible when work starts; cutting first and finding paperwork later is itself a violation.
How seriously does the city take violations?
Most seriously in the county, on paper: up to $500 per tree and/or 60 days — each tree its own offense — plus restoration on a sliding scale up to full inch-for-inch or the tree’s appraised value in cash. Four invasive species (Australian pine, Brazilian pepper, Chinese tallow, punk) can also be ORDERED removed on 15 days’ notice.
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.