Lee County, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs & Estero Tree Removal Permits (2026): Exemptions, Rules & Fees

Lee County has the widest spread of tree rules of any Southwest Florida county, and the permissive end of it covers most homeowners. Three of these five jurisdictions leave an ordinary house lot outside the tree code almost entirely.

• Unincorporated Lee County: single-family lots of 5 acres or less are exempt (§ 14-377(a)(7)), and only species on the Appendix E protected list are regulated in the first place (§ 14-380(b)). Two filters, either one of which usually ends the question.
• City of Cape Coral: no separate tree-removal permit on an existing single-family lot. Regulation attaches at development and land clearing.
• City of Bonita Springs: single-family lots of 5 acres or less are exempt (§ 7-230(a)(10)), and unlisted species need no permit at all (§ 7-231(b)). Exotic removal needs no additional permitting (§ 7-226(c)).
• City of Fort Myers: the strictest trigger in SWFL — a permit for the removal of all trees, and mangroves of any size. The fee is $0 when 100% of the removals are FLEPPC Category I invasives.
• Village of Estero: native-species removal requires authorization from Community Development. Call 239-221-5036.

Every threshold, exemption, and code section on this page is linked in the Sources list at the end — the Lee County Land Development Code and its Vegetation Permit Submittal Requirements, the Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Bonita Springs code text, and each city's permitting page. Fee amounts in this county are set by fee schedule rather than in the code, so they are not published in the ordinance; confirm with the office named in each section before work starts.

The exemption that overrides all of this: FS 163.045

Section 163.045, Florida Statutes, applies in all five jurisdictions and beats every local rule on this page — including the Fort Myers all-trees permit and every heritage-tree designation. A local government may not require notice, an application, approval, a permit, a fee, mitigation, or replanting for pruning, trimming, or removing a tree on residential property when the owner possesses documentation from an ISA-certified arborist or a Florida-licensed landscape architect that the tree poses an unacceptable risk.

• The documentation must be an onsite assessment under the ISA Best Management Practices: Tree Risk Assessment, 2nd Edition (2017), signed by the arborist or landscape architect.
• Unacceptable risk means removal is the only practical means of reducing the risk below moderate under that BMP.
• Residential property means a single-family detached building on a lot actively used as a single-family residence, conforming or legally nonconforming. Condos, townhomes, multifamily, HOA common area, and commercial parcels are outside it.
• No replanting may be required — § 163.045(2). That matters most in Bonita Springs, where the restoration standard is 3 trees for every 1 removed with a 5-year monitored survivability guarantee.
• You must possess the documentation before the work, not obtain it afterward.
• Mangroves are excluded and go to the Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act instead — which is the operative rule in Fort Myers and on every waterfront lot in the county.

“Fort Myers permits every tree on the lot — and FS 163.045 still clears a documented hazardous tree there with no permit, no fee, and no replanting.”

Lee County (unincorporated)

A vegetation removal permit is required under § 14-382, but two provisions take most residential work out from under it. Section 14-377(a)(7) exempts single-family lots of 5 acres or less. Section 14-380(b) regulates only species on the protected list at Appendix E — everything else can be removed without a permit regardless of lot size.

• Exempt under § 14-377: single-family lots of 5 acres or less, dead trees and act-of-God hazard trees, agricultural land, nurseries, utility and government work, and surveyors.
• Exotics are not on the protected list, so they are unprotected — no express exemption is needed to remove them.
• Section 14-378 suspends the article during a declared emergency.
• Tree: a woody plant reaching 10 ft or more with any stem at 4 in DBH. Tree worthy of preservation: a tree listed in the Florida Champion Tree Records.
• Coastal-island carve-out: on Gasparilla, Cayo Costa, North Captiva, Captiva, Buck Key, Greater Pine Island, the Lover's Key Group, and Black Island, Big Hickory, and Little Hickory, the standard exemptions do not apply. In their place, § 14-377(c)(1) allows up to 5 trees per year off an improved single-family lot without a permit. The five-tree allowance is island-specific and tied to the structure — confirm the reading for a mainland parcel with Environmental Sciences.
• Fee: set by the current fee schedule rather than in the code — not published in the ordinance. Confirm with DCD Development Services, 239-533-8585, and ask for the Vegetation Removal Permit. The county's Vegetation Permit Submittal Requirements sheet is linked in Sources below.
• Penalties (§ 14-375): civil fines up to $500 per violation, criminal penalties under § 1-5, injunctive relief, and restoration under § 14-384. Each tree is a separate offense, and owners who knew or should have known are equally liable.

City of Cape Coral

• Generally no separate tree-removal permit on an existing single-family lot — the Land Use and Development Regulations, Article 5, contain no such provision. Regulation attaches at development and land clearing, not at ordinary yard work.
• FLEPPC Category I species are excluded from minimum tree counts, and everything on the prohibited-vegetation table must be removed entirely from a development site.
• Heritage tree: a Florida native canopy species at 20 in caliper DBH or larger. Replacement obligations attach to new development and non-residential sites, not to a single-family or duplex lot.
• Separate obligation running the other way: invasives on lots must be removed under Ordinance 111-03 § 9-81, the vacant-lot program. The city no longer responds to pepper-tree complaints — owners handle removal privately.
• Mangroves are FDEP jurisdiction regardless of what the city requires.
• Third-party claims that live oaks need city approval on an existing single-family lot are not supported by the current code text. Fees, penalties, and dangerous-tree provisions are also not published — confirm all of it with Development Services, Permitting Services Division, permits@capecoral.gov or (239) 574-0546, before removing a mature native.

City of Bonita Springs

A permit is required for protected trees under § 7-229, but two filters narrow it the same way Lee County's do. Section 7-230(a)(10) exempts single-family lots of 5 acres or less, and § 7-231(b) leaves unlisted species outside the code entirely.

• Exempt under § 7-230: single-family lots of 5 acres or less, dead and act-of-God hazard trees, agriculture, nurseries, utility and government work, and surveyors.
• Exotics: § 7-226(c) requires no additional permitting for exotic removal. LDC § 3-415 et seq. governs instead — exotics must be removed before a certificate of occupancy and the site kept clear in perpetuity.
• Section 7-238 allows a 30-day emergency suspension.
• Tree: a woody plant reaching 10 ft or more with any stem at 4 in DBH measured 54 in above grade, AND listed in § 7-232. The list includes Slash and Longleaf Pine, Bald and Pond Cypress, Southern Red Cedar, Live Oak, Sand Live Oak, Laurel Oak, Cabbage Palm, all three mangroves, Buttonwood, Gumbo Limbo, Sea Grape, and Southern Magnolia, among others. Unlisted species need no permit.
• Island carve-out: on the Lover's Key Group, Black Island, Big Hickory, Little Hickory, and Bonita Beach, the permit is folded into the building permit, and up to 5 trees per year may come off an improved single-family lot without one.
• Fee: per the city fee schedule — amount not published in the code. Confirm with Community Development, (239) 444-6150. A site plan is required for more than 5 trees; 5 or fewer gets an on-site exam instead.
• Apply: Community Development, 9220 Bonita Beach Rd, (239) 444-6150. Environmental Sciences at (239) 444-6142. The city's forms and applications index is linked in Sources below. SB 180 and SB 683 resubmittals are reviewed under the regulations in effect 7/1/2025.
• Penalties (§§ 7-242 and 7-243): up to $500 and/or 60 days criminal, up to $500 civil plus injunctive relief, and restoration at 3 trees for every 1 removed, using stock 6 ft or taller at Florida #1 grade, with 80% survivability guaranteed for 5 years and annual monitoring. Each tree is a separate offense.

Bonita Springs has the most expensive back end in Southwest Florida. The fine caps at $500, but the 3-for-1 restoration with a five-year monitored survivability guarantee is the part that costs real money on a multi-tree violation — and it is exactly the obligation FS 163.045 forecloses when the arborist documentation is in hand first.

City of Fort Myers — the strictest trigger, and its two exits

Fort Myers requires a permit for the removal of all trees (§ 138-75). Section 138-101(a) makes it unlawful to remove any tree of 4 in DBH or larger without one, and § 138-101(b) extends the requirement to mangroves of any size, on top of the state Mangrove Act. Two things reduce the cost: the invasive fee waiver, and FS 163.045.

• Fee: $0 when 100% of the removals are FLEPPC Category I invasives (§ 138-75). A fee is charged when any Florida native is removed; amounts are set by the current fee schedule — confirm with Community Development.
• FS 163.045 applies here as everywhere: a documented hazardous tree on a detached single-family lot needs no permit, no fee, and no replanting.
• The city manager can waive requirements in an emergency under § 138-79. Utilities are exempt under § 138-102.
• Heritage: large natives — Live Oak, South Florida Slash Pine, Longleaf Pine, Bald Cypress, and others — at 20 in DBH or larger. Natives from 4 to 19 in may be relocated rather than removed.
• Replacement: a native removed at 10 to 19 in requires a native replacement of 14 ft or taller. A heritage tree requires a native replacement of 20 ft or taller.
• Exemption caveat: § 138-101(c) exempts platted lots in the AAA, AA, A, and A-1 districts, but those district names no longer appear in the city's current Chapter 118 zoning, which uses RS-E, RS-5, RS-6, RS-7, and RS-D. The scope of that exemption is ambiguous — confirm per parcel rather than relying on it.
• Section 138-2(a) excludes single-family and duplex property from Chapter 138 except for permitting requirements. Single-family is not broadly exempt in Fort Myers.
• Apply: Ch. 138 Art. III Div. 2, through Community Development, with a site plan and vegetative study. Appeals go to the Tree Removal Appeals Board.
• Penalties (§ 138-81): code board action, or a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 60 days and/or up to $500. Each tree is a separate offense.

Village of Estero

Estero has published its process but not its thresholds. What is confirmed: removal of native species requires authorization from Community Development. The village's tree removal page is linked in Sources below.

• Existing-community common property: submit species, quantity, location, and photos.
• Commercial property: submit the development order (DO) number.
• Single-family lots of 5 acres or more: submit a detailed site plan.
• Apply: 9401 Corkscrew Palms Circle, 239-221-5036, permitting@estero-fl.gov.
• Not published: whether Estero applies its own ordinance or the Lee County LDC Ch. 14 rules including the 5-acre single-family exemption, plus thresholds, exemptions, fees, and penalties. Call 239-221-5036 before any removal.

Across all five, the decisive question is which line the parcel falls on — county, city, or island — and then whether the species is even on the protected list. Permit questions get flagged during the estimate; we check the parcel's jurisdiction before quoting, and a photo bid costs nothing. For the statewide picture, including the FS 163.045 hazardous-tree exemption that applies in every one of these jurisdictions, see the Florida statewide permit guide in this section.