Sarasota County, Sarasota, Venice, North Port & Longboat Key Tree Removal Permits (2026): Exemptions, Rules & Fees

Start with the exemptions. Three of these five jurisdictions let an ordinary house lot come out from under the tree code entirely, and Sarasota County requires no permit at all to trim a tree on private property.

• Unincorporated Sarasota County: no permit on an owner-occupied residential lot of 5 acres or less, once the CO is issued (§ 54-585). Exotic-species removal is exempt. No permit to trim trees on private property. Grand Trees and Canopy Road Protection Zone trees are the exceptions.
• City of Venice: no permit on a single-family zoned lot of 1/2 acre or less — unless the tree is a Heritage, Venetian, or Canopy Road tree.
• Town of Longboat Key: no permit on an improved single-family lot with an existing dwelling, none on trees killed or severely damaged by a natural disaster, and none on 11 named nuisance exotics town-wide. Everything else pays $65.
• City of North Port: FS 163.045 is codified verbatim in the ULDC, and § 6.7.2 carries a full exemption list. Outside those, a tree removal authorization is required.
• City of Sarasota: no lot-size exemption, but citrus, nursery stock, trees under 4.5 in DBH, and botanical gardens are exempt outright; invasive and dead trees carry a $0 fee; and an owner-occupant of a year or more may take 25% of side-yard and back-yard canopy with no replacement.

Every threshold, fee, and code section on this page is linked in the Sources list at the end — the county and city permitting pages, the code text on Municode, and the actual application PDFs. Codes change: the City of Sarasota amended Division 3.1 on 11-17-2025, North Port adopted a new ULDC in October 2024, and Longboat Key's Chapter 98 is codified through Ordinance 2026-05 (5/4/2026). Confirm anything you rely on with the reviewing department named in each section below 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. 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. Grand-tree and Heritage-tree protections do not survive it.

• 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. Condos, townhomes, multifamily, HOA common area, and commercial are outside it.
• No replanting may be required — § 163.045(2).
• 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.
• Local recognition here is explicit: North Port codified the statute verbatim in its ULDC including the no-replanting provision, and the City of Sarasota recognizes it at §§ VII-310(f) and VII-320(d).

“In this county the signed onsite arborist assessment is the difference between a Grand Tree you cannot touch and a Grand Tree you can remove with no permit and no replanting.”

Sarasota County (unincorporated)

Section 54-585 exempts owner-occupied residential lots of 5 acres or less after the certificate of occupancy has been issued. The exemption does not extend to Grand Trees or to trees in the Canopy Road Protection Zone (CRPZ). The county's Environmental Protection Division handles permitting for unincorporated Sarasota County and for the City of Venice.

• No trimming permit. The county states that it does not require permits for trimming trees on private property. The exceptions are trimming inside a Canopy Road Protection Zone and trimming in the right-of-way.
• Exempt under § 54-585: owner-occupied residential lots of 5 acres or less after CO, removal of exotic species (Brazilian Pepper, Melaleuca, Australian Pine, Carrotwood, Chinaberry, and Chinese Tallow are named as FLEPPC Category I), storm debris during a declared emergency, bona fide agriculture, nurseries, road and utility work, and habitat restoration.
• What counts as a tree: a woody plant that reaches 10 ft or more with a main stem 4.5 in DBH or larger. Palms count at more than 4.5 ft of clear trunk. Mangroves are protected at 2 in DBH.
• Advisory threshold on the county's own page: contact an Environmental Specialist before removing a native tree with a trunk diameter over 4 in, or a palm with more than 8 ft of clear trunk.
• Grand Tree: a point system under § 54-586 — 1 point per inch of DBH, 1 point per foot of height, 1 point per 4 ft of canopy spread, scored against a species threshold (Live Oak 100 points, Redbay 85), with the tree at 70% condition or better.
• Apply: Planning & Development Services, Environmental Protection Division, through Accela. 941-861-5000, building@scgov.net or environmental@scgov.net. Review runs 4 working days for 1-2 family, 7 working days for everything else. Trees proposed for removal must be marked in the field, and the application goes in with a tree location survey on the site plan.
• Permit fee: set by the current fee schedule (Resolution No. 2026-068) rather than in the code text — not published online. Confirm the amount with Planning & Development Services, 941-861-5000.
• Replanting standards where replacement is required: Florida #1 grade or better, minimum 8 ft tall and 2 in diameter, no more than 25% cabbage palm or wax myrtle. Replacement trees that die within 7 years must be replaced by the then-current owner (§ 54-590(f)), and pruning must follow ANSI A300 (§ 54-589(6)). The county publishes its approved planting list on the environmental permitting page — linked in Sources below.
• Penalties (§ 54-591): $200 per diameter inch on private trees, $500 per DBH inch on Grand Trees, $200 per inch in the right-of-way, and up to $500 for pruning violations. Alternative compliance is replanting at 2× the size and type. Money goes to the county reforestation fund.
• Mangroves: the county holds FDEP delegation (2016). County Code Ch. 54 Art. XXXV requires a county permit plus Professional Mangrove Trimmer supervision; § 54-1076 mirrors the state homeowner exemption.

The six conditions Sarasota County issues a permit on

Where the 5-acre exemption does not apply — a Grand Tree, a CRPZ tree, a larger parcel — the county publishes the exact conditions under which it issues the permit (§ 54-586(2)). One is enough. This is the county's own list, not an interpretation:

• The tree is a safety hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or to utilities.
• The tree is a safety hazard to people, buildings, structures, or vehicles.
• The tree completely prevents access to the lot.
• The tree unreasonably prevents the development or use of the lot.
• Fill is required on the lot to the extent that the trees cannot be saved (engineer certification).
• The tree is diseased, or weakened by age, storm, fire, or other injury, such that it has lost most of its function and value on the site, or poses a danger.

City of Sarasota

The city has no blanket single-family exemption, but it has real exemptions and a $0 fee tier. Division 3.1 was amended 11-17-2025 by Ordinance 25-5583, so pre-2026 write-ups of the city rules are out of date. The city publishes its Tree Removal Permit Application as a PDF — linked in Sources below.

• Exempt under § VII-318: citrus, nursery stock, trees under 4.5 in DBH, and botanical gardens.
• Homeowner canopy allowance: an owner-occupant of 1 year or more may remove up to 25% of side-yard and back-yard canopy with no replacement required, once every 3 years.
• Prohibited and invasive species — Melaleuca, Brazilian Pepper, Australian Pine, Carrotwood, Chinaberry, Chinese Tallow, Cuban Laurel — still require a permit, but the fee is $0. Dead trees are also $0.
• FS 163.045 is expressly recognized at §§ VII-310(f) and VII-320(d). Permit requirements are suspended during a declared natural emergency (§ VII-315).
• Trigger: a permit is required for any protected tree, private or public (§ VII-316). Protected tree means 4.5 in DBH or larger.
• Grand tree (§ VII-310, 2025 text): Live Oak or Sand Live Oak at 24 in DBH or larger, or Slash Pine, Longleaf Pine, or Southern Red Cedar at 20 in DBH or larger, rated good or moderate by the city arborist. Grand tree removal is prohibited except on four findings: advanced decline confirmed by resistograph, unavoidable infrastructure conflict, loss of 25% or more of parking or buildable area, or imminent hazard.
• Fees (adopted exhibit — confirm currency with Neighborhood and Development Services): removal permit $30, plus $100 per Grand Tree, plus $5 per non-grand tree. Prohibited, dead, and exempt trees are $0. Urban Forestry surcharge is $5 per tree residential, $20 per tree non-residential.
• Replacement Tree Fund in-lieu payments: existing single-family $40 per inch ($70 for Grand), new single-family $100 ($300 Grand), existing development $100, new development $125 ($300 Grand), palms a flat $200, and a downtown right-of-way tree $2,500.
• Apply: Neighborhood and Development Services, with a site plan. The permit is valid 6 months. For mangroves, the FDEP permit comes first, then the city permit (§ VII-319(5)).
• Penalties (§ VII-325): up to $225 per DBH inch, plus tripled permit fees, plus mandatory replacement. $100 per day for a continuing violation. Unpermitted removal triples the replacement DBH and fee. $250 plus $100 per day for missing tree-protection barriers. Each tree is a separate offense, and owner and contractor are separately liable.

City of Venice

• Single-family zoned lots of 1/2 acre or less are exempt from the Chapter 89 tree code — except for Heritage Trees, Venetian Trees, and Canopy Road Trees, which require a permit regardless of lot size.
• Protected Tree: a native at 4 in DBH or larger measured 54 in above grade, Sabal Palms with 6 ft of clear trunk, and any tree planted as a permit condition.
• Heritage Tree: a native at 30 in DBH or larger, or a multi-trunk tree with summed diameter of 45 in or more.
• Venetian Tree: individually designated by City Council.
• Pruning permits: required for any branch 10 in or larger in diameter measured 12 in from the union on a Heritage or Venetian tree, and for any branch 2 in or larger inside a Canopy Road Protection Zone, which also requires certified-arborist supervision.
• Fees, penalties, and any invasive or dangerous-tree exemptions are not published online — confirm with City Arborist Jim Yelverton, jyelverton@venicefl.gov, Planning & Zoning, before scheduling work.
• Jurisdictional overlap: Sarasota County's Environmental Protection Division states it serves the City of Venice, and Venice publishes its own Chapter 89 code and city arborist. Confirm which office reviews your parcel before you file. Both pages are linked in Sources below.

City of North Port

North Port carries the strongest statutory language of the five: FS 163.045 is codified verbatim in the ULDC, including the provision that no replanting may be required. The current ULDC was adopted by Ordinance 2024-13 in October 2024, and the Tree Fund became the Environmental Protection Fund under Ordinance 2026-11 on 5/19/2026.

• Exempt under § 6.7.2: government and utility work, prohibited species and FLEPPC Category I invasives, verified dead trees on vacant property, imminent-danger trees documented by an ISA risk assessment, and nurseries.
• Tree removal requirements can be suspended for up to 90 days after a natural disaster.
• No mitigation fees are charged for hazardous or poor-health trees.
• Outside the exemptions a tree removal authorization is required (ULDC § 6.7.1.B). On developed property (§ 6.7.4.B) a site plan is required and removal is approved for: a hazard, poor health or disease, a tree within 15 ft of an occupied structure, or a tree within or within 15 ft of a proposed addition.
• Heritage tree: a native at 24 in DBH or larger, or by points — 80 points for Bald Cypress, Hickory, Live Oak, Sand Live Oak, Southern Magnolia, and Southern Red Cedar, 60 points for pine — at 70% condition or better.
• Fees: 1-2 family lots may pay an environmental mitigation fee in lieu of a tree survey and per-tree mitigation, and heritage tree removal carries its own fee. Amounts and penalty amounts are set by the current fee schedule and enforcement provisions rather than published in the code — confirm with the Natural Resources Division.
• Apply: Natural Resources Division / ULDC Administrator. The city's Tree Removal & Arborist Services page carries the current application and guidelines — linked in Sources below.

Town of Longboat Key

Chapter 98, codified through Ordinance 2026-05 (5/4/2026). Improved single-family lots — meaning a lot with an existing dwelling — are exempt from the tree-removal permit under § 98.05(A). Vacant single-family, multi-family, and commercial parcels need a permit under § 98.06.

• Natural-disaster exemption: trees killed or severely damaged by a natural disaster are exempt (§ 98.05(B), Ordinance 2025-04), and the replanting or tree-fund obligation is relieved with it.
• Eleven nuisance exotics are exempt town-wide and unlawful to plant (§ 98.08(A)): Brazilian Pepper, Melaleuca (Punk), Ear tree, Chinaberry, Cuban Laurel, Silk Oak, all Eucalyptus except E. cinerea, Strangler Fig, India Rosewood, Australian Pine (Casuarina), and Carrotwood. This is a closed town list, not tied to FLEPPC or FISC rankings.
• There is no grand or heritage tier in Chapter 98, and no enumerated protected-species list. Longboat Key is the only SWFL jurisdiction covered here with neither.
• Tree: 4 in diameter or larger at 4.5 ft, typically reaching 10 ft or more. Palms count with 4.5 ft of clear trunk.
• Mangroves are excluded from all town tree regulation by definition (§§ 98.02 and 98.03). The town does not hold FDEP delegation, so mangrove work goes straight to FDEP under the Mangrove Act.
• Mandatory removal (§ 98.08(D)): Australian Pine, Brazilian Pepper, and Carrotwood must come off any property being prepared for development or redevelopment, single-family included.
• Dead and dangerous trees are not exempt here — they are permit-issuance criteria under § 98.06(A). Utilities have a separate exception at § 98.08(C).
• Fee: the code text says $50 (§ 98.06(C)), but the adopted fee is $65 (Resolution 2025-15, application revised 02/10/2026). Staff time is billed at $113 per hour. Replacement is typically 2:1, with an in-lieu payment of $300 per mature replacement tree (§ 98.06(D)).
• Apply: Planning, Zoning & Building — Planning & Zoning Division, 501 Bay Isles Rd, 941-316-1966, or the Accela online portal. The division's page and the town's permit fee schedule are linked in Sources below.
• Penalties (§ 98.11): up to $500 and/or 60 days. Each tree is a separate offense.
• Separate program: the town reimburses Australian Pine removal up to $1,800 per tree on Gulf of Mexico Drive and $1,250 elsewhere, capped at 5 trees per property per year against a $25,000 annual town budget.

One item to watch, not to act on: Ordinance 2026-11 would rewrite Chapter 98. It went to a Planning & Zoning hearing on 6/16/2026 and was not adopted as of August 2026. It is proposed only — the Chapter 98 rules above are what governs today.

Invasives: the exemption most homeowners miss

Invasive removal is the cheapest work on a Sarasota-area property, and in three of these five jurisdictions it is not permitted work at all. Species identification decides it — see the Brazilian pepper and Melaleuca pages in the species guide. Permit questions get flagged during the estimate; we check the parcel's jurisdiction before quoting, and a photo bid costs nothing.

• Sarasota County: removal of exotic species is exempt under § 54-585 — no permit, no fee.
• North Port: prohibited species and FLEPPC Category I invasives are exempt under § 6.7.2.
• Longboat Key: 11 named nuisance exotics are exempt town-wide, and three of them must be removed before development.
• City of Sarasota: the permit is still required for prohibited and invasive species, but the fee is $0.
• Venice: whether an invasive exemption exists is not published — confirm with the City Arborist.