If a tree on your lot is dead, leaning, or in the way of a project, the first question in this town is not “who has a chainsaw.” It is whether the Town will let you take it down. KAP Tree Service does Davie tree removal for homeowners every week, and the permit conversation almost always comes before the first cut.
Call (754) 291-6477 for a free estimate
Why Davie requires a tree removal permit
Davie treats trees as part of the town’s canopy, not as yard furniture you can discard on a Saturday. The Town’s own landscape FAQ is blunt: a tree removal or relocation permit is required in most situations. That rule exists so a healthy live oak or mahogany does not disappear because it drops leaves on a pool deck, and so lots do not fall below the minimum tree count in the code.
The current application is a Town of Davie Planning and Zoning form. Applications go through the Town’s Online Application System as a landscaping request. The printed form itself says applications are no longer accepted by mail, email, or in person. Start on Davie’s FAQ and the tree-removal application PDF, then follow the Town’s OAS steps so the file actually reaches a landscape inspector.
Fees change, so confirm the number with the Town before you write a check. As of the Town’s published FAQ, removal or relocation of up to two trees on an existing single-family lot is listed at $35, and that figure includes inspections. Larger jobs, commercial sites, and lots that need replacement trees are a different conversation with Planning and Zoning.
Which trees usually need review
Most shade trees on a residential lot need a permit: live oak, black olive, mahogany, ficus, gumbo limbo, and the larger palms people treat as trees. If you are not sure of the species, do not guess. A Town landscape inspector can walk the property with you. The Chief Landscape Inspector listed on Davie’s FAQ is Drew Lindemann in Planning and Zoning, 954-797-2056.
There is a real exception. Davie Sec. 12-152 lists invasive and exotic species that do not require a tree removal permit. Brazilian pepper, melaleuca, Australian pine, and similar plants often sit on that list, but you should match the tree in your yard to the Town’s current section, not to a blog. Even then, the FAQ adds a catch: if taking the invasive out leaves the property with fewer trees than the code requires, you may still need a no-cost permit, and mitigation can still apply.
Land clearing and grubbing are not the same as taking down one backyard tree. Those jobs have their own engineering permit. If you are opening a lot, talk to the Town before anyone brings in a loader.
What to ask the Town before you cut
Call Planning and Zoning or use OAS, and have these answers ready:
- The street address and a clear photo of the tree, including the trunk and the crown
- Species if you know it, or “unknown, please inspect”
- Why it is coming down: dead, storm-damaged, lifting a slab, in conflict with a permitted addition
- Whether the tree sits in a swale, easement, or HOA common area (those are not always “your” tree)
- What you plan to plant if the Town requires a replacement
Ask whether a site visit is required, whether replacement inches or species are on the table, and how to request the inspection after the work. The Town, not the tree company, sets those conditions. We will not invent a diameter threshold or a fine schedule here; those numbers live in the code and on the permit, and they should come from Davie.
HOA approval is a separate yes
A Town permit does not replace your association’s architectural review. Many Davie neighborhoods, from Riverstone to the older ranch lots, want a written scope before a large tree comes down. Get the Town’s position first or in parallel, then send the HOA the same photos and a simple description of the work. If the tree is in a landscape easement or on the common side of a lake bank, stop and ask the association who actually owns it.
If you are still deciding whether the tree has to go, read our notes on signs you need tree removal. Dead wood, a new lean after a storm, a hollow trunk, and roots heaving a pool deck are the usual reasons we are on a property. Cosmetic thinning is a trimming job, not a removal permit.
How a tree service should handle the permit
Davie does not require you to hire a company. The FAQ still recommends a licensed, insured tree service, and that is the sane path when the tree is over a roof, a screen enclosure, or the neighbor’s slab. We will look at the tree, tell you honestly if it should come down, and help you put a clear description on the Town application. We do not issue permits, and we do not cut until you have the Town’s approval when the code says you need it.
The same pattern holds next door in Cooper City, which runs its own tree-removal checklist. Do not assume a Davie permit covers a Cooper City address, or the other way around.
Once the card is posted, we take the tree down in sections if it sits over a house, haul the wood, and grind the stump if you want the spot sodded or replanted. Replacement trees, when the Town requires them, should be Florida Grade #1 stock and planted to the permit notes, not whatever is on sale that weekend.
Call KAP Tree Service at (754) 291-6477 for a free estimate
