Land clearing and tree removal permits — Malabar, Florida

Usually yes: the Town of Malabar Tree Protection and Restoration Ordinance makes it unlawful to remove, relocate or damage a tree, or to clear or grub land, without first getting a town permit.

The rule sits in Article XV of the Malabar Land Development Code, which Ordinance 03-17 enacted on January 5, 2004, replacing a 1990 version (Malabar LDC Article XV). Section 1-15.6 lists the prohibited acts: removing any tree without a tree removal permit or mangrove alteration permit, and performing any land clearing or grubbing unless a land clearing permit has been issued. Grubbing covers digging, raking or dragging that kills rooted shrubbery, so bush-hogging a wooded Malabar lot counts as regulated work even when no large tree is touched.

The Malabar definition of a protected tree is wide. The town's own affidavit sums it up as all mangroves and trees (Malabar application, page 3), and Section 1-15.5 carves out a list of invasive species: Australian pine, ear pod tree, chinaberry, Brazilian pepper, melaleuca, Chinese tallow, air potato, kudzu, climbing fern, bowstring hemp, castor bean and any species on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council invasive list. Cabbage palms and citrus trees of all varieties are not protected trees in Malabar unless an owner counts them toward a landscaping requirement (Section 1-15.5).

The town says as much on its own application: the form warns that Malabar has a restrictive tree protection ordinance and that mitigation may be required when protected trees are removed (Malabar application, page 2). Trunk size is measured as diameter at breast height (DBH), four and one-half feet above grade, with multi-stem trees measured as the sum of the stems. Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the Town of Malabar website and its posted code.

Malabar sorts tree and clearing work into five permit types, Type I through Type V, depending on whether the work comes with a development plan, a driveway permit, a building permit, stands alone, or only removes underbrush.

Type I permits are required for the removal of trees five inches DBH and larger in conjunction with any development plan, and the review runs alongside that plan (Section 1-15.9). A Malabar homeowner removing one large oak from a developed lot, with no other permit in play, falls under Type IV, which applies when the tree is ten inches DBH and larger on single-family property. Type V is the brush permit: it covers mowing machines and rotary cutters used to keep a vacant Malabar lot from becoming a nuisance or a fire hazard, and it does not permit the removal of any trees.

All five types use one Malabar form, the Application for Land Clearing and Tree Removal Permit, which repeats the Type I to Type V table on its first page (Malabar application, page 1). A separate mangrove alteration permit governs any alteration of a mangrove, and a land clearing permit by itself does not authorize the removal of protected trees (Malabar LDC Section 1-15.8).

Routine yard upkeep, utility trimming in existing easements and small trees close to a house can be handled in Malabar without a permit, though the Section 1-15.7 activity exemptions do not reach mangroves or dune vegetation.

Section 1-15.7 sets a practical rule for homes. Where any part of a canopy is within 30 feet of a structure, vegetation with a six inch basal diameter or less may be pruned or removed without a permit; anything larger in that zone needs a Type IV permit from the Town Manager or designee. Non-native and dead trees under six inches may also come down without a permit, and larger ones need a Type IV permit (Malabar LDC Section 1-15.7). A tree destroyed or damaged beyond saving by natural causes, or one that is an immediate peril, may be removed with a Type IV permit issued at no cost to the applicant.

Other Malabar exemptions are narrower. Licensed plant and tree nurseries are exempt for stock grown for sale. An existing farm with a state agricultural tax exemption and a five-year Town of Malabar business license may expand after the Town Manager approves a minimum-removal plan. A path up to four feet wide may be cut for a survey under the direction of a Florida registered surveyor or engineer. Routine landscape maintenance, utility work inside existing easements and keeping an existing driveway open are also exempt. Anyone claiming an exemption in Malabar carries the burden of proving it if the work later becomes an enforcement case.

State law adds one more route. Under Florida Statutes 163.045, a local government may not require a notice, application, permit, fee or mitigation for removing a tree on residential property when the owner holds documentation from an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree poses an unacceptable risk, and it may not require replanting (Florida Statutes 163.045). That statute applies to single-family homes in Malabar, but its subsection (4) leaves delegated mangrove protection authority untouched.

A Malabar tree or clearing permit is filed through the town's online permitting portal on the three-page Land Clearing and Tree Removal Permit form, with a survey that shows every tree of 5 inches DBH or greater.

The Building Department posts the form on its Building Permits and Forms page, along with a Tree Removal Inspection Card and a Hazardous Tree Removal Inspection Card. The same page states that the Town of Malabar no longer accepts emailed applications and, as of May 1st, 2024, no longer accepts paper applications unless explicitly specified otherwise (Malabar Building Permits and Forms). The town office is at 2725 Malabar Road, Malabar, FL 32950, phone (321) 727-7764 (Malabar application).

Page two of the Malabar form asks for the planned use of the land, the type of vegetation to be removed, the acreage of the project area, a tree removal count and the total DBH of trees to be removed. It also states that no vegetation, trees, brush or other debris may be buried onsite, that FDOT traffic control is required, that approved access is required and a culvert permit may be needed, and that permits from other agencies such as the water management district are the applicant's responsibility (Malabar application, page 2). Page three is a notarized affidavit that the clearing will not include any protected tree and that adding fill will require separate permitting (Malabar application, page 3).

Section 1-15.10 of the Malabar code adds proof of ownership, a legal description with a boundary survey or scaled drawing, a written explanation tying each removal to the approval criteria, and an erosion control plan whenever land clearing is planned. A Malabar permit stays valid for six months and may be renewed for a second six-month period on request; permits tied to a site plan or subdivision run with that approval (Section 1-15.10).

The administrative fee is set by Town Council resolution. The Malabar Building Department's fee page says the schedule effective October 1, 2026 (Resolutions 08-2026 and 12-2026) no longer calculates fees from project cost, passes plan review and inspection costs through at the town's contract rates, and charges a card convenience fee of 3.5% or $2.00, whichever is higher (Malabar Building Department fees).

The Town Manager or designee approves a Malabar tree or clearing permit only after weighing the tree's condition, the need to remove it, drainage and habitat effects, and whether the project could be shifted or redesigned around it.

Section 1-15.8 lists the Malabar criteria: disease, insect attack, danger of falling or interference with utilities; whether removal is needed for reasonable economic use; effects on erosion and surface water; the number and density of trees on site; historic or specimen value; habitat and aquifer recharge; how easily the plan could be altered; and economic hardship. A permit is refused when the structure could reasonably be moved or redesigned to keep the tree, or when the clearing would have a substantial adverse impact (Malabar LDC Section 1-15.8). For a standalone Type IV permit, at least one of three tests must be met: the tree blocks the intended use after efforts to design around it, its roots threaten a foundation, or thinning helps other trees grow.

Replacement in Malabar runs inch for inch: one inch of DBH replanted for each inch removed, and any number of trees may be used to meet the inch-for-inch requirement. Every replacement tree must have a minimum overall planted height of eight feet and Florida No. 1 nursery grade, and the species must come from a list approved by the Malabar Town Council and kept by the Town Clerk (Section 1-15.8(D)). The Town Manager may waive size or number when replacement stock is scarce or enough trees remain.

Two groups get extra protection in Malabar. Trees of special significance, such as historic, specimen or champion trees, are designated by Town Council resolution and carry a recorded preservation easement of at least 15 feet; removing one needs a Type IV permit, a certified arborist's evaluation and Council approval. Under the mangrove alteration criteria, at least 50 percent of the original mangrove canopy must be kept, and pruning, removal and relocation are prohibited between December 1 and February 15 (Malabar LDC Article XV).

Malabar can fine up to $500 for each tree removed without a permit, and its Special Hearing Master can also order replanting or a mitigation payment of $200 per diameter inch into the town beautification trust fund.

Section 1-15.15 treats each unauthorized removal of a protected tree as a separate offense, so clearing a wooded Malabar parcel without a permit multiplies quickly. The Special Hearing Master may credit voluntary replanting, and may order replacement with a tree twice the size of the one removed, replanting until the total DBH equals twice the inches removed, or the $200 per inch mitigation fee (Malabar LDC Section 1-15.15). The Malabar application repeats the warning that fines up to $500.00 per tree may be imposed for removal without a permit (Malabar application).

The money has a set destination. Section 1-15.4 created the Malabar beautification trust fund to collect application fees and equivalent values, and spends it on beautification projects on public lands, each approved by the Town Council (Section 1-15.4). Anyone who disputes how the Town Manager applied Article XV can appeal to the Malabar Town Council under Section 1-15.16, though the Council has no appellate role over the Special Hearing Master or the Board of Adjustment. The Council meets the first and third Monday of each month at 6:30 pm in Town Hall on Malabar Road (Malabar Mayor and Town Council).