Tree and landscape code overhaul
Summary
Board members flagged that tree protection and historic demolition rules were deferred during the LDC rewrite and shouldn't be forgotten. Staff confirmed a tree preservation ordinance discussion item is coming to next month's board meeting, driven by the Mayor and Council Member Moore.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 10
- Last 30 days
- 3
Rising — discussed at 4 meetings since Oct 5, 2026, up from 3 in the two months before.
Impact analysis
The related tree replacement fee is rising from $400 to $1,500 per tree in the LDC update.
Residents who value the city's tree canopy and historic buildings could get stronger protections later this year.
Property owners and developers facing revised permit and mitigation requirements.
Mentions & discussions (10)
City Council Agenda Conference - Nov 9, 2026
A rewrite of Pensacola's tree rules — new permit requirements, mitigation caps, replacement fees, and how the Tree Planting Trust Fund can be spent — heads to public hearing and first reading Thursday.
Environmental Advisory Board - Nov 5, 2026
A strengthened tree ordinance is headed to City Council, but city plantings are paused while debris is cleared, and East Hill alone lost an estimated 15% of its canopy. Staff warns of unqualified "fly-by-night" tree companies removing trees that could have been saved.
General - Oct 20, 2026
Pensacola is tightening its tree rules: a $1,000 fee to remove live oaks 40 inches or larger, inch-for-inch replacement of protected trees, uncapped mitigation when teardown-rebuilds remove trees, and a tree trust fund that can pay for a second city arborist. The Planning Board recommended the package to City Council, which takes it up November 12.
City Council Agenda Conference - Oct 5, 2026
Council Member Bare challenged using a 2014 canopy study — pre-hurricane, pre-tornado — to choose where the city plants trees, and asked whether business owners are consulted before trees go in near their storefronts.
City Council - Sep 10, 2026
Council approved the next round of tree plantings 6-1, but the vote exposed a fight over whether District 2's lost canopy is being replaced and whether the public can see the science behind where trees go.
City Council Agenda Conference - Sep 8, 2026
The next round of tree plantings is funded, but Council Member Bare pressed staff on why downtown and East Hill sites were chosen and no north-side locations appeared. Staff cited right-of-way space, canopy gaps, heat islands, and 33 empty tree wells.
Planning Board - Sep 8, 2026
The proposal adds a $1,000 application fee for removing 40-inch-plus live oaks, inch-for-inch replacement, and new mitigation fees — but board members want lower protection thresholds, a defensible basis for the fees, and the tree trust fund reserved for planting rather than staffing. Still no vote; it heads back next month before going to City Council.
Environmental Advisory Board - Sep 3, 2026
A board member wants the city to explore a dark-sky lighting ordinance (downward-angled, warm-hued lights) and wildflower pollinator strips in city rights-of-way to help monarchs, bees, and coastal wildlife.
Planning Board - Jul 14, 2026
Board members flagged that tree protection and historic demolition rules were deferred during the LDC rewrite and shouldn't be forgotten. Staff confirmed a tree preservation ordinance discussion item is coming to next month's board meeting, driven by the Mayor and Council Member Moore.
Planning Board - Jun 9, 2026
The LDC update would raise the tree mitigation fee from $400 to $1,500 per replacement tree. A resident warned about clear-cutting on her block, while an arborist warned the fees could push homeowners toward state-law tree risk assessments that bypass city review entirely. The tree ordinance itself won't change in this update — that's coming separately.
Related development
Repeal and Replace Title XII Land Development Code
This governs everything from zoning to ADU design citywide — the single biggest land-use change in years.
Land Development Code Update
Reshapes how nearly every development in the city is reviewed — from home occupations and sidewalks to signs, trees, and parking — with new missing-middle housing options and state-mandated manufactured home allowances.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
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