Before preparing a tree-removal application, distinguish two different questions: what Altamonte’s residential form asks you to show, and whether Florida’s documented tree-risk protection applies. Checking a reason-for-removal box does not answer the second question.
A City form is not the whole eligibility rule
Florida section 163.045 protects qualifying residential work from local permit and mitigation requirements when the owner possesses the specified professional documentation of unacceptable risk. Its definitions cover single-family detached residential use and a signed onsite assessment by an ISA-certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect using the named risk-assessment procedure. Removal must be the only practical way to bring risk below moderate under that procedure. The section also restricts required replanting and excepts delegated mangrove-protection authority.
A photograph or contractor’s price quote is not that assessment. Have a qualified professional address the actual tree and property; this article does not establish an exemption. The City’s downloadable form, revised May 4, 2020, contains a general permit statement but does not explain this conditional statutory protection.
Separate the trees being removed from the trees being counted
For the ordinary residential application, the form asks for an overhead sketch on its reverse showing the house, driveway and removal locations, with selected trees marked by colored ribbon. It also specifies at least two trees remaining at removal: each at least two-inch caliper, neither a fruit tree nor a prohibited species. Do not turn that condition into a universal replacement rule for a removal protected by section 163.045.
LSL’s optional cross-check uses two groups on a working sketch:
- R labels: removal candidates. Give each selected tree a distinct identifier and match it to the form’s type, number and reason entries. The ribbon and sketch should identify the same tree.
- K labels: retained candidates. Note the proposed retained trees separately. Against each, record species, caliper information and any unresolved qualification question for the City. Do not count an R tree in this group.
For example, if a working sketch shows three trees but two have R labels, “three trees on the lot” does not demonstrate two qualifying trees will remain. This is an illustrative consistency check, not a species ruling or an instruction to plant a particular tree. Ask the City how to document uncertain measurements or eligibility. We have not supplied a caliper measurement method.
The form requires prior mandatory-HOA approval where applicable and a contractor’s contract when acting for the owner. Signing also permits inspection access when the tree is not street-visible and agrees to replacement if required. Optional photographs may help identify a tree; the form does not list them as required submission or closeout evidence.
Processing time is not the removal window
The form lists no permit fee, up to five calendar days for processing, and a 60-day validity period measured from issue. A submission date is not an issue date or a guarantee of approval. Compare the issued permit’s dates with the proposed work date; ask about unresolved timing before relying on an expired authorization.
The current application page describes Civic Access and gives 407-571-8433 for permitting help. Confirm the appropriate residential arbor filing route and current form with Building and Fire Safety; we did not test an online submission or create an account.
Reviewed September 12, 2026: both pages of the available 2020 form, the current department/application pages and the complete state section. No tree, property, private covenant or permit decision was examined.