Sanford’s Planning FAQ gives a broad instruction to obtain an arbor permit before removing or damaging a living tree. Its posted Schedule J also contains exceptions, and Florida law adds a separate residential risk-assessment provision. Read those boundaries before treating the FAQ sentence as an answer for every tree.
Choose the question that matches the site
| Situation | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Ordinary private-property removal | Planning’s arbor-permit route and Schedule J’s findings |
| A claimed residential hazard exception | The qualifying property and professional-assessment conditions in Florida law |
| Immediate danger or a declared emergency | Schedule J’s specific emergency provisions; an owner’s assumption is not a City waiver |
| Tree in public right of way | The distinct right-of-way authorization route |
| Claimed species exemption | Schedule J’s exempt list and reliable identification of the actual tree |
The Planning Division directs development and permit submissions to Citizenserve and gives 407-688-5140 for questions. No application was submitted for this review.
Explain the removal reason, not just the desired result
Section 4.2 of Schedule J lists five removal findings: conflict with a permitted improvement, specified poor condition or falling danger, danger to structures, utility interference, or unsafe visibility. Those are different from the seven factors later used to evaluate replacement or relocation.
For an improvement conflict, connect the affected tree to the site plan. For a condition claim, use the assessment actually relied upon. For visibility or utility interference, identify the particular obstruction rather than writing only “tree removal requested.” These are LSL preparation suggestions; the official makes the applicable finding.
Replacement is not automatically three new trees
The posted regulation authorizes replacement or relocation and gives a three-for-one basis when smaller replacement trees are required. That does not settle the number, species, size or location for a particular removal. Obtain those terms in the actual decision; this guide does not convert the PDF’s caliper wording into a universal calculator.
The PDF is dated February 8, 2016. Its upload path does not make it a 2021 enactment. The current Florida statute independently limits local requirements, including replanting, where the qualifying residential property and signed onsite unacceptable-risk assessment conditions are met. A routine contractor quote does not demonstrate those conditions.
Do not transfer the private-yard route to public land
Schedule J separately addresses right-of-way utilization permits and written City-approved plans. For immediate danger, it describes possible verbal authorization by the administrative official followed by written confirmation; it also provides for time-limited emergency waivers. Neither provision is blanket permission for any homeowner to remove a tree first.
LSL reviewed the operative Planning page, relevant definitions and tree-protection provisions of the posted Schedule J, including native pages 13–16, and current state law on September 20, 2026. This was not a full audit of every landscaping provision or a determination for any parcel.